The accuracy of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of superficial bladder tumors in patients presenting with hematuria.

Abstract

Ultrasonography has been proposed as the initial test for detection of bladder carcinomas in patients presenting with hematuria, but the accuracy of transabdominal ultrasonography in the diagnosis of superficial bladder carcinoma has not been assessed. We prospectively evaluated 173 patients presenting to the outpatient department with painless hematuria by transabdominal ultrasound and cystoscopy. The tolerability of cystoscopy was also assessed. Of 148 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 39 with bladder carcinoma were identified by cystoscopy as having bladder carcinoma, while 34 were identified by ultrasonography. For ultrasonography, the sensitivity (87.1%), specificity (98.1%), positive predictive value (94.4%) and negative predictive value (95.4%) were good but not as good as cystoscopy. While the tolerability of cystoscopy is relatively low, it is still superior to ultrasonography in the evaluation of the bladder as a possible source of hematuria.