Urinary incontinence symptom scores and urodynamic diagnoses

The aim of this study was to determine whether scores on two validated urinary incontinence symptom scales predicted eventual urodynamic diagnoses. Two hundred ninety-three patients undergoing multi-channel urodynamic testing rated their symptoms of urinary incontinence and/or pelvic organ prolapse (POP), using the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire, the Urogenital Distress Inventory, and an obstructive symptom subscale from the long form of the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire. Among the 202 (69%) patients without advance-stage POP, increasing scores on scale items related to stress and urge incontinence predicted increasing frequency of the diagnoses of genuine stress incontinence (GSI) and detrusor instability, respectively. Among the 91 (31%) patients with advance-stage POP, there was no association. Among all patients with GSI, the presence of intrinsic sphincter deficiency could not be predicted by responses to the symptom scales. Scores on the symptom scales were inadequate predictors of eventual urodynamic diagnoses, especially among women with advance-stage POP.