The reproducibility and significance of carbon dioxide urethral profilometry

Infusion urethral profilometry using carbon dioxide as a medium is an interesting study with a wide range of variability from day to day in a single individual, a fact that considerably reduces the value of a single measurement as a diagnostic tool. Presently, all forms of infusion profilometry must be considered to be interpretable only within the framework of the entire neurourologic evaluation. The study may be useful to make the clinician more secure about a particular diagnosis and as an objective measurement for medico-legal documentation. It also may be useful in predicting and objectively demonstrating treatment results if normal variability can be excluded. However, a high level of skepticism should be maintained regarding the value of the profile in those situations in which its interpretation does not correlate with the impression formed from the remainder of the neurourologic evaluation.