{{Short description|Record of a person's urinary habits}} thumb|A handwritten bladder diary A '''bladder diary''', also referred to as a '''voiding diary''',<ref name="Brown_et_al_2003">{{cite journal |vauthors=Brown JS, McNaughton KS, Wyman JF, Burgio KL, Harkaway R, Bergner D, Altman DS, Kaufman J, Kaufman K, Girman CJ| date=April 2003 |title=Measurement characteristics of a voiding diary for use by men and women with overactive bladder | journal= Urology| volume=61 | issue=4 |pages=802–9 |doi=10.1016/s0090-4295(02)02505-0 |pmid=12670569}}</ref> '''frequency volume chart''' (FVC),<ref name="BAUSL">{{cite web |url=https://www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/Input%20output%20chart.pdf | date=July 2024 | title= Leaflet No: F24/016 - Urinary Input and Output Chart (Bladder Diary) | publisher= British Association of Urological Surgeons Limited | access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> or '''micturition diary''',<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Groutz A, Blaivas JG, Chaikin DC, Resnick NM, Engleman K, Anzalone D, Bryzinski B, Wein AJ |date=September 2000 |title=Noninvasive outcome measures of urinary incontinence and lower urinary tract symptoms: a multicenter study of micturition diary and pad tests | journal= Journal of Urology|volume=164 | issue=164(3 Pt 1) |pages=698–701 |doi=10.1097/00005392-200009010-00019 |pmid=10953128}}</ref> is a semi-objective log used to record a person’s urinary habits and fluid intake over a defined period, typically 2 to 3 days. Patients document details such as the timing and volume of urination, fluid consumption, episodes of urgency, and any urinary leakage or incontinence.<ref name="GonUI">{{cite book | author1 = M.G. Lucas | author2 = J.L.H.R. Bosch | author3 = F. Cruz | author4 = T.B. Madden | author5 = A. Nambiar | author6 = A. Neisius | author7 = R.S. Pickard | author8 = D.J.M.K. de Ridder | author9 = A. Tubaro | author10 = W.H. Turner | year = 2012 | title= Guidelines on Urinary Incontinence | publisher= European Association of Urology | url=http://www.uroweb.org/gls/pdf/18_Urinary_Incontinence_LR_1%20October%202012.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114171750/http://www.uroweb.org/gls/pdf/18_Urinary_Incontinence_LR_1%20October%202012.pdf | archive-date=14 November 2012 }}</ref><ref name="news-medical.net">{{cite journal |last=Thomas | first=Liji |url=https://www.news-medical.net/health/How-to-Keep-a-Bladder-Diary.aspx#:~:text=By%20Dr.,Urge%20before%20urination| title=How to Keep a Bladder Diary| date=29 December 2022| website=News-Medical.net| access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> The purpose of a bladder diary is to help a healthcare professional to better understand a patient's bladder function and symptoms.<ref name=GMurology>{{cite web | url=https://gmurology.com.au/investigation-instructions-and-forms/bladder-diary/#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20Bladder%20Diary,and%20when%20you%20leak%20urine.| title=Bladder Diary| year=2024| website=GM Urology| access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref>
The bladder diary provides valuable urodiagnostic information that helps healthcare providers evaluate lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), including urinary frequency, urgency, nocturia (nighttime urination), and incontinence. It is often recommended during initial assessments to differentiate between conditions like overactive bladder, polyuria, and urinary retention. Using a bladder diary can guide personalised treatment plans involving lifestyle advice, behavioural therapies (e.g., bladder training, pelvic floor exercises), and medications.
Bladder diaries are a rich source of relatively objective information on the voiding and fluid consumption habits of patients with LUTS. They are useful in identifying potential causes of LUTS, for guiding behaviour modifications, and for assessing treatment outcomes. However, the usefulness of bladder diaries depends largely on complete and accurate data entry. Diaries require significant patient effort to complete, which can result in missing or incomplete data.<ref name-"Cameron_et_al">{{cite journal |last1=Cameron |first1=Anne P |last2=Wiseman |first2=Jonathan B |last3=Smith |first3=Abigail R |last4=Merion |first4= Robert M |last5=Gillespie |first5=Brenda W |last6=Bradley |first6=Catherine S |last7=Amundsen |first7=Cindy L |last8=Yang |first8= Claire C |last9=Lai |first9=H Henry |last10=DeLancey |first10=John OL |last11=Helmuth |first11=Margaret E |last12=Bradley |first12=Megan S |last13=Agochukwu |first13=Nnena |last14=Andreev |first14=Victor P |last15=Kirkali |first15=Ziya |last16=Clemens |first16= J Quentin |last17=LURN Study Group |date=2019 |title=Are three-day voiding diaries feasible and reliable? Results from the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN) cohort |journal=Neurourology and Urodynamics |volume=38 |issue=8 |publisher=Wiley Periodicals |pages=2185–2193 |doi=10.1002/nau.24113 |pmid=31347211 |pmc=6801005 }}</ref>
