Assessment of bladder pressure and discomfort symptoms: How do overactive bladder differ from interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome patients?

To better understand the sensation of bladder "pressure" and "discomfort", and how they are similar or distinct from the "pain" and "urgency" symptoms in IC/BPS and OAB. IC/BPS and OAB patients rated their bladder pain, pressure, discomfort, and urinary urgency on separate 0-10 numeric rating scales (NRS). Their NRS ratings were compared between IC/BPS and OAB, and Pearson correlations were performed. Among IC/BPS patients (n = 27), their mean numeric ratings of pain, pressure, discomfort, and urinary urgency were almost identical (6.6 ± 2.1, 6.0 ± 2.5, 6.5 ± 2.2, and 6.0 ± 2.8 respectively). The three-way correlations between pain, pressure, or discomfort were very strong (all > 0.77). Among OAB patients (n = 51), their mean numeric ratings of pain, pressure, and discomfort (2.0 ± 2.6, 3.4 ± 2.9, 3.4 ± 2.9) were significantly lower than urgency (6.1 ± 2.6, p