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The optimal duration of frequency‐volume charts related to compliance and reliability
Author(s) -
van Haarst Ernst P.,
Bosch J. L. H. Ruud
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
neurourology and urodynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.918
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1520-6777
pISSN - 0733-2467
DOI - 10.1002/nau.22410
Subject(s) - medicine , reliability (semiconductor) , standard error , surgery , zoology , mathematics , statistics , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
Aims To assess Frequency–volume charts (FVCs) for the yield of additional recorded days and the ideal duration of recording related to compliance and reliability. Methods Of 500 consecutive urologic outpatients willing to complete a 7‐day FVC, 378 FVCs were evaluable. During seven consecutive days every voiding time and volume were recorded. Missed entries were indicated with a coded letter, thereby assessing the true frequency and compliance. Reliability is the agreement of the day‐to‐day FVC parameters with the 7‐day FVC pattern. Single‐day reliability was assessed and used in the Spearman–Brown formula. Results FVCs of 228 male and 150 females were evaluated. Mean age was 55.2 years (standard deviation [SD]: 16.2 years), and mean 24‐hr urine production was 1,856 ml (SD: 828 ml). The percentage of patients with complete FVCs decreased from 78% on day 2 to 58% on day 7, and dropped below 70% after 4 days. Single‐day reliability was r = 0.63 for nocturnal urine production, r = 0.72 for 24‐hr urine production, and r = 0.80 for mean voided volume. At 5 days, reliability of 90% was achieved for all parameters. Conclusions With each additional day, FVCs showed a decrease in compliance and an increase in reliability. At day 3, reliability of 80% was achieved for all FVC parameters, but compliance dropped to 73%. Beyond 5 days, the yield of additional recorded days was limited. We advocate an FVC duration of 3 days, but the duration may be shortened or extended depending on the goal of the FVC. Neurourol. Urodynam. 33:296–301, 2014 . © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.