Incomplete or invalid bladder diary entries were frequently observed, indicating the challenges patients face when using this data collection approach. Using a questionnaire-based patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) serves as a practical substitute for diaries to record voiding frequency and could provide a simpler means of documenting certain symptoms.<ref name ="Flynn_et_al_2022">{{cite journal |last1=Flynn |first1=KE |last2=Wiseman |first2= JB |last3=Helmuth |first3=ME |last4=Smith |first4=AR |last5=Bradley |first5=CS |last6=Cameron |first6=AP |last7=Henry Lai |first7=H |last8=Kirkali |first8=Z |last9=Kreder |first9=KJ |last10=Geynisman-Tan |first10=J |last11=Merion |first11=RM |last12=Weinfurt |first12=KP |last13=LURN Study Group |date=2022 |title=Comparing clinical bladder diaries and recalled patient reports for measuring lower urinary tract symptoms in the symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN) |journal=Neurourology and Urodynamics |volume=41 |issue=8 |publisher=Wiley Periodicald |pages=1711–1721 |doi=10.1002/nau.25030 |format=epub |pmid=36066068 |pmc=9633398 }}</ref>
==Historical background== The concept of systematically recording urinary habits to understand bladder function has evolved significantly over the past century. Early studies on urinary flow and bladder function date back to the early 20th century. In 1932, Ballenger suggested measuring the maximum distance of urine ejection, an early attempt at quantifying voiding behavior.<ref name="Uroflowmeter1954">{{cite journal | author=Drake, W. M. | date=1954 | title=The uroflometer in the study of bladder neck obstructions | journal=The Journal of the American Medical Association | volume=156 | issue = 11 | pages = 1079–1080 | doi=10.1001/jama.1954.02950110041012a | pmid=13201451 }}</ref><ref name="Ballenger et al 1932">{{cite journal | author1= Ballenger, E.G. | author2 =Elder, O.F. | author3= McDonald, H.P. | title= Voiding distance decrease as important early symptom of prostatic obstruction | journal = Southern Medical Journal | date= 1932 | volume= 25 | issue= 8 | pages = 863–868 | doi =10.1097/00007611-193208000-00016 }}</ref>
Various technological advancements followed, including methods to record urine weight over time and calculate flow rate, such as the work of Drake in 1948, and subsequent improvements by Kaufman and Von Garrelts in the 1950s. Drake invented the first uroflometer; he described a device where urine passed into a container suspended by a spring, with the increasing weight of urine recorded over time on a kymographic record, enabling measurement of urinary flow.<ref name="Drake1948">{{cite journal|author=Drake, W.M. Jr. |date=1948| title=The uroflometer; an aid to the study of the lower urinary tract | journal=Journal of Urology | volume=59 | issue = 6 | pages = 650–658 |doi=10.1016/S0022-5347(17)69425-4 |pmid=18906151 }}</ref> Kaufman devised an electrical apparatus that was an improvement to Drake's system,<ref name="Kaufman1957">{{cite journal | author=Kaufman J.J. | title= A new recording uroflometer: a simple automatic device for measuring voiding velocity| journal= Journal of Urology | date= 1957 | volume=78 | issue=1 | pages=97–102 |doi =10.1016/s0022-5347(17)66405-x| pmid= 13449996}}</ref> while Von Garrelts' work was on electrical flow rate calculation.<ref name="Kwonsoo et al 2017">{{cite journal | author1= Kwonsoo Chun | author2 = Su Jin Kim | author3= Sung Tae Cho| title= Noninvasive Medical Tools for Evaluating Voiding Pattern in Real Life (Review Article) | journal = International Neurourology Journal | date= 21 April 2017 | volume= 21 | issue= Suppl 1 | pages = S10–16 | doi = 10.5213/inj.1734860.430| pmid = 28446014 | pmc= 5426433 }}</ref>
In order to better understand patients experiencing lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), clinicians began encouraging them to keep written logs of their urination habits. Building on this practice, the International Continence Society (ICS) proposed a standardized system in 2012, introducing three distinct diary formats:<ref name="Kwonsoo et al 2017"/>
# the micturition time chart, which documents only the timing of voids over a minimum 24-hour period; # the frequency–volume chart, which records both the timing of voids and the volume passed at each instance, also for at least 24 hours; and # the voiding diary (or bladder diary), which provides a more detailed record including voiding times, volumes, episodes of incontinence, pad usage, fluid intake, and the intensity of urgency or leakage.
Among these, the bladder diary has become an especially valuable tool, offering a consistent and structured way to manually track both fluid consumption and urinary output.
Inevitably, efforts to computerise bladder diaries followed; an early system was Compu-Void, a manual unit operated on a DOS-based personal computer with limited memory capacity, marking a significant leap towards automation in urinary monitoring. <ref name="Compu-void">{{cite journal | author1 =Rabin JM | author2= McNett J | author3= Badlani GH | year = 1993 | title= Computerized voiding diary | journal= Neurourology and Urodynamics | volume= 12 | issue= 6 | pages= 541–553 | doi = 10.1002/nau.1930120604 | pmid= 8312939 }}</ref>
== Citations == {{reflist}}
Category:Urology