[Urodynamic findings in patients older than 65 years: experience in the Department 19 of the health-care area of Valencia (HCAV)].

Objectives: This work tries to analyze the urodynamic studies performed in patients over the age of 65 years in the Department 19 of HCAV with the aim of reviewing our activity in this population segment between January 2001 and September 2006, and to perform a clinical-urodynamic correlation which will help to find a diagnosis avoiding the need to repeat urodynamic tests.

Methods: We perform a descriptive transversal study with retrospective analysis of data from patients older than 65 years who underwent urodynamic tests. Total population in this age range in our health-care department (HCD) (HCD 19) is 35.260 inhabitants (12% of total population) (Valencia health care agency. Healthcare Management HCD 19. Alicante General University Hospital. May 2005). In this population 41% are males (14.620 people) and 59% females (20.637 people).

Results: Among males, the most frequent urodynamic finding is infravesical obstruction in almost half of the cases (48%), followed by bladder hyperactivity in 197%, and idiopathic bladder hyperactivity and urgency incontinence with 10%, respectively. No reproducibilily of the symptoms reaches 9% of the cases. On the other hand, in females the most frequent finding is mixed urinary incontinence in 25% of the cases, followed by bladder hyperactivity 17%, urgency incontinence 14% and stress urinary incontinence 13%. No reproducibility of the symptoms reached 11%. In the opposite extreme are intravesical obstruction and sphincter/detrusor dyssynergia without any case.

Conclusions: We find that people between 70 and 75 years old are the population group undergoing a greater number of urodynamic tests in our area. The most frequent urodynamic tests performed at our department was pressure/flow study with evaluation of post void residual. Urethra profile was reserved for recurrent stress urinary incontinence after surgery. Obstructive symptoms in males and mixed urinary incontinence in females were the most frequent causes for the indication of urodynamic tests. Our symptom no-reproduceability rates were below 10% of the cases.