Interstitial cystitis and painful bladder syndrome.

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Health Economics

Background:

• Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) is a chronic condition affecting millions.
• Accurate quantification of its healthcare burden is crucial for resource allocation and patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the economic burden of interstitial cystitis (IC) and painful bladder syndrome (PBS) on the US healthcare system.
• To analyze trends in healthcare utilization and expenditures associated with IC/PBS.

Main Methods:

• Utilized International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision codes to define IC (595.1) and PBS (788.41 with 625.8 or 625.9).
• Analyzed trends in hospital outpatient visits, physician office visits, and ambulatory surgeries for IC from 1992-2001.
• Examined national expenditures for IC and PBS between 1994-2000.

Main Results:

• Hospital outpatient visits for IC doubled, and physician office visits tripled between 1992 and 2001.
• A diagnosis of IC was associated with a 2-fold increase in direct medical costs.
• Annual costs for PBS increased from $481 million to $750 million between 1994 and 2000, while IC costs remained stable at $37 million.

Conclusions:

• IC/PBS imposes a substantial economic burden on the US healthcare system, despite accounting for a small percentage of total visits.
• Misdiagnosis and reliance on physician coding likely lead to an underestimation of the true disease burden.
• Significant aspects of the disease's impact may not be captured in current economic analyses.