BACKGROUND:

Diabetic bladder dysfunction is one of the most common late complications of diabetes, with a prevalence of 20- 80%. It affects quality of life, causing retention, infections, urinaryincontinence, and even kidney failure. Diabetic bladder dysfunction is characterized by reduced bladder sensitivity, detrusor overactivity and hypocontractility, and incomplete bladder voiding.

OBJECTIVE:

The aim of our study was to evaluate whether the AUA Score and uroflowmetry were effective as simple, noninvasive, lowcost methods for diagnosing diabetic bladder dysfunction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus of 5-year progression that were analyzed through the AUA Score questionnaire, uroflowmetry (residual urine measurement), and urodynamic study. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis (Mann-Whitney U test, Student’s t test, and ꭓ2 test) were employed, with a p < 0.05.

RESULTS:

Forty-one patients were registered, 63% of whom had the following urodynamic findings of diabetic bladder dysfunction: reduced sensitivity (27%), detrusor overactivity (42%), detrusor hypocontractility (38%), and incomplete voiding (73%). The AUA Score, Qmax in free uroflowmetry, and Bladder Voiding Efficiency showed no correlation with the specific urodynamic findings.

CONCLUSIONS:

Diabetic bladder dysfunction is more frequent than is commonly thought. Invasive urodynamic studies continue to be the basis of diagnosing bladder dysfunction as a complication of diabetes mellitus.

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