Can staccato and interrupted/fractionated uroflow patterns alone correctly identify the underlying lower urinary tract condition?

PURPOSE: Worldwide, uroflowmetry without simultaneous electromyography is often the only testing performed during the initial assessment of children with lower urinary tract symptoms. Various alterations in uroflow pattern are thought to indicate particular types of lower urinary tract conditions, specifically staccato uroflow indicating dysfunctional voiding and intermittent/fractionated uroflow indicating detrusor underactivity. We determined how reliable uroflow pattern alone is as a surrogate for simultaneously measured pelvic floor electromyography activity during voiding, and how well staccato and interrupted uroflow actually correlate with the diagnoses they are presumed to represent.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed uroflow/electromyography studies performed during the initial evaluation of 388 consecutive neurologically and anatomically normal patients with persistent lower urinary tract symptoms. We identified those with staccato, interrupted/fractionated and mixed uroflow based on current International Children's Continence Society guidelines.

RESULTS: A total of 69 girls (58.5%) and 49 boys (41.5%) met inclusion criteria. Staccato uroflow was noted in 60 patients, interrupted/fractionated uroflow in 28 and a combination in 30. An active electromyography during voiding confirmed the diagnosis of dysfunctional voiding in 33.3% of patients with staccato, 46.4% with interrupted/fractionated and 50% with mixed uroflow patterns.

CONCLUSIONS: Diagnoses based on uroflow pattern appearance without simultaneous electromyography to support them can be misleading, and reliance on uroflow pattern alone can lead to overdiagnoses of dysfunctional voiding and detrusor underactivity. When assessing patients with uroflow, an accompanying simultaneous pelvic floor electromyography is of utmost importance for improving diagnostic accuracy and thereby allowing for the most appropriate therapy.