[Diagnosing urinary incontinence in the elderly woman]

The diagnostic work-up of the elderly incontinent woman should always be done on an individual basis. Temporary episodes of incontinence caused by the use of certain drugs or by difficulty in getting to a toilet can be identified by a stepwise diagnostic approach and easily dealt with, for example, by replacing the drug by another, or effecting changes in the environment that improve the patient's access to a toilet. A mandatory aspect of the systematic diagnostic work-up is an attempt to achieve a positive effect through the use, for example, of anticholinergics or local hormone replacement therapy, so as to spare the patient stressful examinations.