Re: Oelke M, Höfner K, Jonas U, Ubbink D, de la Rosette J, Wijkstra H. 2006. Ultrasound measurement...

Neurourology and Urodynamics 25:318 (2006)

REVIEWCOMMENT

Re: Oelke M, H˛fner K, Jonas U, Ubbink D, de la Rosette J,Wijkstra H. 2006. Ultrasound Measurement of DetrusorWallThickness in Healthy Adults. Neurourol Urodynam 25:308^317

Ultrasound measurement of detrusor wall thickness hasbeen proposed as a method of measuring the e¡ects of bladderoutlet obstruction and detrusor overactivity on the detrusormuscle. Unfortunately the reliability of this technique hasnot been rigorously investigated.This paper de¢nes with greatcare the detrusor muscle layer imaged in the bladder wallusing a high-frequency 7.5 MHz ultrasound probe.The impor-tance of any test is to know the normal range, changes in themeasurement due to sex or age and this study answers all thesequestions. The major factor that changes detrusor wall thick-ness most dramatically is thinning of the bladder wall relatedto increasing intravesical volume. This study reports thechanges in detrusor wall thickness that are essential to be

known if a transabdominal ultrasound approach is to beundertaken. The only question remaining to be answered isthe di¡erences in detrusor wall thickness for disease groupsat bladder volumes greater than 250 ml.This is an important baseline paper in a developing ¢eld.

VikramKhullar*DepartmentofObstetricsGynaecology,MintWing

St.Mary’sHospitalNorfolkPlace,London

UnitedKingdom

No con£ict of interest reported by the author(s).*Correspondence to: Vik Khullar, Consultant Urogynaecologist, Depart-ment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Mint Wing, St. Mary’s Hospital,Norfolk Place, LondonW2 1PG,United Kingdom.E-mail: vik.khullar@imperial.ac.ukPublished online 6 July 2006 inWiley InterScience(www.interscience.wiley.com)DOI 10.1002/nau.20308

�2006Wiley-Liss, Inc.