Urine leakage related to physical fatigue in women with urinary stress incontinence

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of urine leakage related to physical fatigue in women presenting with urinary stress incontinence using a specific questionnaire, and to assess its association with the Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms questionnaire and urodynamic findings. Design: Prospective observational descriptive study. Setting: University hospital (urodynamics laboratory). Participants: Sixty‐one women presenting with urinary stress incontinence and 10 continent women. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: The participants underwent urethral pressure profile measurement and completed a Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms questionnaire and a specific questionnaire focused on urine leakage related to physical fatigue. Results: Twenty‐three (37%) women with urinary stress incontinence claimed to exhibit urine leakage related to physical fatigue more often than one third of the time and 47% claimed to exhibit urinary leakage only after more than one cough. There was a positive correlation between the findings of the specific questionnaire and the presence of a sharp decrease in urethral pressure following repeated cough efforts: question #1 (P = 0.02); question #2 (P = 0.00002); question #3 (P = 0.04). Conclusion: There is a strong association between this questionnaire focused on urine leakage related to fatigue and the presence of a decrease in urethral pressure following repeated coughs.