Diagnostic urethrocystoscopy: A five-year review of indications and findings in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Urethrocystoscopy is defined as endoscopic visualization of the urethra and the urinary bladder for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment of diseases of the lower urinary tract.
Objective: To study the indications, diagnosis and complications of diagnostic urethrocystoscopy in our hospital.

Materials and method: It was a retrospective descriptive study of all patients who had diagnostic urethrocystoscopy in our hospital between January 2016 to December 2021. Institutional ethical clearance was obtained. Particulars of the patients were collected from the operating theatre register and their medical case files were retrieved. Information about the patients’ bio-data, presentation, clinical/radiologic diagnosis, urethrocystoscopic findings and its complications were extracted.
The generated data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21 and results presented in tables, text and figures.

Results: A total of 673 patients had urethrocystoscopy/cystoscopy during the period out of which we recovered full medical records of 592 patients whose data were analyzed.
The patient’s age ranges between 9 to 86years with mean age of 43.7±9.3SD years and M: F = 3.9:1. The indications for diagnostic urethrocystoscopy were lower urinary tract symptoms [LUTS] (48.8%), bladder tumour (29.2%) and haematuria (11.1%) among others. The urethrocystoscopic diagnoses were bladder tumour (37.8%), prostate enlargement (19.1%) and urethral stricture (6.9%) among others. The complications recorded were urethral/bladder bleeding (2.4%), urosepsis (1.4%) and urethral/bladder injury (0.3%).

Conclusion: Urethrocystoscopy is a necessary tool for comprehensive practice of urology owing to its vital role in the diagnosis and treatment of different kinds of lower urinary tract diseases and it is generally a safe procedure.