Sonographic evaluation of bladder wall thickness in women with lower urinary tract dysfunction

ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation between bladder wall thickness (BWT) measured by ultrasonography and lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).MethodsForty-eight women with LUTS who underwent urodynamic study and BWT by ultrasonography as outpatients were studied. We assessed LUTS during a medical examination by interview. The thinnest part of the bladder wall was measured by a transabdominal ultrasonography. We excluded patients who had visited another hospital previously because we did not know what treatment they had received, including medications, behavioral therapy, or other treatments. We constructed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for diagnosis of LUTD and also determined reliable BWT criteria by calculating the area under the curve. Statistical analyses were performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov method and Student's t-test.ResultsThe mean age, body mass index, and duration of symptoms were 59.9±9.7 years, 26.06±3.4 kg/m2, and 53.4±38.2 months, respectively. Urodynamic study parameters (Valsalva leak point pressure, maximal urethral closure pressure, functional length, and postvoid residual volume) were lower in patients with BWT