How painful is multichannel urodynamic testing?

Introduction and hypothesis: Multichannel urodynamic testing is considered to be the gold standard for evaluation of lower urinary tracts symptoms in women. The objective of this study was to assess the level of pain associated with this test.

Methods: We reviewed charts of women who underwent multichannel urodynamic testing for lower urinary tract symptoms and recorded pain levels using a validated visual analog pain scale of 0-10 before, during, and 1.5 h after the test.

Results: We identified 50 patients who underwent the test. Pain level increased mildly but significantly during the urodynamic test (1.24 +/- 0.9 vs 0.02 +/- 0.14 p < 0.001) and decreased thereafter (0.1 +/- 0.35, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Multichannel urodynamic testing is associated with a low but significant level of pain, which generally abates shortly after the procedure. No correlation seems to exist between the degree of pain and various clinical and pelvic floor parameters.