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Current status of patient-reported outcome measures and other subjective assessment grading tools in bladder pain syndrome

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A Correction to this article was published on 12 July 2023

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Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

Bladder pain syndrome (BPS) is characterised by chronic pain in the bladder area accompanied by urgency and/or frequency without the presence of other confusable diseases. Owing to a lack of gold standard diagnostic tests and definitive cure it is paramount to define treatment goals and validated measurements of outcomes. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are validated questionnaires completed by patients that can help to reduce ambiguity in the BPS patient treatment pathway, but they are currently underutilised. We present to our knowledge the first summary and analysis of all available PROMs in BPS patients.

Methods

Review and critical evaluation of all relevant BPS guidelines presented in English language and a systematic search for PubMed database articles relating to PROMs and subjective assessment grading tools in BPS, interstitial cystitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Results

The ideal PROMs for BPS should assess urinary symptoms, pain, quality of life and sexual health. There are five PROMs designed specifically for BPS patients. The most universally used and quoted is the O’Leary–Sant questionnaire followed by the Pelvic Pain and Urgency Score and the Wisconsin Interstitial Cystitis scale. However, there is no single PROM for BPS that is ideal, and for comprehensive assessment several questionnaires are often used simultaneously.

Conclusions

Patient-reported outcome measures are a valuable tool for use in the long-term management of patients burdened with BPS. There are now several disease-specific PROMs in use that have their respective advantages and disadvantages. Their use should be encouraged in future research as well as continued efforts to develop new PROMs that can address current shortcomings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston, Lancashire, UK

    Sabine Uguzova & Ahsanul Haq

  2. Department of Urology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

    Patrick Juliebø-Jones & Christian Beisland

  3. Department of Clinical Medicine (K1), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Christian Beisland

  4. Scandinavian Association of Urology, Bergen, Norway

    Christian Beisland

Authors
  1. Sabine Uguzova
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  2. Patrick Juliebø-Jones
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  3. Christian Beisland
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  4. Ahsanul Haq
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Contributions

S. Uguzova: project development, manuscript writing; P. Juliebø-Jones: project development, manuscript writing and editing; C. Beisland: manuscript editing, critical revision of the article; A. Haq: manuscript editing, critical revision of the article.

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Correspondence to Sabine Uguzova.

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In the original version of this article, the name of the third author was incorrectly spelled as "Christopher Beisland". The correct name is “Christian Beisland”.

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Uguzova, S., Juliebø-Jones, P., Beisland, C. et al. Current status of patient-reported outcome measures and other subjective assessment grading tools in bladder pain syndrome. Int Urogynecol J 34, 1677–1687 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-023-05551-z

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