Clinical diagnosis and evaluation of female urinary incontinence

Objectives. - To establish recommendations on relevant methods for diagnosis and evaluation of female urinary incontinence (UI). Material and methods. - A literature review on Medline referenced papers between 1980 and 2009 was performed. Furthermore, the present recommendations derived form these of the SIFUD-PP published in 2001 and of the IUGA published in 2008. Results. - Patient interview allow to evocate the diagnosis of UI and to precise the type. The cough stress test is simple, reliable and reproducible for the diagnosis of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). An angle > 30 during the Q-Tip test define uretral hypermobility. The voiding diary is a simple, non-invasive and cost-effective method which has to be proposed before urodynamics. The pad test allows an objective evaluation of UI severity. The use of at least one validated questionnaire for symptoms and quality of life is recommended. Conclusion. - Clinical diagnosis and evaluation of female urinary incontinence is based on patient interview, cough stress test, clinical evaluation of uretral mobility (Q-Tip test), voiding diary, pad test and validated questionnaires for symptoms and quality of life. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.