title: Assessing muscle function of the male pelvic floor using real time ultrasound.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Following surgical removal of the prostate, there may be compromise to the function of the pelvic floor muscles causing continence problems. Assessing the pelvic floor muscles of male patients can be an invasive process that causes discomfort, making it worthwhile to evaluate alternatives to the conventional method of Digital Rectal Examination (DRE). Real time ultrasound (RTUS) has been used with female patients as an alternative to internal assessments. This paper examines the reliability and validity of assessing the male pelvic floor using abdominal RTUS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-eight men (mean age 66.2) with a history of treatment for prostate cancer were recruited to the study. They were assessed via DRE and RTUS. Findings from the procedures were correlated for evaluation of validity, and the RTUS readings were repeated by different therapists to assess reliability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Measurements on screen correlated moderately with DRE findings (r = 0.57, P = 0.002), and RTUS was found to have good reliability (Intra-class Correlation Coefficient = 0.90). Continent men had more movement of the bladder wall on RTUS than those who were incontinent (P = 0.043). Scar tissue and an inability to maintain a moderately full bladder were found to cause the most difficulty in getting a complete picture of pelvic floor movement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RTUS can be used clinically to examine male pelvic floor function, and its use would be enhanced once it has been established by DRE that a true pelvic floor contraction is occurring. RTUS can give an indication of pelvic floor function as an alternative measurement method when DRE is contraindicated.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia. Irmina.nahon@canberra.edu.au
authors.forename: Irmina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nahon
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Waddington
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dorey
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D051517:Digital Rectal Examination; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D015588:Observer Variation; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology