Preparing the male urethra for transurethral procedures

The antiseptic and analgesic effectiveness of different preparations of lignocaine gel used prior to flexible cystoscopy were studied in patients recruited over a 12-month period. This random study involved 106 patients in four groups. There appeared to be no difference in bacterial colonisation of the urethra between the groups. Urethral analgesia was improved when higher volumes of gel were used. It was concluded that high-volume gel preparations (> 20 ml) with no antiseptic provided optimal conditions for flexible cystoscopy.