The reliability of the frequency-volume chart in assessing lower urinary tract symptoms.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the test-retest reliability of a 1-day frequency-volume chart (FVC) in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).


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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Yap
Tet L
TL
Clinical Effectiveness Unit, Royal College of Surgeons of England, University College Hospital, 35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, UK.
Cromwell
David A
DA
Brown
Christian
C
Emberton
Mark
M
van der Meulen
Jan
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003625:Data Collection / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D053448:Prostatism / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014554:Urination / Q000502:physiology*; D014563:Urodynamics / Q000502:physiology*