An interventional study of Bladder ultrasound in Urinary Retention and Healthy Vollunteer, sponsored by Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc- Université Catholique de Louvain. Completed at 1 site in Belgium. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-25.
Sponsored by Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc- Université Catholique de Louvain · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic
Urinary retention is a urological emergency that requires prompt management to prevent complications such as acute kidney injury or bladder rupture. Currently, diagnosis is based on clinical examination, sometimes supplemented by a bladder scanner (a device used to measure bladder volume) or by a more detailed ultrasound examination with measurement of bladder volume. A bladder volume greater than 400 mL (urinary bladder distension), combined with anuria, dysuria, or suprapubic pain, is diagnostic of urinary retention.
The aim of this prospective study protocol is to determine whether simple visualization of the bladder using an ultrasound probe placed between the umbilicus and the pubic bone, performed by trained nurses, can reliably diagnose urinary bladder distension (bladder volume greater than 400 mL). If this hypothesis is confirmed, this approach could enable a simple and rapid diagnosis, thereby facilitating earlier treatment of bladder distension secondary to urinary retention.
241 studies on the registry are indexed under Urinary Retention; 44 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 162 is above the median of 90 across 187 interventional studies indexed under Urinary Retention.
Browse Urinary Retention studies →Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc- Université Catholique de Louvain is the lead sponsor of 350 studies on the registry; 64 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The investigator nurse will place an ultrasound probe in the suprapubic position, transversely and perpendicular to the skin, in the healthy volunteer. Simple visualization of the bladder will be recorded as either visible or not visible. The investigator nurse will then assess whether the examination is considered easy or difficult. A measurement of bladder volume (width, length, and height) will subsequently be performed by a physician investigator trained in ultrasound. The healthy volunteer will then urinate into a graduated container. An ultrasound examination will be performed again to assess whether any post-void residual urine volume is present.
Diagnostic Test: Bladder ultrasound
The procedure involves a simplified bladder ultrasound performed by emergency nurses, followed by an ultrasound performed by the investigating physicians that allows for a complete measurement of the bladder.
Diagnostic performance of simplified ultrasound
The primary objective of this study is to measure bladder volume in healthy volunteers using simplified ultrasound performed by nurses, in order to evaluate the diagnostic performance of bladder ultrasound. Bladder distension (volume ranging from 300 cc to \>500 cc) is a sign of urinary retention. Diagnosis typically relies on comprehensive volumetric bladder ultrasound performed by physicians. In the absence of volumetric ultrasound, if urinary retention is suspected, urinary catheterization (an invasive procedure) is sometimes performed "blindly" for diagnostic purposes to allow for urine drainage. In this context, simplified bladder ultrasound performed by nurses could reduce diagnostic time and patient discomfort.
Time frame: 10 minutes
Ultrasound reproducibility
Bladder ultrasound is performed on more than 100 healthy volunteers by three different nurses and three different physicians
Time frame: 10 minutes
Ease of performing the ultrasound
The three nurses performing the ultrasound must complete a questionnaire regarding the ease of performing the procedure.
Time frame: 10 minutes
Bladder volume versus urine volume
The bladder volume measured by ultrasound is compared to the urine volume after voiding.
Time frame: 10 minutes
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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