Authors (including presenting author) :
Au WKL (1), Chiu PK (1,2), Kwok SW (1), Chan CK(1,2), Ng CF(1,2), Li SY(1).
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Surgery, PWH. (2) SH Ho Urology Centre, Department of Surgery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Introduction :
Uroflowmetry is commonly performed for assessment of urinary flow and voiding function, with the aim to replicate usual voiding. During uroflowmetry, male patients are required to urinate into a small funnel-shaped urine collector which is connected to an electronic uroflowmeter. This is quite different from the usual toilet setting and may not be able to replicate patient’s usual voiding. A newly designed uroflowmeter using a urinal design was used to facilitate voiding at uroflowmetry.
Objectives :
To prospectively assess patient’s voiding experience in using the new urinal-uroflowmeter compared with the usual funnel-shaped uroflowmeter.
Methodology :
This is a non-randomized prospective study recruiting male patients who need to undergo uroflowmetry in the Lithotripsy & Uro-investigation Centre (LUC), allocating them urinal or funnel-shaped uroflowmeter groups. A questionnaire was completed by the patient after the uroflowmetry study to determine (1) to what extent the flow study replicate usual voiding on a visual analogue scale(VAS) of 0-10, (10 = perfect resemblance of usual voiding), and (2) patients’ preference in using which type of uroflowmeter.
Result & Outcome :
From 11/12/2020 to 12/1/2021, total number of 92 male patients had completed the questionnaire after flow study. The mean age of patients using the new urinal-uroflowmeter and the funnel-shaped uroflowmeter was 65.9 +/- 9.5 and 69.3 +/- 8.6 years respectively (p=0.093) The mean VAS score on resemblance of usual voiding was 8.1 +/- 1.9 in urinal-uroflowmetry group and 6.9 +/- 2.6 in funnel-shaped uroflometer group respectively (p= 0.01). In a subgroup of 32 men with prior experience of using the funnel-shaped uroflowmeter and who used the new urinal type uroflowmeter in this study, 90.6% (29/32) preferred using the urinal-uroflowmeter.
To conclude, this pilot study suggests that the new urinal-uroflowmeter can better replicate usual voiding than usual funnel-shaped uroflowmeter, and was preferred by most male patients.
