Assessment and treatment of female urinary incontinence by cystometrogram and bladder retraining programs

One hundred female patients complaining of urinary incontinence without evidence of associated disease or urinary infection were assessed by clinical appraisal and by simple cystometrogram. Discrepancies were apparent between the two methods of patients assessment. Treatment was primarily based on cystometrogram patterns, and included the surgical correction of the urethrovesical defect, the institution of a program of micturition retraining, or a combination of both methods. Based on a short follow-up assessment period, of those 68 patients chosen for surgery, 78% were cured and 91% were markedly improved. Bladder retraining programs alone were instituted for 32 patients, and a marked (72%) improvement rate was demonstrated. It is suggested that the cystometrogram has an integral and essential place in the assessment of female urinary incontinence and may be easily integrated into practice. Bladder retraining programs may be most usefully employed for some patients found to have bladder dysfunction.