title: Polysymptomatic, polysyndromic presentation of patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Somatization disorder has been described in several comorbid functional syndromes of urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome, such as irritable bowel syndrome. We investigated whether a subset of patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome may have the polysymptomatic, polysyndromic presentation pattern that is common in somatization disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 70 male and female patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome and 35 age matched controls without the syndrome completed a 59-item symptom checklist to assess the classic polysymptomatic, polysyndromic symptom pattern. The 2 operational tools used were the Perley-Guze derived symptom checklist and the somatic symptom algorithm used for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th Edition, Text Revision somatization disorder criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Female patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome (interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome) reported significantly more nonpain symptoms and pain symptoms outside the pelvis than control female urology patients (p=0.0016 and 0.0018, respectively). Female patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome were more likely to endorse a polysymptomatic, polysyndromic symptom pattern than female controls (27% vs 0%, p=0.0071). In contrast, male patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome (interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and/or chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome) did not report more extrapelvic pain than male controls (p=0.89). Male patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome were not more likely than male controls to have a polysymptomatic, polysyndromic symptom pattern.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A subset of female patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome endorses numerous extrapelvic symptoms across multiple organ systems. The checklist may be valuable to assess patients for this polysymptomatic, polysyndromic symptom pattern, which is common in somatization disorder. Recognizing this polysymptomatic, polysyndromic presentation will prompt clinicians to investigate further to determine whether somatization disorder may be an underlying diagnosis in a small subset of patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome who complain of numerous extrapelvic symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Division of Urologic Surgery, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA. laih@wudosis.wustl.edu
authors.forename: H Henry
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Carol S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: North
authors.forename: Gerald L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Andriole
authors.forename: Gregory S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Sayuk
authors.forename: Barry A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017699:Pelvic Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013577:Syndrome