Can the sensory threshold toward electrical stimulation be used to quantify the subjective perception of bladder filling? A study in young healthy volunteers.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether electrosensation can be used as a quantitative measurement for the sensations felt during bladder distension.
METHODS: A total of 48 healthy volunteers were examined. Sensations of bladder distension were evaluated during medium-fill cystometry. Electrosensation was quantified by obtaining electrical thresholds at different sites in the lower urinary tract with constant current stimulation at 2.5 and 95 Hz.
RESULTS: Both currents were perceived differently. Thresholds at 95 Hz were significantly higher than at 2.5 Hz for each location. With neither current could a significant correlation be found between the parameters of filling perception and electrosensation in the lower urinary tract.
CONCLUSIONS: Although the use of electrical thresholds is a valuable technique in the diagnosis of neuropathic disorders in the lower urinary tract, at the current settings it cannot be used to quantify the perception of bladder filling.