Study of female stress urinary incontinence by ultrasonography

Objective To assess the effectiveness of ultrasonographic parameters for evaluating female stress urinary incontinence(SUI). Methods Introital ultrasonography using a transvaginal probe was performed to evaluate the mobility of the bladder neck in 31 female patients with SUI. The bladder neck position was plotted on an assumed X Y coordinate system with the tip of symphysis pubis as origin and symphyseal mid line intersected the X and Y axis at an angle of 45°. Distances from the bladder neck to the lower tip of symphysis pubis and the corresponding X and Y values were measured at rest and during stress. Angles between the symphyseal mid line and the line of the lower tip of symphysis pubis and the bladder neck were calculated at rest(θr) and during stress(θs) separately. The bladder neck mobility was calculated by triangle function. Results Compared to the values at rest, Y values increased significantly during stress. The differences between the Y stress and Y rest(ΔY) was significantly higher than ΔX. With the increase of the amount of 1 hour standardized pad test, ΔY, the rotational angle(Δθ) of the bladder neck from θs to θr and the bladder neck mobility went up significantly. Conclusions The ΔY values on the X Y coordinate system, the rotational angle (Δθ) and the bladder neck mobility had correlation with the severity of SUI and could effectively evaluate the mobility of bladder neck. These parameters were helpful in the diagnosis of SUI.