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Objectives: Alpha-adrenergic antagonists are commonly used to prevent recurrent urethral obstruction in cats with mixed reports of efficacy. No published data on tamsulosin use in cats are available. The objective of this study was to measure changes in urodynamic parameters and blood pressure in five healthy male cats before and after administration of tamsulosin orally for 4 and 10 days. Methods: Five young healthy adult male cats from a research colony were administered tamsulosin at 0.1 mg/cat PO q24h for 10 days. Urethral pressure profile and blood pressure measurements were performed before treatment and approximately 6 h after treatment on days 4 and 10. Maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) for the prostatic and penile urethra, functional urethral length (FPL), functional area (FA) and systolic blood pressures were recorded and compared between the time points. Results: Significant changes in blood pressure on day 4 (121.1 mmHg ± 20.2 mmHg) and on day 10 (112.6 mmHg ± 14.9 mmHg) compared with day 0 (141.1 mmHg± 33.4 mmHg) were not detected (P = 0.18) in anesthetized cats. No significant difference in MUCP, FA or FPL measurements were detected among baseline, day 4 and day 10 of treatment. Hematuria and transient pollakiuria were induced in two cats with 3.5 Fr urethral catheters. Conclusions and relevance: Tamsulosin at 0.1 mg/cat PO q24h did not induce hypotension in healthy cats. Urodynamic testing performed 6 h after the tamsulosin pill was administered did not detect consistent decreases in urodynamic functions induced by tamsulosin. Repeated catheterization of tom cats with 3.5 Fr catheters may induce significant urethral trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Post-prostatectomy incontinence (PPI) is relatively common and of variable degree. Treatment of small-volume persistent PPI with a male sling or an artificial urinary sphincter is overly invasive, and the concept of intraurethral injection is very appealing in this situation. Bulkamid® is a nanoparticulate polyacrylamide and water polymer gel which is being used successfully in female stress urinary incontinence. We assessed the feasibility and effects of a four-point intraurethral technique on maximum urethral pressure (MUP) in male cadavers. Methods: Urethral pressure profile (UPP) was measured twice on two male fresh-frozen cadaver models before and after a four-point injection of 2 mL of Bulkamid® intraurethrally at the level of the sphincter in 0.5 mL aliquots using a 21Ch cystoscope with a 12° telescope and a 23G needle. Results: A clear UPP trace was recordable in both cadavers. The mean MUP at baseline was 38 cm H2O, and the mean MUP following Bulkamid® intraurethral injection increased to 55 cm H2O. Conclusions: Bulkamid® intraurethral injection in male cadavers is a simple technique that increases MUP. This increase in MUP may allow for treatment of low-volume PPI in men following prostate cancer treatment and warrants further study in the clinical situation. Level of evidence: Level 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of detrusor overactivity and bladder filling on urethral function with the use of urethral profilometry. Study design: Women with symptoms of urinary incontinence were recruited from our urodynamic clinic. All of the women underwent videocystourethrography and urethral pressure profilometry with the bladder empty and then full. The maximum urethral closure pressure, mean urethral pressure, functional urethral length, and pressure transmission ratios for each quartile were analyzed. Results: Thirty-five women were recruited: 17 women had urodynamic stress incontinence, and 18 women had detrusor overactivity. In women with urodynamic stress incontinence, there was a significant increase in maximum urethral closure pressure and pressure transmission ratios over all quartiles when the bladder was full compared with empty. In women with detrusor overactivity, there was a significant decrease in functional urethral length and pressure transmission ratios in the second and third quartile of the urethral pressure profiles when the bladder was full compared with empty. Conclusion: Decreases in functional urethral length and pressure transmission ratios with bladder filling in those women with detrusor overactivity are at variance with the normal physiologic response to bladder filling, which suggests that urethral function is affected by the presence of abnormal detrusor activity and that the valid assessment of urethral function may not be possible if the detrusor overactivity is not treated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]