Ultrasound assessment of Bladder Sphericity in diagnosis of OAB
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Bladder Sphericity: A pilot study for the ultrasonographic assessment of bladder shape in women with overactive bladder (BLAST Study)
IRAS ID
173975
Contact name
Stephen C Radley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
Overactive bladder is common, affecting 1 in 6 adults. Symptoms include an urgent feeling to go the toilet that cannot be deferred (urgency), going to the toilet frequently, waking to go to the toilet at night (nocturia) and sometimes, leaking urine before getting to the toilet. Normally the bladder is relaxed as it fills up. When we get the feeling of wanting to pass urine, most people can hold on until it is convenient to go to the toilet. In patients with OAB, the bladder contracts too early when it isn’t full and when you don’t want it to. This can result in a sudden urge to pass urine and if unable to make it the toilet, 1 in 3 patients will suffer from urinary incontinence.
Urodynamic investigation is the standard test for overactive bladder however it is estimated to fail to diagnose up to 50% of clinically relevant cases. The test involves placing tubes in the bladder and rectum and requires specialised equipment. It is therefore both invasive, uncomfortable and expensive. This test often involves taking x-rays of the bladder as it fills up (cystography). Women with overactive bladder are often observed to have tense, spherical bladders during cystography as the bladder fills, whereas those with normal bladder function have relaxed and 'floppy' bladders.
Measuring bladder shape using trans-abdominal ultrasound, could be a useful marker for the presence or absence of overactive bladder, thereby avoiding urodynamics. Ultrasound is less invasive for patients and likley to be more cost-effective.
Summary
If ultrasound assessment of bladder sphericity offers a measure of OAB, this proof of concept study will facilitate a portfolio grant application to the NIHR.REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NE/0417
Date of REC Opinion
1 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion