[Intravesical therapy of heparin and lidocaine for interstitial cystitis : a case report]

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the urinary bladder, and its treatment has many uncertainties. We report a case of IC treated with intravesical instillation of heparin and alkalized lidocaine. A 64-year-old woman presented with urinary frequency and urgency with suprapubic pain. She underwent intravesical treatment with combined heparin and alkalinized lidocaine for IC, since prior medical treatments (imipramine, solifenacin, suplatast tosilate, and kampo extracts) and hydrodistention of bladder had little or no effect on her symptoms. A 50 ml solution containing 20,000 units of heparin, 200 mg of lidocaine and 7% sodium bicarbonate was administered intravesically twice a week for 12 months. The O'Leary-Sant IC symptom index score and IC problem index score improved from 20 to 8 and from 16 to 8, respectively, and her bladder capacity increased from 90 ml to 300 ml. Intravesical instillation of combined heparin and lidocaine was useful in the treatment of IC.