Available online 6 December 2023

Author links open overlay panel, , , , , AbstractBackground

Patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) commonly face a decline in their quality of life and social functioning upon discontinuation of conventional therapy, which is known for its limited efficacy and the risk of relapse. While the existing evidence is somewhat restricted, acupuncture is being explored as a potential and effective treatment option for IC/BPS.

Case presentation

A 67-year-old woman, diagnosed with refractory IC/BPS, underwent treatment at the Medical Acupuncture Department of Sanming Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital. She reported symptoms of lower urinary system dysfunction, including urgency, frequency, and nocturia, along with chronic pelvic pain, and a persistent feeling of pressure and discomfort lasting over 8 years. The patient's visual analog scale (VAS) score for pelvic pain was 7 points prior to receiving acupuncture treatment. Throughout the day, she had more than 10 urinations, and at night, she urinated about once per hour. The O'Leary-Sant interstitial cystitis symptom index/interstitial cystitis problem index (ICSI/ICPI) score was 34 points, and the pelvic pain and urgency frequency (PUF) score was 19 points.

Results

The patient's complaints were significantly alleviated after 12 sessions of electroacupuncture treatment at BL32, BL33, BL35, and SP6 over 4 weeks. The patient claimed total relief from pelvic pain, with a VAS score of 0. The patient achieved a PUF score of 4 points and an ICSI/ICPI score of 7 points. In addition, there was a significant reduction in the frequency and urgency of urination. The patient experienced a frequency of 4–5 urinations during the day and 1–2 times at night. Subsequently, the patient's mental state and sleep quality were improved. The patient's symptoms did not change at one-year follow-up.

Conclusion

Electroacupuncture has proven to be an effective management method for IC/BPS, as evidenced by the patient's alleviated lower urinary system symptoms and reduced pelvic pain.

Section snippetsBackground

Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a disorder characterized by nocturia, urine urgency, and chronic bladder pain and frequency1. Although its underlying pathogenesis remains elusive, it may be associated with urothelial abnormalities2, genetic susceptibility3, and neurological upregulation of pain sensationtion4. Patients with IC/BPS experience a decline in their quality of life and social activities due to symptoms, such as insomnia, depression, anxiety, sexual

Discussion

The American Urological Association guidelines describe IC/BPS as a challenging, chronic condition with limited treatment options and an uncertain etiopathogenesis20. In instances where IC/BPS is uncurable, the concentration of therapy is to alleviate symptoms, enabling the patient to maintain a promising quality of life 21, 22. Nevertheless, even after undergoing conventional treatments (e.g., pharmacotherapy, physiotherapy, and intravesical therapy), patients infrequently receive long-term

Conclusions

In conclusion, acupuncture may be a noticeable treatment for patients with refractory IC/BPS who do not respond to conventional treatments. Further research is required to assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for refractory IC/BPS.

Declarations

Ethics Approval and Consent to participate: Not applicable.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

The materials supporting this article are included within the article.

Authors' contributions

W.W. contributed to the design of the study and manuscript revision. N.G. contributed to the manuscript writing. X.Z., L.W., Z.L. and X.W. contributed to the organization of case information and follow-up visits. All authors read and approved the manuscript before submission.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Ning Gao: Writing – original draft. Xuehua Zeng: Data curation, Investigation. Lili Wu: Visualization. Zhenyu Lin: Data curation, Investigation. Xingbo Wang: Investigation, Visualization. Weiming Wang: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing.

Funding

This study did not receive any financial support.

Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the support and efforts of the patient involved in this study. We express our gratitude to Medjaden Inc. for their support in editing this manuscript.

References (32)O Nazif et al.Neural upregulation in interstitial cystitis

Urology

(2007)

HY Lin et al.Urinary Biomarkers in Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome and Its Impact on Therapeutic Outcome

Diagnostics (Basel)

(2021)

Y Homma et al.Clinical guidelines for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome

Int J Urol

(2020)

MH Lee et al.Morbidity rate and medical utilization in interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome

Int Urogynecol J

(2018)

N Jain et al.Association of macular disease with long-term use of pentosan polysulfate sodium: findings from a US cohort

Br J Ophthalmol

(2020)

MS Brueckle et al.Amitriptyline's anticholinergic adverse drug reactions-A systematic multiple-indication review and meta-analysis

PLoS One

(2023)

View full text

© 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.