The Urocuff Test

Active BPH management

The best predictor of symptom relief is a healthy, functioning bladder.

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The UroCuff® Test

The best predictor of symptom relief is a healthy, functioning bladder.

For men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), maintaining a healthy, properly functioning bladder is key to long-term health and well-being. Your bladder’s ability to move urine out of the body is directly related to BPH symptoms, including frequency (going often), nocturia (going often at night), hesitancy (trouble starting), poor stream, and dribbling.

Depending on the health of your bladder, your symptoms and your overall health, your urologist will work with you to determine the best options to treat your prostate.

The UroCuff® Test

How It Works

The UroCuff Test is a non-invasive diagnostic test for male urinary disorders, including BPH. This urology flow test provides your urologist with information about your bladder function, including the amount of pressure generated by your bladder, your urine flow rate and amount of urine that you void (release). This helps your urologist better understand the causes of your symptoms.

  • A pressurized cuff is fitted to the penis.

  • The patient begins to void (urinate) into a flow meter.

  • The cuff inflates until flow is interrupted.

  • The cuff rapidly deflates, allowing flow to resume.

  • The cycle repeats until the patient’s bladder is empty.

  • Bladder function is determined from interruption pressure vs flow rate.

  • The UroCuff report digitally summarizes the results.

Preparing for the Test

It is important that you arrive at your doctor’s office with a comfortably full bladder. You should feel something like the “Need to go” face on the Urgency Scale shown here.

The UroCuff® Test

To help ensure a comfortably full bladder, please drink 32oz of water one hour before your appointment and avoid going to the bathroom before your test.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most patients referred for the UroCuff Test have complaints of frequent urination or difficulty urinating.

The UroCuff Test allows your doctor to evaluate how your bladder and the bladder outlet are functioning. With this information, your doctor will better understand your specific bladder health which will help in choosing a treatment plan that is best for you.

The test usually takes between 5 to 10 minutes.

While bladder testing does not require that you miss any doses of your prescribed medication, if you are already taking medication to treat a urinary problem, your doctor may instruct you to stop these before the test.

For most patients, the test is not uncomfortable. Some patients may experience mild discomfort while the cuff is inflating.

The UroCuff Test must be performed when you have a full bladder. Plan to arrive at the doctor’s office the day of your test with a comfortably full bladder.

When you arrive and are ready for your test, you will be brought to a private room. A small cuff, similar to a blood pressure cuff, will be placed around your penis, and surface electrodes may also be placed on your abdomen and/or perineum. You will be asked to void (urinate) into a portable commode, or toilet. While you’re voiding, the cuff will slowly inflate until the cuff pressure stops the urine flow. The cuff will then deflate and you will begin voiding again. The inflation intervals will continue until you’ve emptied your bladder completely. The cuff and electrodes will then be removed.

Your doctor will review your test results and discuss treatment options with you.

Anatomy of Urinary System

The bladder is an elastic organ that collects urine excreted by the kidneys before disposal by urination. Urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra. In the male anatomy, the urethra passes through the prostate, which is an exocrine (excretion) gland of the male reproductive system. In order to urinate, two things must happen.

  1. The detrusor muscle (a smooth muscle found in the wall of the bladder) must contract the bladder to squeeze the urine from the bladder. Low bladder contractility, caused by a weak detrusor muscle, may lead to issues with urination.
  2. The external urethral sphincter muscle must relax to allow urine to exit the bladder via the urethra. In cases of bladder outlet obstruction, such as in BPH, the external urethral sphincter muscle may not be able to relax properly, impeding the flow of urine.
The UroCuff® Test
The UroCuff® Test

Symptoms related to storing and voiding urine are known as Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) and include:

  • Frequency

  • Urgency

  • Dysuria (painful urination)

  • Nocturia (the need to get up in the night to urinate)

  • Poor stream

  • Hesitancy (a delay between trying to urinate and the flow actually beginning)

  • Terminal dribbling

  • Incomplete voiding (urine still remaining in bladder)

  • Overflow incontinence (involuntary release of urine from an overly fully bladder, often in the absence of any urge to urinate)

Talking to Your Doctor about The UroCuff® Test

BPH is a very common condition and is one of the leading reasons men visit Urology Nevada. While the UroCuff Test measures overall bladder function and health, it can act as a diagnostic test for BPH. Whether you have just started experiencing symptoms or if you’ve tried various medications or even surgery, the UroCuff Test helps our specialists determine the best treatment for you.

To schedule an appointment, please fill out the form above or contact us at (775) 322-7811.