CYSTOCENTESIS - DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC CONSIDERATIONS

The diagnostic and therapeutic value of cystocentesis has been recogni zed for over 80 years. In feline patients with nonobtrusive lower urin ary tract diseases (LUTD), normal patients, or patients with nonurinar y disorders, diagnostic cystocentesis circumvents many of the potentia l problems associated with collection of urine specimens by normal mic turition, manual compression of the urinary bladder, or catheterizatio n. In patients with obstructive LUTDs, therapeutic cystocentesis tempo rarily halts the adverse effects of obstructive uropathy and may provi de additional time to remove or bypass the obstructive lesion. In our experience, cystocentesis has been associated with few significant sid e effects; however, it may induce mild transient microscopic hematuria which may be indistinguishable from pathologic hematuria associated w ith many naturally occurring feline LUTDs.