To compare the clinical characteristics of three groups of female patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) classified according to the presence or absence of Hunner lesions (HL) and glomerulations.
The clinical records of 100 female patients with IC/BPS who underwent their first bladder hydrodistension at our institution were retrospectively reviewed. They were divided into patients having (HL-IC; n = 57) or lacking (BPS; n = 43) HL. BPS patients were further classified as those with (29) and without (14) glomerulations. Among these three subtypes, demographics, comorbidities, symptom parameters including a visual analog scale for pain scores, O'Leary and Sant Symptom and Problem (OSSI/OSPI) Indices, frequency volume chart variables, and bladder capacity at hydrodistension were compared.
HL-IC patients were older and had higher OSSI/OSPI scores, greater daytime frequency and nocturia, reduced maximum and average voided volumes, and smaller bladder capacity at hydrodistension compared with BPS patients. Pain intensity and illness duration were comparable among the three groups. HL-IC patients had autoimmune disorders as comorbidities more often, but had psychiatric disorders and irritable bowel syndrome less often compared with BPS patients. No discernible differences in clinical characteristics of symptom severity and comorbid disorders were evident between BPS patients with and without glomerulations.
The presence of HL is associated with distinctive clinical characteristics, while glomerulations are not in female patients with IC/BPS. The presence of HL, but not glomerulations, is a robust phenotypic feature of IC/BPS in women.
Lower urinary tract symptoms. 2020 Aug 23 [Epub ahead of print]
Daiji Watanabe, Yoshiyuki Akiyama, Aya Niimi, Akira Nomiya, Yuta Yamada, Yusuke Sato, Masaki Nakamura, Taketo Kawai, Daisuke Yamada, Motofumi Suzuki, Yasuhiko Igawa, Haruki Kume, Yukio Homma
Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan., Department of Urology, New Tokyo Hospital, Matsudo, Tokyo, Japan., Department of Urology, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan., Department of Urology, Nagano Prefectural Shinshu Medical Center, Suzaka, Nagano, Japan., Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.