An assessment of clinicians' and patients' experiences in the management of bladder pain syndrome.

Current management of bladder pain syndrome (BPS) was evaluated through a prospective electronic questionnaire posted on three patient support groups and sent to all members on the British Society of Urogynaecology (BSUG) database. Methods of diagnosis and treatment were assessed. 133 patients and 69 clinicians participated in the survey. Patients reported their main symptom to be pain when their bladder was full in 80% (n = 107) and the most bothersome symptom was pelvic pain (22%, n = 29). 93% (n = 64) of clinicians made their diagnosis by history and cystoscopy. 78% (n = 54) of clinicians treated patients with amitriptyline and 75% (n = 52) by dietary modification while 77% (n = 102) of patients reported using simple analgesia, 74% (n = 98) dietary modification and 62% (n = 83) low-dose long-term antibiotics. There is wide variation in diagnostic methods and treatments of BPS used by clinicians and experienced by patients with no obvious consensus. National guidance is needed to help standardise care.

Grading of evidence for bladder pain syndrome: a comparative review of study quality assessment methods.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Clinical guidelines on bladder pain syndrome (BPS) report quality ratings for evidence based on study design. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system takes into account several domains in addition to limitations of study design for assigning quality ratings. We compared the quality of evidence described in current BPS literature. METHODS: All existing systematic reviews and guidelines on BPS management were reviewed, and included evidence was rated according to GRADE on a four-point scale (1-4, from very low to high). These ratings were compared to the two reported quality assessments that assigned levels or strengths to evidence; both had a four-point scale: level of evidence 1-4 from meta-analysis of randomised studies to expert opinion; and strength of evidence 1-4 from very low to high. RESULTS: Of the 19 treatments for BPS with GRADE ratings, comparison with level of evidence ratings showed that, on average, the latter overestimated quality by 1.8 points [1.1 v 2.9; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-2.3; p = <0.0001). Comparison of GRADE ratings with strength of evidence ratings showed that, on average, the latter overestimated quality by 1.7 points (1.1 v 2.8; 95% CI 1.3-2.1; p = <0.0001). CONCLUSION: GRADE, a refined method of assigning quality to evidence, provided a more conservative gauge, giving a realistic assessment of the value of recommendations for consideration in practice.

Quality of information on the internet related to bladder pain syndrome: a systematic review of the evidence.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Bladder pain syndrome (BPS) has an impact on quality of life and available treatments often only provide temporary symptomatic relief. The information provided by websites can be valuable for patient education and management. The hypothesis was to assess medical information available on the internet related to bladder pain syndrome in terms of accuracy, credibility, readability and quality. METHODS: A search was performed in the meta-search engine Copernic Agent, using the search terms "bladder pain syndrome, interstitial cystitis, painful bladder syndrome and pelvic pain", which simultaneously captured websites from a range of engines. Websites in the English language that were open-access were included. The four quality assessments used were: credibility using a ten-point scale, accuracy based on the American Urological Association guidelines, quality using the DISCERN questionnaire and readability using the Flesch Reading Ease Score. Inter-rater agreement was tested by intra-class coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: Eighteen suitable websites were identified; 7 (39%) were specialist or specific to BPS. The combined mean scores for accuracy, quality, credibility and readability ranged from 83 to 144 for specialist websites and 76 to 137 for non-specialist ones, with a maximum possible score of 208. There was good inter-observer agreement for the assessments performed with an ICC ranging from 0.80 for DISCERN to 0.53 for readability. Specialist websites had higher quality scores (median difference 10, p = 0.07) and readability scores (median difference 5.4, p = 0.05) compared with non-specialist websites whereas credibility and accuracy scores were no different. CONCLUSION: We found four websites that fulfilled our criteria for good quality information.

The 'evil twin syndrome' in chronic pelvic pain: a systematic review of prevalence studies of bladder pain syndrome and endometriosis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP), a common gynaecological presentation, may be due to bladder pain syndrome (BPS) or the co-existence of BPS and endometriosis, known as the 'evil twins syndrome'. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of BPS and the co-existence of BPS and endometriosis in women with CPP. DATA SOURCES: We searched until March 2012: The Cochrane Library, DARE (1997-2012), EMBASE (1980-2012), Medline (1950-2012), PSYCHINFO (1806-2012), Web of knowledge (1900-2012), LILACS (1982-2012) and SIGLE (1990-2012) with no language restrictions. We manually searched through bibliographies and conference proceedings of the International Continence Society. STUDY SELECTION: Observational studies of women suffering from CPP, who were not pregnant or suffering from cancer, who underwent a laparoscopy and cystoscopy to investigate their symptoms. Study selection, data extraction and quality assessment was performed independently by two reviewers. Statistical analysis was performed to estimate prevalence and confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Nine studies were included with 1016 patients with CPP. Study quality and diagnostic assessment varied. The mean prevalence of BPS was 61% (range 11-97%, CI 58-64%, I(2) = 98%). The mean prevalence of endometriosis was 70% (range 28-93%, CI 67-73%, I(2) = 93%) and co-existing BPS and endometriosis was 48% (range 16-78%, CI 44-51%, I(2) = 96%). CONCLUSION: Almost two thirds of women presenting with CPP have BPS. Large variations in prevalence may be due to variable study selection and quality. Clinicians need to actively investigate patients for BPS, a condition that appears to co-exist with endometriosis.