ABSTRACT
The correlation between the anatomic site of spinal cord injury and real-time conditions of bladder and urethral function was assessed in order to provide a reasonable basis for the clinical treat-ment of neurogenic bladder. A total of 134 patients with spinal cord injuries (105 males, 29 females;averaged 34.1 years old) were involved in this retrospective analysis, including urodynamic evaluation,clinical examination and imaging for anatomical position, and Bors-Comarr classification. The associa-tions between the levels of injury and urodynamic findings were analyzed. The results showed that mean follow-up duration was 16.7 months (range 8-27 months). Complete spinal cord injuries occurred in 21 cases, and incomplete spinal cord injuries in 113 cases. Of the 43 patients with upper motor neu-ron (UMN) injuries, hyperreflexia and (or) detmsor sphincter dyssynergia were demonstrated in 30 (69.8%), 31 (72.1%) suffered low bladder compliance (less than 12.5 mL/cmH2O), 28 (65.1%) had high detrusor leak point pressures (greater than 40 cmH2O), and 34 (79.1%) had residual urine. Of the 91 pa-tients with lower motor neuron (LMN) injuries, areflexia occurred in 78 (85.7%), high compliance in 75 (82.4%), low leak point pressures in 80 (87.9%), and residual urine in 87 (95.6%), respectively. The as-sociations between the anatomical site of spinal cord injury and urodynamic findings were ill defined. In patients with spinal cord injury, this study revealed a significant association between the level of injury and the type of voiding dysfunction. The anatomical site of spinal cord injury can not be predicted in real-time condition of bladder and urethral function. Management of neurogenic bladder in patients with spinal cord injury must be based on urodynamic findings rather than inferences from the neurologic evaluation.