The safety and efficacy of a new patient-controlled intraurethral valved catheter have been reported in Neurourology and Urodynamics.

An internally-valved catheter is yet to be approved for usein male patients, and catheter design has changed little since the invention of the Foley (indwelling) catheter in the 1930s. The CymActive Bladder Management System (BMS) is a self-retaining, intraurethral catheter with a patient-controlled magnetic valve that enables cyclical bladder filling and emptying without external appliances. Ingenion Medical obtained European marketing approval for this device in May 2014 and Homan et al. report the results of a prospective pilot study into its use.

Primary end points for overall success included proper initial placement, successful bladder emptying, freedom from adverse device-related events requiring device removal and successful removal that was not associated with adverse events. Of the 23 patients enrolled in the study, nine were considered overall successes. Proper placement was achieved in 22 participants, 17 of whom had urinary retention from non-neurogenic causes. Of the non-neurogenic cohort, 16 had a postvoid residual volume of ≤75 ml during catheterization. A total of 33 adverse events were recorded in 15 patients and 13 had the device removed. Removal from all 23 patients was uneventful and bladder inflammation was minimal.

These results show that the CymActive BMS can help men manage acute urinary retention from non-neurogenic causes in a safe and effective way.