Intra‐ and inter‐ observer variations in classification of urinary flow curve patterns

Abstract

Abstract To assess the validity of classification of urinary flow curve patterns, six doctors at different levels of urodynamic education were asked to classify 176 urinary flow curves. The curves had been obtained from elderly, randomly selected men without voiding problems. Five flow curve patterns were defined both graphically and in writing, and the six observers were asked to classify the 176 curves into one of the five categories. The agreement between the six observers was calculated as a frequency, and this value was corrected for the chance agreement. Some of the observers were asked to reevaluate the curves after 3 months, and the interobserver variation was calculated. We conclude that if of any value, the classification of urinary flow curves must be undertaken by urodynamically trained persons. In that case there is a good chance that the classification can be reproduced by any other urodynamically trained person.