Symptom-based diagnosis of overactive bladder: an overview

Abstract

The current definition of overactive bladder (OAB) is “urgency,with or without urge incontinence, usually with frequency andnocturia in the absence of an underlying metabolic or pathologiccondition.” Urgency, in turn, is defined as a “sudden, compellingdesire to pass urine that is difficult to defer.” While these definitionsprovide the framework for making a clinical diagnosis ofOAB, they rely on subjective assessment of the symptoms by thepatient. As well, the symptoms of OAB can be similar to thoseseen in other conditions, such as urinary tract infection, benignprostatic enlargement and bladder cancer. These other potentialdiagnoses should be ruled out in a noninvasive manner beforemaking a diagnosis of OAB.