One-hour pad-weighing test for objective assessment of female urinary incontinence

Abstract

In a 16-month period the one-hour pad-weighing test proposed by the International Continence Society was used in 126 instances for objective assessment of the degree of incontinence in 81 women with urinary incontinence. The present study deals with applicability of the test, patient compliance, reproducibility of the test, and comparison of test results with conventional methods for objective assessment of urinary incontinence. In spite of a rather high mean age (55 years), 73 patients (88%) were able to perform the entire test program. In 85 tests (68%) the patients indicated the result to be in accordance with the daily leakage. The reproducibility of the test was relatively good (r = 0.68; P less than .01), but significantly better (r = 0.93; P less than .0001) when taking into consideration the bladder volume at test start and the diuresis during the test. When compared with the pad-weighing test, the stress test and voiding-cystourethrography gave false negative results in approximately half the cases. The one-hour pad-weighing test was found to be practical and useful in quantifying the degree of leakage in women with urinary incontinence.