Can ultrasound replace ambulatory urodynamics when investigating women with irritative urinary symptoms?
Transvaginal ultrasound assessment of mean bladder wall thickness is a sensitive screening tool, which can detect detrusor instability in those women with equivocal laboratory urodynamics. In women who have no evidence of GSI on laboratory studies, a cutoff of 6.0mm is highly suggestive of detrusor instability. However, in those women with GSI then ambulatory studies probably remain the investigation of choice.
In patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension vWF levels correlate with liver function and HVPG and independently predict clinical outcome.