Urodynamic appraisal of vaginal versus rectal pressure recordings as indication of intra-abdominal pressure changes.

To compare intravaginal versus intrarectal pressure recordings as an indication of intra-abdominal pressure changes, simultaneous recording of the vaginal, bladder, and rectal pressures were obtained in 20 women. The transmitted pressure changes recorded from the inner and middle thirds of the vagina strongly correlated with the transmitted pressure changes recorded from the bladder (r = 0.99) when compared with the observed correlation between bladder and rectal pressure recordings (r = 0.91). The vaginal pressure recording is an easier and accurate alternative to intrarectal pressure recordings for approximating abdominal pressure changes during urodynamic testing.