Intraurethral pressure recording. A comparison betwen tip-transducer catheters and open-end catheters with constant flow.

This paper presents the results of a comparative study of intraurethral pressure recording with two different catheter systems: (1) Open-end water-filled catheters with constant flow connected to conventional pressure transducers, and (2) Micro-transducers mounted in the tip of a dacron catheter. When open-end catheters were used, the best reproducibility of the urethra pressure profile was obtained, if the catheter dimensions 6-8 F were used and if the flow in the catheters was kept to approximately 1-2 ml/min. In addition, the withdrawal rate of the open-end catheters should not exceed 3-4 mm/sec. The best reproducibility of the intraurethral pressure was obtained with the micro-transducer. It was free from measuring artefacts and seemed from this investigation superior to the open-end catheter systems, both for clinical practice and for research.