Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Including Bladder Outlet Obstruction: What's New in Diagnostics?

Abstract

It is well known that lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) have a multifactorial etiology. Therefore, there is an increased need for improved diagnostics for the optimal assessment of patients with LUTS in order to identify the various causes of symptoms and improve disease phenotyping. Research has focused on the development of improved urodynamic technologies and the development of noninvasive tests that could replace urodynamic studies. This mini-review will present the most recently published studies on the topic including new technologies in the diagnosis of bladder outlet obstruction, novel metrics for bladder sensation, analysis of filling phase rhythm, measurement of detrusor wall tension, and brain imaging during urodynamic studies. Patient summary: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) have a multifactorial etiology; therefore there is a need for the development of new tests that can help LUTS diagnosis. The present mini-review highlights the new tests and novel concepts in the field. New tests/technologies for the improvement of lower urinary tract symptom diagnosis are under development and evaluation. The most recent findings are highlighted, although these new diagnostics are at a different degree of maturation. © 2018