[Interstitial cystitis. An important differential diagnosis].
Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic, debilitating inflammatory disease of the urinary bladder, characterized by chronic pelvic pain, urgency/frequency symptoms, and decrease of the functional bladder capacity. Both the etiology and pathogenesis of the condition that predominantly affects women are still not fully understood. Thus, a causal therapeutic approach still does not exist. IC remains a strict diagnosis of exclusion; distinct histopathological findings within the bladder wall are frequently found, although they are not pathognomonic. The diagnostic criteria elaborated by the NIH are helpful in clinical research; their dogmatic utilization will however lead to an underdiagnosis of IC in 60% of the patients. IC-specific symptom questionnaires and validated symptom scales help the physician to assess the therapeutic response during the follow-up of the patients.
Klinik und Poliklinik für Urologie, Universitätsklinikum Münster, Albert-Schweitzer-Strasse 33, 48129 Münster. avo@uni-muenster.de
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van Ophoven
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Oberpenning
D000283:Administration, Intravesical; D000284:Administration, Oral; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018856:Cystitis, Interstitial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence