The Distribution of Post-Void Residual Volumes in People Seeking Care in the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Network Observational Cohort Study With Comparison to Asymptomatic Populations

Abstract

To describe the distribution of post-void residual (PVR) volumes across patients with and without lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and examine relationships between self-reported voiding symptoms, storage symptoms, and PVR. PVR and demographic data were obtained from the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN) observational cohort study. Self-reported symptoms were collected using the American Urological Association Symptom Index and the LUTS Tool. PVR values were obtained from 2 other cohorts: living kidney donors with unknown LUTS from the Renal and Lung Living Donors Evaluation Study (RELIVE), and continent women in the Establishing the Prevalence of Incontinence (EPI) study, a population-based study of racial differences in urinary incontinence prevalence. Across the 3 studies, median PVRs were similar: 26 mL in LURN (n = 880, range 0-932 mL), 20 mL in EPI (n = 166, range 0-400 mL), and 14 mL in RELIVE (n = 191, range 0-352 mL). In LURN, males had 3.6 times higher odds of having PVR > 200 mL (95% CI = 1.72-7.48). In RELIVE, median PVR was significantly higher for males (20 mL vs 0 mL, P= .004). Among women, only the intermittency severity rating was associated with a probability of an elevated PVR. Among men, incomplete emptying and burning severity rating were associated with a higher odds of elevated PVR, but urgency severity ratings were associated with lower odds of elevated PVR. Care-seeking patients have PVRs similar to those in people with unknown history of LUTS (RELIVE) and without self-reported LUTS (EPI). Although PVR was correlated with voiding symptoms, the mean differences only explain ∼2% of the variance.