Abstract: Bladder Volume Determination Using a Dedicated, Portable Ultrasound Scanner

Robert C. Ireton, John N. Krieger, Diana D. Cardenas, Bruce Williams-Burden, Eve Kelly, Teresa Souci and Warren H. Chapman. "Bladder Volume Determination Using a Dedicated, Portable Ultrasound Scanner." Journal of Urology 143 (May 1990): 909-911.

Objectives:
* To evaluate the effectiveness of a portable ultrasound scanner (the BladderScan^® BVI 2000) at estimating bladder volume.

Methods:
* 112 patients from a urology clinic, a spinal cord injury unit, and a cystoscopy clinic, who required measurement of residual urine volume for standard clinical indications, were enrolled in the study.
* Every patient had his or her bladder volume measured twice by two different investigators, for a total of four ultrasound measurements within a 10-minute interval. The bladder was then emptied by either cystoscopy or catheterization, within 20 minutes of the first ultrasound measurement.

Results:
* The correlation between ultrasound volume and catheterization volume was r2 = 0.79.

Conclusions:
* "The advantages of the BVI 2000 are that it is easy to use, sufficiently accurate from most clinical decisions, portable and inexpensive compared to multi-purpose instruments. Because the learning curve is short this instrument may prove to be useful in many clinical situations, such as the office, intensive care units, and recovery and emergency rooms."

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