Transurethral fulguration alleviates pelvic pain in interstitial cystitis

For patients with interstitial cystitis (IC), transurethral fulguration (TUF) is effective for alleviating pelvic pain, according to a study published online April 3 in Neurourology and Urodynamics.

Hyun Ju Jeong, from the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of electronic medical records of patients with IC who visited outpatient clinics with pelvic pain. Cystoscopic surgery based on TUF for bladder ulcers was used to manage pain; intractable pelvic pain was treated with cystectomy.

Overall, 240 of 275 patients underwent initial cystoscopic surgery; the mean number of TUF procedures was 1.0 during a median follow-up of 21.0 months. The researchers found that 71 of the 240 patients (29.6%) did not require further surgical treatment, while 26.7% required a second TUF for recurrent pelvic pain, with a median recurrence interval of 12.0 months.

Fifteen of the 64 patients who received a second TUF (23.4%) underwent a third TUF after a median of 12.0 months. Five of the 15 patients who received a third TUF underwent a fourth TUF due to pain recurrence. One patient received a seventh TUF. Pain control with TUF was achieved by 168 of the 240 patients (70.0%). Eighteen (7.5%) of the patients underwent cystectomy.

“Our study results showed that TUF‐based cystoscopic surgery is an effective basic treatment for pelvic pain management in patients with IC,” the authors write.

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