Urinary manometry in spinal cord injury patients--preliminary report.

Abstract

Three different manometric methods with the aid of transducers and radio-opaque catheter markings are described to measure intravesical pressures, pressures just below the bladder neck (“U1”) and at the external urethral sphincter (“U2”). The X-ray examinations were done with superimposed oblique exposures in the supine position. Twenty-seven males and 12 females with traumatic cord lesions were examined. Method III was found to be the most accurate method which influences least the configuration of the bladder neck. There is a progressive increase of pressure when one compares intravesical values with those at U1 and U2, with lowest pressure in the bladder and highest pressure at the external urethral sphincter. Higher bladder volumes tended to increase the U1 values whereas the U2 values remained rather constant. Retrograde sphincterometry done in 13 patients showed higher values than at U2.