Urodynamic assessment of urinary incontinence

Effects of behavioural therapy versus interferential current on bladder dysfunction in multiple sclerosis patients; a randomised clinical study

Objectives

This study examines the effect of behavioural therapy (biofeedback) and interferential current on bladder dysfunction in multiple sclerosis patients.

Methods

Fifty patients with secondary progressive type multiple sclerosis (SPMS) suffering from bladder dysfunction were divided equally into two groups randomly. Group A (GA) received behavioural therapy (biofeedback training), while Group B (GB) received interferential current training. Both groups were assessed by urodynamics for detrusor pressure and maximum flow rate before and after eight weeks of behavioural therapy and interferential training.

Results

Both groups, GA and GB, showed significant increase in the detrusor pressure and maximum flow rate after eight weeks of training. There was no significant difference between both methods. However, GA showed more improvement by close observation.

Conclusions

Both behavioural therapy and interferential current training effectively managed bladder dysfunction in patients with SPMS, with more evident effects in behavioural therapy patients by close observation.

Urodynamic Values Role For Females With Different Types Of Urinary Incontinence

Aim — The aim of this study was to analyse how conventional urodynamic values differ between females with specific types of urinary incontinence (UI). Material and Methods — Cross-sectional study enrolled 666 females with UI. Based on patient history and questionnaires they were divided into three groups: stress (SUI), mixed (MixUI) and urgency (UUI). Physical investigation and urodynamics were performed. The continuous factors: age and urodynamic data were evaluated using Multinomial regression and ANOVA test using SUI, MixUI, UUI as outcome groups. Results — Analysing urodynamic parameters significant difference between at least two groups was shown by the cystometric capacity and maximum flow rate: both highest in the SUI group; residual urine, opening detrusor pressure, maximum urethral closure pressure at rest, functional urethral length at rest: all highest in the UUI group. Mainly all urodynamic data showed significant difference between SUI/UUI, and MixUI/UUI groups, while difference between SUI/MixUI were not significant. Conclusions — Most of urodynamic data for MixUI group patients do not differ from SUI group. UDS parameters like: maximum flow rate, residual urine, opening detrusor pressure, maximum urethral closure pressure at rest, functional urethral length at rest can help to distinguish SUI and MixUI groups from UUI group.

A comprehensive survey on non-invasive wearable bladder volume monitoring systems

Measuring the volume of urine in the bladder is a significant issue in patients who suffer from the lack of bladder fullness sensation or have problems with timeliness getting to the restroom, such as spinal cord injury patients and some of the elderlies. Real-time monitoring of the bladder, therefore, can be highly helpful for urinary incontinence. Bladder volume monitoring technologies can be divided into two distinct categories of invasive and non-invasive. In invasive techniques, a catheter is directly inserted into the urethra to measure the amount of urine accurately. However, it is painful, limits the user's ordinary movements, and may hurt the urinary tract. Current non-invasive techniques measure the volume of the bladder from the skin using different stationary or portable apparatus at health centers. Both techniques have difficulties and are not cost-effective to use for a long period. Recently, both invasive and non-invasive methods have been attempted to be produced in the form of wearable devices utilizing different sensing and communication technologies. Wearable bladder monitoring devices can be easily used by patients with no or few clinical steps, making them much more affordable than non-wearable devices. While wearable devices seem to be a highly convenient and effective solution, they suffer from few drawbacks, such as relatively low precision. Hence, a great number of studies have been conducted to address these issues. In this article, we review and discuss non-invasive and minimally invasive methods for monitoring the bladder volume. We focus on the most practical and state-of-the-art methods employed in wearable devices, classify them by engineering and medical characteristics, and investigate their specifications, architectures, and measurement algorithms. This study aims to introduce the latest advances in this field to practitioners while comparing the advantages and disadvantages of existing approaches. Our study concludes with open problems and future trends in the area of bladder monitoring and measurement systems. Graphical abstract Wearable bladder monitoring system.