Urinary Retention Diagnosis

Urinary retention diagnosis can be confirmed through various diagnostic tests and studies. Our urologists will ask you to explain your medical and family history to find out if anything in your past or any genetic condition you may have can be affecting your voiding patterns or urinary tract. You may be tested for underlying neurological issues that could be preventing your brain and bladder from working together properly. They may ask you to conduct a voiding study and write down your voiding behaviors for at least three days. In this way, our urologists can determine if your urinary frequency is abnormal and needs further evaluation.

Urinary retention diagnosis can also occur through a pelvic exam. This can involve a vaginal exam, rectal exam, or prostate exam to determine if the prostate is enlarged in men or if a woman has a dropped bladder than has fallen into the vaginal wall. Our doctors may also be able to feel your distended bladder by tapping lightly on the lower part of your abdomen (tummy).

A bladder infection may be present if you have urinary retention. Therefore, our urologists will ask you to provide a urine sample for a urine analysis. A urine specimen can also be tested for abnormal levels of blood or substances, such as protein, that could be caused by kidney stones or bladder stones that obstruct urine flow. Your post-void residual (PVR), or the amount of urine left in your bladder after you urinate, will be measured by a bladder scan. This is a bladder ultrasound to measure the urine in the bladder before and after you urinate. If the post void bladder scan shows that your PVR measures 100 milliliters or more, you may have chronic urinary retention.

Another way to diagnose urinary retention is by performing a cystoscopy. Our urologists insert a cystoscope into the urethra and up to the bladder to look inside the urinary track. They will be able to see if the bladder wall is thickening, if a bladder stone is obstructing urine flow, or if there is urethral stenosis, when the urethra channel is narrowed by pressure from an enlarged prostate, urinary tract infection, or scar tissue.

Urinary retention diagnosis may also involve taking X-rays or using a CT bladder scan to see if there is an obstruction or if the bladder is out of position. A urodynamic test involves different ways to measure if the bladder is filling up and draining normally. For example, urodynamic catheters can measure the amount of pressure you need to start a urine stream, which will help the doctors determine what is causing a week stream. A prostate fluid sample can be used to check for prostatitis (an inflammation of the prostate) that can lead to a constriction of the urethra. Our world-renowned urologists are highly qualified and trained to conduct these diagnostic urology procedures to give you the most accurate diagnosis for your urological condition.

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