Diagnostic evaluation of urinary incontinence in geriatric patients

In most cases, the evaluation of urinary incontinence requires only a history, a physical examination, urinalysis and measurement of postvoid residual urine volume. The initial purposes of the evaluation are to identify conditions requiring referral or specialized work-up and to detect and treat reversible causes that may be present. If the patient does not appear to require referral and a reversible cause is not identified, the next step is to categorize the patient's symptoms as typical of either urge or stress incontinence and treat the patient accordingly. If treatment fails or a presumptive diagnosis of urge or stress incontinence cannot be reached, the final step would be to perform more sophisticated tests or refer the patient for testing to define the cause and determine the best treatment.