Interstitial cystitis: elements of diagnosis and place of histopathological examination. About 16 cases

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a rare disease, of difficult diagnosis. The diagnostic utility of histopathological examination of bladder biopsy remains controversial.

We conducted a retrospective study to assess the frequency of interstitial cystitis, to analyze its clinical presentation and the data from the paraclinical examinations. We discuss the steps and criteria of diagnosis, as well as the place of histopathological examination for diagnosis.

Sixteen patients diagnosed with IC were followed in the Urology Department of the Sahloul University Hospital between 1996 and 2013. The diagnosis was suggested by clinical history and confirmed on the basis of clinical symptoms and results of the paraclinical explorations: urodynamic assessment, cystoscopy and bladder biopsy.

Six men (37.5%) and ten women (62.5%), with an average age of 56 years complained of pelvic pain and urination disorders for two years on average before the diagnosis. The urodynamic study found decreased bladder compliance in 13 cases and bladder instability in nine cases. Cystoscopy demonstrated inflammatory mucosa in 13 patients (81%). Histologically, the classic ulcerative form accounted for 50% of the cases. The number of mast cells was high in both the mucosa and the muscular in 12 cases, both in the classical and non-ulcerative forms.

The IC remains a diagnosis of exclusion. The first line of diagnosis is patient selection based on symptoms and an exclusion of diseases with similar presentation. Vesical biopsy is useful for confirmation and classification of the disease.