Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms

The term lower urinary tract symptoms ( engl. lower urinary tract symptoms, LUTS), and pathologies of the lower urinary tract, various complaints summarizes that can occur in mostly older male patients in the urine collection and emptying of the bladder. Of the 12 million men in Germany who are over 50 years old, suffering about 30 % below the lower urinary tract symptoms requiring treatment. This refers to the following clinical pictures: Delayed onset of voiding despite strong urge to urinate, to press the need to empty the bladder ( Pressmiktion ), the feeling that the bladder will not completely empty ( Restharnempfinden ), a weak urine stream, nachtröpfelnder urine, long duration emptying the bladder and a short time after the onset of urination urination again. The urge to urinate is sometimes so suddenly that not the toilet in time can be achieved. This is referred to as urge incontinence.

Possible causes of the urological examination can provide information, are an enlargement of the prostate ( prostatic hyperplasia), inflammation or a tumor of the bladder or the prostate, and a constriction of the bladder neck with a large normal prostate. The treatment depends on the corresponding cause.

In cats, a corresponding disease complex of the lower urinary tract is referred to as Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease.