DO REPORTED MICTURITION SYMPTOMS ON THE AMERICAN-UROLOGICAL-ASSOCIATION QUESTIONNAIRE CORRELATE WITH 24-HOUR HOME UROFLOWMETRY RECORDINGS

Purpose: Patient subjective descriptions of micturition habits using t he American Urological Association (AUA) symptom index were compared w ith uroflowmetry recordings obtained during a 24-hour period. Material s and Methods: In a prospective study, the AUA questionnaire was given twice to 42 men. All micturitions during a typical 24-hour period wer e continuously recorded by a home uroflowmetry system. Daytime frequen cy, strength and intermittency of the stream, and nocturia were calcul ated from the recorded data, which were correlated with the matching q uestionnaire answers. Results: Except for nocturia, there was no corre lation between the answers and recorded findings. Conclusions: Men are unable to quantify correctly their own clinical status. The study res ults cast doubt on the validity of the self-administered AUA survey to reflect clinical micturition.