Urodynamic findings in the lower urinary tract: II. Latent stress incontinence in women scheduled for hysterectomy?

Urodynamic findings in 48 patients scheduled for hysterectomy and without any component of motor urge or stress incontinence were compared to those of asymptomatic women and females with objective stress incontinence. The results revealed no significant difference between the prehysterectomy group and the continent control group in terms of percentage of patients voiding by abdominal strain, detrusor contractility, urethral resistance. maximal urethral closure pressure, and relative urethral leakage pressure. Only a marginal but not significant difference in detrusor contractility and urethral resistance was found. Those parameters were lower than those of the continent control group but higher than those of the stress‐incontinent group. Thus, with the urodynamic findings of the prehysterectomy group not differing significantly from the normal control group, it is recommended that preoperative urodynamic evaluation be reserved for women in whom, apart from the hysterectomy, surgery is planned for bladder neck repositioning. If there are no findings on routine history and physical exam of the patient about to undergo hysterectomy suggestive of urodynamic pathology, further assessment is not very fruitful.