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Cystometrogram

how to prepare and what to expect from your cystometrogram

A cystometrogram is a test used to evaluate your bladder's ability to store and release urine. A urologist, a physician specializing in the urinary tract, will interpret the results of the test and report the findings to your CINN physician.

How to Prepare

Please arrive for this outpatient procedure at the time and location given to you.

This test requires no special preparation. You may eat and drink as usual and remain active right up until the time of your cystometrogram.

What to Expect

Once you are settled in your room, you will be asked to disrobe from the waist down and put on a hospital gown. A physician or nurse will talk to you about any urinary problems you have experienced in the past. He or she will also take a brief medical history and discuss which medications you are currently taking.

You will then be asked to empty your bladder into either a regular bathroom toilet or special commode. The special commode can record the rate at which you empty your bladder, as well as the amount of urine you emptied at that particular time.

Next, you will be asked to lie on your back on an examination table with your knees bent while a physician or nurse uses an antiseptic to cleanse the area around the opening to your urethra (the urethra leads to your bladder). He or she will moisten the area with lubricant, then gently place a very small catheter (a thin, long, flexible, tube) through the urethra and into your bladder. Inside the catheter is a tiny filament connected to a computerized device.

Placing the catheter may cause slight discomfort, but will not cause any pain once in place. Any urine remaining in your bladder will flow out through this catheter.

A sterile saline solution will be drained into your bladder through the catheter. Meanwhile, the physician or nurse will ask you several questions about the sensations you are experiencing. Then you will be asked to perform certain activities, such as coughing, while your bladder is being filled.

Once you feel that your bladder is filled to capacity, you will be asked to empty it while the computerized device records the pressures generated by your bladder. Afterward, the physician or nurse may fill your bladder with additional fluid so that you can perform this portion of the test while lying in different positions or standing.

The physician or nurse may place a second catheter into your rectum to record additional pressure measurements during the test. No liquid will be placed in this catheter.

The catheter(s) will be removed after the computerized device collects sufficient pressure readings. Removing the catheter may create sensations that make you feel like urinating. Feel free to go to the bathroom again before putting on your clothes.

This test takes between 30 and 60 minutes to complete. You may resume your normal activities immediately.