Improving the diagnosis of genuine stress incontinence in symptomatic women with negative cough stress test: the Distal Urethral Electrical Conductance test (DUEC) revisited

Abstract

 This retrospective descriptive study was performed to assess the practice of using the distal urethral electrical conductance (DUEC) test to objectively demonstrate urinary incontinence in symptomatic women with a negative cough stress test on examination. One hundred women had stable bladders on cystometry (CMG). Genuine stress incontinence (GSI) was diagnosed during CMG in 45 (45%). DUEC performed prior to cystometry had revealed stress incontinence in an additional 13 with negative CMG, thereby improving the diagnosis of GSI by 13%. The test detected urge incontinence in one (1%). The DUEC test improves the detection of stress incontinence. However, it should not be considered as an alternative to cystometry, but as an additional test when stress incontinence cannot be demonstrated clinically.