A PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDY OF INTRAVESICAL PENTOSANPOLYSULPHATE FOR THE TREATMENT OF INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of intravesical pentosa npolysulphate (PPS) compared with placebo in patients with interstitia l cystitis (IC).Patients and methods Twenty patients who fullfilled th e diagnostic criteria for IC participated in a double-blind placebo-co ntrolled study; 10 received intravesical PPS (300 mg in 50 mt of 0.9% sodium chloride) applied twice a week for 3 months and the other 10 re ceived a placebo, Symptomatic relief and objective variables (bladder capacity voiding volumes and urinary frequency) were assessed after 3 months and the long-term outcome of those continuing treatment was det ermined. Results Of the patients treated with PPS, four gained signifi cant symptomatic relief compared with only two receiving placebo. Only the urodynamic bladder capacity showed a statistically significant in crease in patients treated with PPS (P=0.047), At 18 months from the s tart of the study, the symptoms were relieved in eight patients while still receiving PPS instillations and in four without treatment. Concl usions These results suggest that intravesical PPS is an effective opt ion for the treatment of IC and shows that the intravesical applicatio n of PPS is a safe treatment with no important side-effects.