Bonney's test--fact or fiction?

A prospective urodynamic study in 61 incontinent women assessed the validity of the Bonney test in the diagnosis of true sphincter weakness stress incontinence. The urodynamic findings in all the patients indicated that the Bonney test produced significant increases in the urethral closure pressure and transmission of impulse from the abdomen to the urethra which indicated occlusion of the urethra rather than elevation of the bladder neck. The Bonney test does not differentiate between patients with sphincter weakness and those with bladder instability and therefore should be discarded.