Residual urine volumes after intermittent catheterization in men with spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate residual urine volumes after intermittent catheterization (IC) in men with spinal cord injury (SCI) and the effect of residual urine on the rate of symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs).

SETTING

Single SCI rehabilitation center in Switzerland.

METHODS

Sixty men experienced in IC (≥ 6 months) emptied their bladder twice by IC. Immediately after catheterization, residual urine was determined by ultrasonography. Personal characteristics and bladder diary details (annual UTI rate, catheter type) were also collected.

RESULTS

The median residual urine volume was 7.0 ml (lower quartile (LQ): 0.0, upper quartile (UQ): 20.3 ml). No residual urine was observed after 42% (n=50) of all catheterizations (n=120). Unsatisfactory residual volumes (that is, >50 ml) were observed after 9% (n=11) of all catheterizations. There was no significant (P=0.95) difference between the median residual urine volume of men with recurrent (>2 UTIs per year) UTIs (2.5 ml, LQ: 0.0, UQ: 29.3 ml) and the volume of those with sporadic (≤ 2 UTIs per year) UTIs (6.0 ml, LQ: 0.0, UQ: 20.0 ml).

CONCLUSIONS

Bladder evacuation by IC is an efficient method, resulting in zero or small residual urine volumes. The small residual urine volumes generally observed after IC do not predispose for UTIs.