How should we address the diagnosis of overactive bladder in women?

Determine the degree of completion, agreement and diagnostic performance of various instruments for assessing the presence and intensity of urgency and other symptoms of idiopathic overactive bladder (OAB) and determine which is the best diagnostic combination.

Observational, noninterventional, cross-sectional multicentre study on 247 women aged 18 years or older, with a clinical diagnosis of OAB, evaluated in 55 functional urology and urodynamic units. The women completed the Patient Perception of Intensity of Urgency Scale questionnaire, an independent bladder control self-assessment questionnaire (B-SAQ), the Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short-Form and a 3-day voiding diary (VD3d), and they underwent a urodynamic study (UDS). The degree of completion and agreement among the instruments was assessed using the Kappa index (95% CI) and Cramér's V. The diagnostic performance of each tool and their combination was studied using absolute frequencies of positive cases for each OAB symptom.

The patients mean age was 57.66 years (SD, 13.43). There was a high degree of completion (>85%). The agreement among the instruments was poor or moderate, and there was no agreement with the UDS. The best combination of tools for the diagnosis of OAB in women was the B-SAQ and VD3d.

The degree of completion of all instruments was high, the agreement between them was poor-moderate and not significant for the UDS. The instruments that had the best diagnostic performance for assessing urgency and other OAB symptoms, providing data on their severity and discomfort, were the B-SAQ and the VD3d.