The impact of Hunner lesion-type interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome on health-related quality of life and the effects of transurethral ablation

Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) has a negative impact on quality of life. We compared health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with IC/BPS with patients having other diseases using the EuroQol five-dimension (EQ-5D) and evaluated whether the HRQoL is improved after surgery.

We compared EQ-5D of patients with Hunner lesion type IC/BPS with patients who had other diseases that cause chronic and severe pain including arthritis and cancer from a cross-sectional analysis of responses to the 2012–2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Changes in EQ-5D after transurethral coagulation (TUC) or resection (TUR) were measured in the IC/BPS participants.

Compared to the EQ-5D index of normal population, patients with arthritis, cancer and IC/BPS had − 0.07 (95% CI − 0.07, − 0.06), − 0.01 (95% CI − 0.02, − 0.01), and − 0.21 (95% CI − 0.23, − 0.20) lower scores, respectively. Patients with IC/BPS were 35.9, 9.24, and 9.05 times more likely to have “extreme problem” in pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression, and usual activities EQ-5D domains, respectively, than patients without arthritis/cancer. After TUC or TUR, EQ-5D index was 0.90 in the TUC group and 0.92 in the TUR group.

IC/BPS patients have worse HRQoL than healthy individuals. However, after surgical treatment, HRQoL is restored to a level close to normal.