Objective To develop a questionnaire that is sensitive to was good, with the instrument easily differentiating clinical and non-clinical populations. Criterion val-changes in the symptomatology of the female lower urinary tract, particularly urinary incontinence, pro-idity, as tested against frequency/volume charts and pad-test data, was acceptable, with Kappa coefficients viding an instrument that can characterize symptom severity, impact on quality of life and evaluate treat-of 0.29-0.79 for frequency/volume data and Spearman rank correlations of 0.50-0.97 and ment outcome. Patients, subjects and methods Items covering as wide 0.31-0.67 for frequency/volume and pad-test data, respectively. The reliability of the instrument was a range of urinary symptoms as possible were devised after consultation with clinicians and a health scien-good; a Cronbach's alpha of 0.78 indicated that the symptom questions had high internal consistency, tist, a literature review and discussion with patients. Additional items assessed the degree of 'bother' that while stability was excellent, with 78% of symptoms and problems answered identically on two occasions, symptoms were causing. Eighty-five women with clinical symptoms attending for urodynamic assessment and Spearman rank correlations of 0.86 and 0.90, respectively. and 20 women with none were asked to self-complete the questionnaire. The instrument's validity wasConclusion The instrument has good psychometric validity and reliability. The stability demonstrated at assessed by interviewing patients and measuring levels of missing data, comparing symptom scores between baseline and the ability to differentiate clearly between community and clinical populations suggest that it clinical and non-clinical populations and comparison with frequency/volume charts and data from pad tests.should be ideal for measuring changes following therapeutic intervention. The addition of life-impact items The instrument's reliability was assessed by measuring both internal consistency and stability, using a 2-week and a 'bother' factor may provide the opportunity to identify those women who wish treatment for their test-retest analysis. Results The questionnaire was completed by the patients symptoms; this dimension requires further exploration. Keywords Lower urinary tract, incontinence, quality of with a mean of only 2% of items missing; most questions were easily understood. Construct validity life, questionnaire measurements, such as pad tests or cystometry. This

Any self-reported problem relating to vision may constitute a quality of life issue. A modular approach to item selection may provide the flexibility to investigate vision-related quality of life in a wide range of clinical settings, allowing detailed assessment of specific problems and also cross-study comparisons where appropriate.

Objective To compare the use of outpatient and inpatient procedures in the investigation of abnormal Design A randomised controlled trial.Setting Two university teaching hospitals.Participants Four hundred women with abnormal uterine bleeding (postmenopausal bleeding, menorrhagia, intermenstrual bleeding, postcoital bleeding, or irregular periods) above the age of 35 years, between June 1993 and January 1995.1. Incidence of detection of abnormal pathology by vaginal ultrasound, outpatient hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy compared with inpatient hysteroscopy and curettage; 2. Number of 'lesions' (e.g. fibroids, polyps, endometrial hyperplasia or malignancy) found by hysteroscopy that would have been missed by the combination of endometrial sampling and ultrasound; 3. Comparison of the quality of tissue obtained for histology by outpatient endometrial sampling and inpatient curettage; and 4. An evaluation of patient acceptability of outpatient and inpatient procedures.

Objective To determine the prevalence and natural hisreported by 4.7% of children at 11-12 years and 1.1% at 15-16 years. Some of the children reporting tory of urinary symptoms and incontinence among healthy adolescent schoolchildren.daywetting and nocturnal enuresis at 15-16 years old had not reported these symptoms at 11-12 years Subjects and methods A prospective longitudinal study using a confidential questionnaire administered to an old. Conclusion Urinary symptoms become less prevalent original cohort of 1176 local schoolchildren at 11-12 years and again at 15-16 years old.with age, but are reported by a significant number of healthy schoolchildren. Results There was a decrease in the prevalence of urinary symptoms with age. Daywetting was reported by Keywords Prevalence, adolescence, urinary incontinence, enuresis 12.5% of children aged 11-12 years and 3.0% of children aged 15-16 years. Nocturnal enuresis was the study was approved by the local research and ethics Introduction committee. The children completed a simple questionnaire while under the supervision of one investigator, Nocturnal enuresis and daywetting are common symptoms presenting to healthcare workers. There have been and care was taken to ensure confidentiality. The questionnaire was administered when the children were aged many studies reporting the prevalence of nocturnal enuresis and to a lesser extent daywetting in children 11-12 years and again at 15-16 years. During the first phase of the study, children in two of [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Most of these studies have been cross-sectional rather than longitudinal and have concentrated on the schools were asked to complete frequency charts to validate part of the questionnaire. Daywetting was children younger than 12 years. Reported prevalences vary and have been shown to decline with age for both defined as wetting with some regularity and nocturnal enuresis as bedwetting at least once every 3 months. daywetting and nocturnal enuresis [7]. Nocturnal enuresis, defined as wetting at least once a month, hasThe results were assessed statistically using x2 and Fisher's exact tests as appropriate, and McNemar tests a reported frequency of 4% in 12-year-old girls, and 5% in 12-year-old boys [5]. Similar frequencies of 3% for for comparing children at 11-12 and 15-16 years. Corresponding 95% CIs were also obtained for the chi-13-year-old girls and 4% for 13-year-old boys have been reported elsewhere [6]. Daywetting has been reported as square and McNemar tests. To allow for the multiple significance testing, test-wise P-values were only occurring in 1% of 12-year-old boys and girls [5]. The prevalence of other urinary symptoms is less well known considered significant if they were <0.005. [8]. Because of the paucity of information concerning urinary symptoms and incontinence in the older age Results group, a longitudinal study was conducted to determine the natural history of urinary symptoms during adoOf the children who took part in the original survey, 940 (411 boys and 529 girls) completed the ...

Objective To compare the use of outpatient and inpatient procedures in the investigation of abnormal Design A randomised controlled trial.Setting Two university teaching hospitals.Participants Four hundred women with abnormal uterine bleeding (postmenopausal bleeding, menorrhagia, intermenstrual bleeding, postcoital bleeding, or irregular periods) above the age of 35 years, between June 1993 and January 1995.1. Incidence of detection of abnormal pathology by vaginal ultrasound, outpatient hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy compared with inpatient hysteroscopy and curettage; 2. Number of 'lesions' (e.g. fibroids, polyps, endometrial hyperplasia or malignancy) found by hysteroscopy that would have been missed by the combination of endometrial sampling and ultrasound; 3. Comparison of the quality of tissue obtained for histology by outpatient endometrial sampling and inpatient curettage; and 4. An evaluation of patient acceptability of outpatient and inpatient procedures.