Abstract

Urethral pain syndrome is a symptom complex that includes dysuria, urinary urgency, frequency, nocturia, and persistent or intermittent urethral and/or pelvic pain in the absence of proven infection. Bladder pain syndrome is a clinical diagnosis, based primarily on chronic symptoms of pain from the bladder and/or pelvis associated with urinary urgency or frequency in the absence of identified cause for the symptoms. To date, the term, urethral pain syndrome, remains to be unclear in referring to a distinct subgroup of bladder pain syndrome. However, these two syndromes share many similarities, except the organ of pain. This review is intended to summarize the current state of literature with regard to similar pathophysiology and possible interrelations between urethral pain syndrome and bladder pain syndrome.

• Keywords: Cystitis, interstitial; Urinary bladder; Urethra