THE ACCURACY OF THE FREQUENCY-VOLUME CHART - COMPARISON OF SELF-REPORTED AND MEASURED VOLUMES

Objective To assess the accuracy of frequency-volume charts recorded b y patients with voiding symptoms by comparing self-reported voiding da ta with the volumes of urine collected in same period, Patients and me thods The study comprised 18 patients (median age 63 years, range 20-8 0) and lasted 3 days, during which the patients recorded their fluid i ntake and voided volumes, and collected 24 h urine samples. Results Th e recorded volumes exceeded or underestimated the collected volume in 49% and 51%, respectively, of the samples, but the agreement between t he accumulated daily voiding volumes on the charts and the volumes col lected was acceptable. The median difference between volumes recorded on the charts and collected as samples was 100 (0-1450) mt per 24 h or 10 (0-117) mt per voiding (not significant). The median daily variati on of creatinine in the urine was 1.1 (0.1-9.4) mmol (not significant) , indicating that the 24 h collection periods were respected, Conclusi on Recordings on frequency-volume charts are valid and useful in the i nvestigation of patients with voiding symptoms.