Contemporary clinical assessment requires an evaluation of
the severity of symptoms, impact upon quality of life and
the identification of contributory or causative factors. Most
men with urethral stricture disease will present with voiding
lower urinary tract symptoms. There may be a feeling of
incomplete emptying as obstruction slowly develops, with
or without haematuria or urinary tract infection as a
consequence. A number of men also experience postmicturion
dribbling.
The use of symptom scores as adjuncts to other objective
parameters, such as uroflowmetry are widely used in
the assessment of stricture disease. Currently, patient’s
symptoms are often quantified using the American Urological
Association symptom index, which is not
specifically validated for urethral stricture disease. The
AUA symptom index in the assessment of urethroplasty
outcomes is comparable to the results of uroflowmetry
alone providing a greater sensitivity when used in
combined with uroflowmetry .