Morbidity of the evaluation of the lower urinary tract with transurethral multichannel pressure-flow studies

The aim of this prospective study was to determine morbidity and complication rate of invasive urodynamic evaluation of the lower urinary tract after transurethral multichannel pressure-flow studies.

The study included 63 men with the clinical diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia and 56 women with stress urinary incontinence. All patients underwent routine pressure-flow study as part of the urodynamic evaluation. A week later the patients returned for followup which also included a detailed interview on post-evaluation morbidity.

The overall complication rate, including urinary retention, gross hematuria, urinary tract infection and fever, was 19.0% (12 of 63) for men and 1.8% (1 of 56) for women. In men there was no statistically significant correlation between post-void residual urine or age and complication rate (p > 0.05). Of the men 4.8% experienced post-investigational urinary retention and all of them had significant bladder outflow obstruction. In addition, obstructed men reported a higher incidence of dysuria and pain (76.2%, 32 of 42) compared to those without obstruction (57.1%, 12 of 21), whereas only 53.6% of women reported these complaints. Of the 63 men 4 (6.2%) had significant urinary tract infections, while only 1 woman (1.8%) had infections.

Invasive urodynamic investigation is associated with a considerable rate of complications and morbidity, particularly in men with infravesical obstruction. These facts must be considered and discussed with the patient before urodynamic testing.