Objective: Continuous medium filling cystometry at a rate of 50 ml/min is a widely used method due to its advantages such as short filling time and published reference values. However, this type of filling sometimes provokes detrusor contractions and may cause incorrect bladder capacity determinations. The aim of this study was to compare the continuous and intermittent filling during cystometry in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) who had detrusor overactivity.
 

Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with SCI who had detrusor overactivity were included in the study. After the drainage of all urine, first, the bladder was filled continuously at a filling rate of 50 ml/min with sterile physiological saline at room temperature and the maximum cystometric capacity was determined. After the continuous filling cystometry, the bladder was emptied again and filled intermittently by 30 seconds filling followed by 15 seconds pause periods at filling rate of 50 ml/min. The maximum cystometric capacities observed during continuous and intermittent filling were compared by the Wilcoxon signed rank test.
 

Results: The mean maximum cystometric capacities were 86.5±43.7 ml and 122.7±62.2 ml, respectively in continuous and intermittent filling (p<0.001). The mean increase in intermittent filling was 36.2±38.1 ml, which represented a 41.84% mean increase. 
 

Conclusion: In this study, higher cystometric capacities were observed in SCI patients with overactive detrusors by intermittent filling. This method may serve determination of bladder capacity more correctly and may contribute to make appropriate therapeutic decisions in patients with detrusor overactivity.