In this report, the authors provide insights on how debilitating interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) can be, and on the key aspects of the doctor-patient relationship that are important to women with the disease. The authors conducted 4 focus groups including a total of 15 women with IC/BPS. Each session was recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by at least 3 physician reviewers. The women were asked about their experience as a patient with IC/BPS symptoms, the medical care they had received for IC/BPS, and any suggestions they had on how their satisfaction with their care could have been improved. On average, the women were about 52 years old and had IC/BPS for approximately 6 years. Using a technique called grounded theory, the researchers were able to identify several key themes that typified the IC/BPS patient experience: the disease is debilitating; the course of the disease is unpredictable, yet unrelenting; and the patients with IC/BPS often feel isolated. Notably, the topic of contemplating suicide came up in each focus group. When asked what they looked for in a doctor, the patients said they would prefer clinicians who provide education on IC/BPS, offer a variety of treatment options and treatment plans, and express hope and optimism regarding the potential outcomes of treatment. Together, these findings emphasize the need for physicians to provide thoughtful care to patients who are suffering from a very debilitating disease. These findings are important because most other IC/BPS studies focus on quantitative data, or information that can be measured and expressed in numbers; by contrast, this study provides qualitative data, or thoughts, feelings, observations, and other information that can be obtained through focus groups, diaries, questionnaires and other means. Qualitative data provides insights into the best care of women IC/BPS that could not be captured by traditional quantitative techniques.

Hysterectomy is seen as a treatment of last resort for pelvic pain that may or may not work, depending on the patient. In this study, investigators reviewed insurance database records to determine whether having a diagnosis of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) increases the likelihood that women will undergo hysterectomy. To evaluate this, the researchers looked up the records of women who received a diagnosis of IC/BPS some time between 2002 and 2013, and looked to see whether they subsequently underwent a hysterectomy procedure. For comparison, they looked at records of women with similar demographic characteristics who did not have IC/BPS. The patients in both groups were stratified into three groups: young, middle age, and old. The researchers found that in the group of middle aged women, the risk of hysterectomy was in fact almost twice as high among patients who had IC/BPS than in the non-IC/BPS group. For the women with IC/BPS who did undergo hysterectomy, the average time from IC/BPS diagnosis to hysterectomy was about 3 years. These findings are important because IC/BPS symptoms are sometimes confused with those of other conditions, which may lead to inappropriate hysterectomy, the investigators said. To prevent that possibility, they added, women with suspected IC/BPS should be carefully evaluated before surgery so they don’t undergo inappropriate procedures.

Fibromyalgia syndrome is thought to result from the exposure of a genetically susceptible individual to various triggers, such as physical trauma, stress, or a viral infection. Thus, some suspect vaccination might play a potential role in the development or exacerbation of the condition. However, this study shows that influenza vaccination is safe and effective in patients with fibromyalgia. Investigators studied 19 FMS patients, none of whom experienced a severe vaccination reaction. There were no significant changes in fibromyalgia symptoms after vaccination. Moreover, the vaccine afforded high levels of seroprotection against influenza virus. Based on these results, investigators said that fibromyalgia patients should be encouraged to undergo influenza vaccination according to standard recommendations.