Real world use of oral treatments in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome in the UK: Outcome of a cross sectional study

Background To describe the oral treatments people living with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) are using to treat their urologic condition in the UK. Method A questionnaire hyperlink encompassing current and previous medications taken for IC/BPS with other sociodemographic and diagnostic indices was available to the Bladder Health UK website. Interested and fully consented individuals accessed and completed the survey. Results A total of 601 accessed the questionnaire of whom 173 participants responded (response rate: 28.7%) with a mean +/- SD O'Leary/Sant scores of 20.12 +/- 9.38. A sample size of 171 was estimated to be used in the survey. A fifth of the participants were not on any treatment at all. Amitriptyline was the most prevalent medication in use both alone and in combination. A shift in the use of unapproved (for IC/BPS) antidepressant, smooth muscle relaxant, opioids, gabapentenoids, and antibiotics was observed in the sample. There were no significant differences between the mean (SD) O'Leary/Sant scores of cohorts currently taking oral medications and those not taking it. More than two-thirds of the participants had been diagnosed with the disease more than 5 years. Just under a half (47.4%) of participants reported a history of allergy. Conclusion Our study provides contemporary evidence that the treatments used for managing IC/BPS encompass a broad range of medications both recommended and not recommended by current guidelines. The latter suggests patients are willing to try novel treatments when more conventional ones are ineffective.