title: Perceptions of "urgency" in women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome or overactive bladder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare urgency symptoms in women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) and overactive bladder (OAB).
  
  
  METHODS
  Women with diagnoses of IC/BPS (n=194) and OAB (n=85) were recruited from the clinical practices of Urologists (n=8) and Gynecologists (n=16) with recognized expertise in the diagnosis and management of these conditions. Subjects completed a comprehensive telephone survey about their current symptoms. The questionnaire included 11 questions about urinary urgency. Responses were compared between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Urgency was commonly reported as a symptom by women with both conditions (81% IC/BPS and 91% OAB). Compared with IC/BPS, urgency in OAB more often resulted in leakage, and was perceived to be more of a problem. In IC/BPS, the urgency was primarily reported as due to pain, pressure, or discomfort, while in OAB the urgency was more commonly due to fear of leakage. However, approximately 40% of women with OAB also report urgency due to pain, pressure, or discomfort. Similar proportions of both groups (∼ 60%) indicated that the urgency occurred "suddenly" instead of more gradually over a period of minutes or hours.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Urgency symptoms differed in women diagnosed with IC/BPS versus those diagnosed with OAB, but there was significant overlap. This suggests that "urgency" is not a well-defined and commonly understood symptom that can be utilized to clearly discriminate between IC/BPS and OAB. These findings reinforce the clinical observation that it is often challenging to differentiate between these two conditions.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-5330, USA. qclemens@umich.edu
authors.forename: J Quentin
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Clemens
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bogart
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chau
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suttorp
authors.forename: Sandra H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Berry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018856:Cystitis, Interstitial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012677:Sensation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000294:innervation*; D053201:Urinary Bladder, Overactive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult