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A cystometer is a device for recording the changes in bladder pressure as filling occurs. Although this can be performed as the bladder fills naturally, it is normal to test the bladder response to filling at medium or rapid filling rates (e.g. 30 ml/min or 100 ml/min). Most cystometry is performed using water or saline as the filling medium through a urethral catheter, the pressure being measured through this same catheter or a separate channel within the same catheter, or through a suprapubic puncture needle. Such devices are used widely for the investigation of causes of urinary incontinence and retention.
A variation on this theme is to use carbon dioxide as the filling medium. This allows a relatively dry procedure which need not be performed in hospital and the responses of the bladder are claimed to be similar to those found with water or saline. The normal cystometrogram shows a sustained low pressure throughout filling (e.g. 10-15 cmH2O). However, in many cases there are involuntary contractions of the bladder during the filling process indicating an unstable or irritable bladder, a condition which is relatively difficult to treat.
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