Urethral sensitivity in the aetiology of sensory urgency

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Abstract
To investigate urethral hypersensitivity as a cause of sensory urgency. Twenty women with sensory urgency and 10 normal controls were enrolled in the study. A urethral conductance catheter was designed comprising three pairs of electrodes. These were accurately located in the urethra using the principle of urethral electrical conductance. The urethral sensory threshold was then measured at three sites along the urethral by applying a stimulatory current across each pair of electrodes in turn. The women with sensory urgency had significantly higher thresholds for urethral stimulation along the whole urethra when compared with the control group. Urethral hypersensitivity was not found to be a feature of sensory urgency and in fact the converse was demonstrated. This has not been described before. High sensory thresholds may occur with small fibre peripheral neuropathies. Thus, peripheral neuropathy is potentially a factor in the, as yet unknown, aetiology of sensory urgency.