Urodynamics Outpatient Care

The Urodynamics Clinic helps to diagnose and recommend an appropriate course of treatment through urodynamics studies, which are a group of diagnostic procedures that evaluate voiding disorders. The results of the diagnostics are used to develop a plan of care for the patient. Urodynamic tests help the physician or nurse see how well the bladder and sphincter muscles work. The tests also can help explain symptoms such as frequent urination, sudden strong urges to urinate, painful urination, recurrent urinary tract infections and problems emptying the bladder.

Urodynamics Studies Attempt to Answer the Following Questions:

• Is sensation normal?
• Can normal and appropriate bladder contractions be voluntarily initiated?
• Are involuntary detrusor contractions present?
• Is the bladder capacity normal for age?
• Does the bladder accommodate adequate volume without significant pressure rise?
• What are the leak points and how much residual urine is left in the bladder after voiding?

These urodynamics studies evaluate the lower urinary tract which is the bladder and the urethra. The tests performed include Uroflow, Cystometrogram (CMG), Electromyography (EMG), urethral pressures (UP) and urethral pressure profiles (UPP).

Uroflow

Uroflow measures the flow and force of the child’s urine stream. This is done by having the patient urinate in a special toilet that is equipped to electronically measure the volume and flow of your urine.

Cystometrogram

A cystometrogram assesses how the child’s bladder and sphincter behave while they store and pass urine. This is measured by inserting a catheter with a sensor that records filling pressures.

Urethral Pressures

Electromyography is a test that checks the health of the muscles and the nerves that control the muscles. A thin needle electrode is inserted through the skin into the muscle where the electrode on the needle picks up the electrical activity given off by muscles when they contract and relax.

Testing is available for Spina Bifida patients and some inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation patients at Miller Children’s.  Testing takes place on the 3rd and 4th Friday of each month.  

Visit the Urodynamics Clinic.