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Bladder outlet obstruction

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

BOO; Lower urinary tract obstruction; Prostatism

Symptoms:

The symptoms of bladder outlet obstruction may vary. The most common symptoms experienced include:

• Slow urinary flow
• Delayed onset of urination (urinary hesitancy)
• Inability to urinate (acute urinary retention)
• Urinary stream starts and stops (urinary intermittency)
• Urinary tract infection
• Abdominal pain
• Pain on urination (dysuria)
• Frequent urination
• Continuous feeling of a full bladder

Signs and tests:

If bladder outlet obstruction is suspected, your health care provider will take a thorough history of your problems and perform a physical exam. On physical exam, your provider may find one or more of the following possible causes:

• Distended bladder
• Enlarged prostate (men)
• Cystocele (women)
• Abdominal mass

In addition to a physical exam your provider may order a variety of tests which may include:

• Serum chemistries to reveal kidney damage
• Ultrasound to locate the blockage of urine is, and find out completely the bladder is emptied
• IVP to locate the blockage is
• Urinalysis to look for blood or infection
• Urine culture to show an infection
• Uroflow to determine how fast the urine flows out
• Urodynamic testing -- a more sophisticated way of seeing how much urine flow is blocked and how well the bladder contracts
• Cystoscopy and retrograde urethrogram (x-ray to look for urethral narrowing)

• Review Date: 6/13/2006
• Reviewed By: Neil D. Sherman, MD, Urologist, Essex County, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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