The treatment and mistreatment of chronic "urgency and frequency"--gathering women's experiences about interstitial cystitis

• Published in: The women's health activist Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 6 - 7
• Main Authors: Zakariasen, Kay, Hill, Jennifer R
• Format: Journal Article Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington National Women's Health Network 01.03.2009
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Bladder; Care and treatment; Citrus fruits; Clinical outcomes; Cystitis; Drug therapy; Health aspects; Iatrogenesis; Nitrates; Pain; Patients; Physicians; Placebo effect; Preventive medicine; Studies; Success; Surgery; Urology; Women
• ISSN: 1547-8823

Common surgical treatments include widening of the urethra ("dilation"); bladder distention ("hydrodistention"), in which the bladder is filled with water to a high pressure; and bladder instillation, in which chemicals are put into the bladder (including silver nitrate, oxychlorosene [Chlorpactin WCS-90], and the organic solvent dimethyl sulfoxide [DMSO]). [...] some highquality studies that conducted follow-up failed to repeat the initial, positive results - suggesting that the treatments studied were not actually successful.5 The studies also fail to include placebo controls, which compare the investigated treatment with an alternative to assess the varying outcomes.6 As a result, experts suggest that the reported high success rates for IC treatments should be reduced by 35% to factor in the placebo effect, and by as much as 50% to address spontaneous remission of the patient's symptoms.7 It's likely that many women, if informed about these low success rates, would decide not to have invasive treatments.