title: Validation of a bladder symptom screening tool in women with incontinence due to overactive bladder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Actionable Bladder Symptom Screening Tool (ABSST) was initially developed to identify patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who could benefit from lower urinary tract assessment and treatment. Assessment of the measurement properties of the ABSST, including its ability to identify patients experiencing bladder symptoms related to overactive bladder (OAB), was undertaken in a general female population.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred women completed the ABSST, OAB Questionnaire Short Form (OAB-q SF), and a patient global impression of severity (PGI-S) scale. Half of the sample had urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), while the other half did not. Descriptive statistics, reliability, and validity were examined, as was sensitivity and specificity of the previous cut-off score established in MS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-three women with UUI/OAB and 47 controls took part (71.0 % Caucasian). Patients with UUI/OAB were older (54.6 vs 40.4 years), had a higher body mass index (31.1 vs 26.4 kg/m(2)), and more comorbid conditions. The Cronbach's alpha reliability of ABSST was 0.90. High correlations with OAB-q SF Symptom Bother and Health Related Quality of Life (r = 0.83 and -0.81 respectively) supported concurrent validity. Using the PGI-S severity scores as a reference, the ABSST was able to distinguish patients with differing severity levels (known-group validity). Physician assessment of the need for further evaluation/treatment showed sensitivity (79 %) and specificity (98 %), supporting a cut-off score of ≥3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The previous MS ABSST scoring algorithm was validated in a non-neurogenic female population. ABSST is a reliable, valid, and sensitive tool for screening women with UUI/OAB.
authors.affiliation: NHS, Department of Urogynaecology, King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK, linda@lindacardozo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cardozo
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Staskin
authors.forename: Brooke
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Currie
authors.forename: Ingela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wiklund
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Globe
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Signori
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dmochowski
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: MacDiarmid
authors.forename: Victor W
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Nitti
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noblett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014481:United States; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D053201:Urinary Bladder, Overactive / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*