URINARY-INCONTINENCE IN DOGS AND CATS .1. URETHRAL PRESSURE PROFILOMETRY

Urethral pressure profilometry provides a portrait of resting pressure along the length of the urethra in a dog or cat. Two techniques are u sed in clinical veterinary medicine: saline perfusion and catheter-mou nted transducers. Electromyography can be performed during urethral pr essure profilometry to measure activity in the external urethral sphin cter. The results of urethral pressure profilometry have been criticiz ed as unreproducible. This article discusses the many sources of varia bility in urethral pressure readings, including the effects of the sed ative or anesthetic used. Individual veterinarians should establish th eir own protocol for this procedure and develop their own reference ra nges for urethral pressure profilometry.