Managing nocturia: Nocturia is a symptom, not a diagnosis

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7453.1438-a

BMJ 2004;328:1438 (12 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7453.1438-a

Letter

Managing nocturia

Nocturia is a symptom, not a diagnosis

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The review of nocturia by Marinkovic et al is comprehensiveand clear.¹ Although I am not a doctor, my knowledge of medicinegained through many years of working in medical education hastaught me that a description of a symptom or a group of symptoms(syndrome) is not a diagnosis. I was taught that the term "nocturia"was used to describe the symptom of increased nocturnal voiding.When taking a history or writing on a patient chart one wouldwrite nocturiax3 to describe the three voids at night. Thissymptom may be indicative of a variety of underlying conditions.

These conditions can be classified as those that cause nocturnalpolyuria v nocturnal overactive bladder. As described by Marinkovicet al, nocturnal polyuria may be the simple consequence of excessivefluid intake at night time or fluid redistribution due to congestiveheart failure. Many other underlying diseases . . . [Full text of this article]

Neil W Matheson, chief executive officer

XIS Healthcare Communications LLC, 800 Township Line Road, Ste 250, Yardley, PA 19067, USA neil.matheson@axis-healthcare.com