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The reliability of the frequency‐volume chart in assessing lower urinary tract symptoms
Author(s) -
Yap Tet L.,
Cromwell David A.,
Brown Christian,
Emberton Mark,
Van Der Meulen Jan
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
bju international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 1464-4096
DOI - 10.1111/j.1464-410x.2007.06864.x
Subject(s) - intraclass correlation , medicine , lower urinary tract symptoms , confidence interval , reliability (semiconductor) , chart , urology , physical therapy , psychometrics , statistics , clinical psychology , prostate , power (physics) , physics , mathematics , cancer , quantum mechanics
OBJECTIVE To assess the test‐retest reliability of a 1‐day frequency‐volume chart (FVC) in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). PATIENTS AND METHODS Men with uncomplicated LUTS presenting to a urology clinic were asked to complete FVCs on three consecutive days. Standard measures of voiding frequency and volume were derived using International Continence Society definitions. Test‐retest reliability of 1‐day voiding behaviour was evaluated with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). We also derived 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each measure, thereby indicating the precision of the measurements produced by a 1‐day chart. RESULTS Of 140 patients with LUTS enrolled, 96 patients (69%) completed three 1‐day FVCs. The frequency and volume measures typically had ICCs of 0.7–0.8; the ‘number of urgent voids’ had the highest ICC. Nocturnal frequency and nocturnal volume were less reliable, with ICCs of 0.59 and 0.60, respectively. However, the 95% CIs around patient measurements tended to be wide. For 24‐h voiding frequency, the true value for a patient might be up to ± three voids away from the observed value for 95% of patients. CONCLUSION The measures of voiding behaviour derived from 1‐day FVCs had sufficient test‐retest reliability to differentiate between high and low levels of voiding symptoms. However, individual measurements could be imprecise, suggesting that, in men with LUTS, a 1‐day FVC cannot be used for diagnosis, or monitoring changes in symptom scores after treatment.