Nocturia in Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome

Objectives To explore the roles of pain and urgency in the nocturia of patients with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS). Methods In a longitudinal study of incident IC/PBS cases, we assessed the associations of the presence and severity of nocturia with the presence and severity of pain and urgency, using multivariate analyses when necessary. Additionally, we simply asked patients with IC/PBS what awakens them at night. Results The multivariate analyses revealed associations of urgency with the presence and severity of nocturia and of bladder pain with the severity of nocturia. Direct queries of patients with IC/PBS about urgency and the reasons for awakening demonstrated that bladder pain might have played a twofold role: directly in awakening a large minority of patients and possibly indirectly in the majority by generating the sensation of urgency. Conclusions These findings are consistent with urinary urgency and bladder pain each being in the causal pathway leading to nocturia in patients with IC/PBS.