We examined 56 patients with hernias and 49 patients with other diseases prior to operation. They were all above 50 years of age. The urological screening examination included the patients history of the frequency of urination during night and day time, dysuria, the common risk factors (smoking, coughing, obstipation), obesity, a sonographic measurement of the prostate diameters, a sonographic evaluation of residual urine and the determination of the urinary flow rate. None of the above parameters showed a significant difference between the two groups. Surprisingly more than 60% of all men showed a pathological voiding function (either residual urine and/or a pathological flow rate). Our conclusions are: 1. Patients with inguinal hernias do not show a greater incidence of pathological bladder function than patients of the control group. The benign prostatic hypertrophy as a risk factor for the development of inguinal hernias is most questionable. 2. Because the results showed no significant difference between the two groups, a determination of residual urine prior to operation is not necessary. 3. More than 60% of the men above 50 years showed a pathological voiding function. We recommend a urological screening test for all men above 50 years of age during hospitalisation.
