As part of your male urethral stricture evaluation, your doctor will perform a physical exam, which might include a digital rectal exam where your doctor checks your prostate for enlargement. You may also need certain lab tests:
Blood tests. A sample of your blood might be sent to a lab to check your electrolytes (mineral levels) and testosterone levels. Another type of blood test (serum creatinine) can indicate kidney problems.
Urine tests. Analyzing a sample of your urine can help rule out an infection or other condition that could be causing your symptoms. Sometimes the urine is obtained immediately after a prostate digital rectal exam to help determine if there is infection in the prostate (prostatitis).
After that, your doctor might recommend additional tests to help confirm an enlarged prostate and to rule out other conditions. These tests include:
Urinary flow test. You urinate into a receptacle attached to a machine that measures the strength and amount of your urine flow. Test results help determine over time if your condition is getting better or worse. It is important to have a full bladder and a strong urge to go for this test. On a scale of 1-10 where 1 is no urge and 10 is an accident will happen any moment, it is preferable to have an urgency to urinate of 8, 9 or 10.
Postvoid residual volume test. This test measures whether you can empty your bladder completely. The test can be done using ultrasound or by inserting a catheter into your bladder after you urinate to measure how much urine is left in your bladder.