Glossary
Uroflowmetry measures the flow of urine. It tracks how fast urine flows, how much flows out, and how long it takes.
Uroflowmetry
Urine flow rate is volume of urine expelled via urethra per unit time. Max flow rate is the maximum measured value of urine flow rate.
Max Flow Rate
Total volume of urine expelled via the urethra during a single void.
Voided Volume
What is IPSS (International Prostate Symptom Score)?
The International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) is based on the answers to seven questions concerning urinary symptoms. Each question is assigned points form 0 to 5 indicating the severity of the particular symptom. The total score can therefore vary from 0 to 35 (asymptomatic to very symptomatic). Although there are presently no standard recommendations into grading patients with mild, moderate or severe symptoms, patients can be tentatively classified as follows:
0-7: mildly symptomatic
8-19: moderately symptomatic
20-35: severely symptomatic
The International Consensus Committee (ICC) recommends the use of only a single question to assess a patient’s quality of life. The answers to this question range from ‘delighted’ to ‘terrible’ or 0-6. Although this single question may or may not capture the global impact of BPH symptoms on quality of life, it may serve as a valuable starting point for a doctor-patient conversation.
Source:
American Urological Association
European Association of Urology
Korean Urological Association
Medscape
National Health Service
IPSS Score
What is OABSS (Overactive Bladder Symptom Score)?
The OABSS is based on a symptom assessment questionnaire designed to quantify OAB symptoms as a single score, and contains questions about the following 4 symptoms of OAB: daytime frequency, nighttime frequency, urgency and urge incontinence.
In this tool, the patients are asked to rate their symptom severity on a Likert scale with the maximum (worst) scores of 2, 3, 4, and 5. The total score ranges from 0 to 15, and a more severe OAB is indicated by a higher score.
The scoring system is designed to place more weight on urgency and urgency incontinence than on frequency. The questionnaire has been shown to satisfy psychometric criteria for reliability.
OABSS Score
What is a Bladder (Voiding) Diary?
A bladder diary is a tool used by you and your healthcare professional to better understand your incontinence symptoms. It helps you track and know how much and when you drink liquids, how much and when you urinate, when you have that “gotta go” feeling, and how much and when you leak urine.
When is a Bladder Diary used?
You can use a Bladder Diary before or after visiting with your healthcare provider. Having a Bladder Diary during your first visit can be helpful because it describes your daily habits, your urinary symptoms and demonstrates how they are affecting your life. Your doctor will use this information to help treat you.