Urosepsis associated with videourodynamic studies

Videourodynamic studies (VUS) of the lower urinary tract are useful in the evaluation of complicated voiding dysfunctions. These studies involve placement of urethral and rectal catheters, measurement of pressures during bladder filling and voiding, and simultaneous fluoroscopic cystourethrography. A cluster of five cases of urosepsis occurred in patients examined with VUS between November 1981 and February 1982. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was cultured from the blood and/or urine of three of these patients. P. aeruginosa was also recovered from cultures of fluid within the stopcock-tubing-syringe apparatus used to connect the urethral catheter to the pressure transducer. The temporal relationship of urosepsis to the VUS procedure and the identification of an environmental reservoir of P. aeruginosa suggest that these episodes were related to VUS.