ASSOCIATIONS AMONG CYSTOSCOPIC FINDINGS AND SYMPTOMS AND PHYSICAL-EXAMINATION FINDINGS IN WOMEN ENROLLED IN THE INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS DATA-BASE (ICDB) STUDY

Objectives. To determine if specific symptoms or physical findings wer e associated with findings on cystoscopic examination under anesthesia in patients participating in the Interstitial Cystitis Data Base (ICD B) Study. Methods. Subjects entering the ICDB Study completed symptom questionnaires and underwent physical examinations. Additionally, at t he discretion of study investigators, 150 women underwent cystoscopy u nder anesthesia following a specific protocol of bladder distension at 70 to 80 cm irrigating fluid height and reinspection after capacity w as reached and the irrigant drained. Results. Statistically significan t (p <0.01) associations between bodily pain and urinary urgency with the presence of a Hunner's patch, and urinary frequency and urgency wi th a reduced bladder capacity under anesthesia were seen. Neither the findings of bloody irrigating fluid nor glomerulations were strongly a ssociated with any symptom, and except for an association of urethral tenderness with Hunner's patch, no physical examination finding was as sociated with any cystoscopic findings. Conclusions. The strong associ ations of Hunner's patch and reduced bladder capacity under anesthesia with severe pain and urinary urgency, and urgency and frequency, resp ectively, indicate not only the importance of these findings in diagno sing interstitial cystitis, but also their potential utility in subcla ssifying this disease. (C) 1997 by Elsevier Science Inc.