Validation of a 3-item OAB awareness tool

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to validate a short awareness tool to assist patients in identifying if they have bothersome overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms.

Methods: This secondary analysis study utilised data from a cross-sectional study of adult patients presenting for primary care visits. Patients completed an 8-item OAB screener. The clinician probed for urinary frequency, urgency, nocturia and urgency urinary incontinence. If the patient screened positive or reported the presence of at least one OAB symptom, additional questions were asked regarding lifestyle and coping issues. The clinician then diagnosed the patient as having No OAB, Possible OAB, or Probable OAB. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to assess the feasibility of deriving a shorter screener to raise awareness of OAB among primary care patients.

Results: The 1,260 patients in this study were 51.6±17.0 years old; 62% were women; and most (89%) were Caucasian. Clinicians diagnosed 12.1% of patients with Probable OAB, 19.7% with Possible OAB and 68.3% with No OAB. The logistic regression models were performed with OAB clinical diagnosis as the dependent variable comparing No OAB versus Probable OAB. Three items which included the symptoms of urinary frequency, urinary urgency and urine loss associated with a strong desire to urinate performed well as an awareness tool. A cut-point of four provided the most appropriate sensitivity (82%) and specificity (91%) when identifying Probable OAB and yielded adequate model fit. The final 3-item OAB Awareness Tool (OAB-V3) is gender neutral.

Conclusion: The 3-item OAB Awareness Tool (OAB-V3) correctly identified patients with symptoms of OAB with high sensitivity and specificity and can be used as a conversation starter for patients with symptoms of OAB.