Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common in men and women. The Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN) sought to create a brief, clinically relevant tool to improve upon existing measurements of LUTS in both men and women.
Using a modified Delphi methodology during an expert consensus meeting, we reduced the LURN Comprehensive Assessment of Self-Reported Urinary Symptoms (CASUS) questionnaire to a very brief set of clinically-relevant items measuring LUTS. The sum score of these items was evaluated by comparing to the American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUA-SI), the Urinary Distress Inventory Short Form (UDI-6; in women only), and LUTS screening questions from CASUS, using Pearson correlations, regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.
The 10-item LURN-Symptom Index (LURN SI-10) assesses urinary frequency, nocturia, urgency, incontinence, bladder pain, voiding, and post-micturition symptoms (score range: 0-38). The correlation between the LURN SI-10 score and the AUA-SI was 0.77 in men and 0.70 in women. The UDI-6 and LURN SI-10 were highly correlated in women (r=0.76). The LURN SI-10 showed good accuracy in predicting both moderate and severe LUTS as defined by the AUA-SI (area under the ROC curve [AUC] range 0.82-0.90). Similar accuracy was shown in predicting different levels of symptom status using the UDI (AUC range 0.84-0.86).
The LURN SI-10 correlates well with the AUA-SI and UDI-6. It includes items related to a broader spectrum of LUTS, particularly incontinence, bladder pain, and post-micturition symptoms, and applies to both men and women.
The Journal of urology. 2019 Jul 31 [Epub ahead of print]
David Cella, Abigail R Smith, James W Griffith, Ziya Kirkali, Kathryn E Flynn, Catherine S Bradley, J Eric Jelovsek, Brenda W Gillespie, Brian T Helfand, Pooja Talaty, Kevin P Weinfurt, LURN Study Group
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois., Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan., National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland., Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin., University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa., Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan., NorthShore University Health System, Glenview, Illinois.