Voiding diary for the evaluation of urinary incontinence and lower urinary tract symptoms: prospective assessment of patient compliance and burden.
OBJECTIVE
Voiding diary duration may be related to patient compliance and burden. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated patient compliance and burden.


METHODS
Between January and July 2002, we prospectively evaluated 162 patients (57 males and 105 females, mean age 53.0, range 20-81 years) with stress urinary incontinence or lower urinary tract symptoms. At the initial visit, all patients underwent a detailed clinical evaluation including an International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) assessment and were randomly requested to complete 2-day, 3-day, or 7-day voiding diaries (the three study groups). At the second visit, a simple self-administered questionnaire was completed by all patients. The questionnaire included 11 items on subject demographics and voiding diary-keeping.


RESULTS
No significant differences were found in either the accuracy of diary-keeping or the daily average number of omissions when the three groups were compared. However, as the diary duration increased, the mean burden scores increased (P = 0.005), and the mean preferred duration of the diary in the 7-day group was significantly higher than that of the 2-day or 3-day groups (P < 0.001). After categorizing patients into two groups according to the degree of patient burden, members of the group with a greater perceived burden were found to have a significantly higher I-PSS quality of life score (P = 0.045) and to have kept a diary for a longer time (P = 0.038).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that keeping a diary for 7 days may increase patient burden and thus, we recommend that the 7-day diary should be reduced to cover fewer days.
Ku
Ja Hyeon
JH
Department of Urology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jeong
In Gab
IG
Lim
Dae Jung
DJ
Byun
Seok-Soo
SS
Paick
Jae-Seung
JS
Oh
Seung-June
SJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014554:Urination; D014570:Urologic Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*