Symptom profile variability of interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome by age.

Study Type - Diagnostic (symptom prevalence) Level of Evidence 2b What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Symptom variability is profound in the population of patients diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and painful bladder syndrome because these diagnoses represent a very heterogeneous patient population. Recently, younger patients are being diagnosed with these pain syndromes, without any specific investigation into the symptoms they experience. We identified that patients diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and painful bladder syndrome have variable clinical symptom profiles depending on the age at the time of their diagnosis. Dyspareunia, external genitalia pain, urgency, frequency and dysuria were more common in younger patients whereas nocturia, urinary incontinence and the presence of Hunner's ulcers were more common in older patients. Better defining symptom profiles for patients at the time of evaluation may potentially aid in more accurate and expedited diagnosis of these conditions, particularly in the youngest patient population which is being recognized more commonly in recent times. OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical profile differences among patients with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) based upon age at the time of diagnosis from childhood into the geriatric age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]