Objective
To asses the prevalence of urinary difficulty and the relationship of urinary difficulty and type of brain lesion from multicenter prospective epidemiologic study. Method: 394 patients including outpatients and inpatients who visited from multicenter department of rehabilitation medicine from January 2008 to June 2008 were evaluated. Study based on international prostate symptom score (IPSS) and Quality of life (QoL) score were assessed, and the correlation between the two indexes was analyzed. Results: 140 patients (35.5%) complained urinary difficulty as patient's main symptom, while IPSS score was 13.7 showing above moderate symptom at 77.5%. For patients complained urinary difficulty, the average of quality of life score was 3.1. Among stroke, 37% of infarction and 34% of hemorrhage complained urinary difficulty while 40% of traumatic brain injury did. Patients with ACA infarction reported urinary difficulty most frequently. Nocturia (71%), frequency (53.3%), incomplete emptying (30%) were the most frequent symptoms. Sixty-six patients (46%) complaining urinary difficulty were taking medications and anticholinergics were most widely used (75%). Scores of IPSS and QoL according to type and site of brain lesion didn't show meaningful difference while QoL score correlated significantly with IPSS score (p＜0.05). Conclusion: Among all the brain lesion patients, 35.5% complained urinary difficulty while IPSS and QoL score according to type and site of brain lesion didn't show meaningful difference. Urinary difficulty affects the life quality of brain lesion patients. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2010; 34: 115-119)

Objective
To assess the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms in chronic stroke patients and their impact on the perceived quality of life. Method: Thirty-eight patients who had suffered unilateral stroke at least 3 months prior to enrollment and showed no severe communication disorder were evaluated. Frequency of lower urinary tract symptoms and their impact on the quality of life were assessed using the Korean version of the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and an impact question. The correlation between each symptom score and the perceived quality of life was analyzed. Results: Overall, 89.5% of the participants were sympto-matic, of which 58.9% complained of moderate to severe symptoms. Nocturia, frequency, and straining were the most frequent symptoms and urgency was the least. The 'quality of life' score showed a high correlation with the total IPSS score (p＜0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that obstructive symptom was a significant predictor for dissatisfaction. Conclusion: The frequencies of lower urinary tract symptoms are high in chronic stroke patients. And they have significant influence on the perceived quality of life in chronic stroke survivors. (J Korean Acad Rehab Med 2005; 29: 450-456)