You have accessJournal of UrologyGeneral & Epidemiological Trends & Socioeconomics: Quality of Life1 Apr 2013444 SYMPTOMS, HEALTH CARE UTILIZATION, AND BOTHER ASSOCIATED WITH UROLOGIC CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN SYMPTOM FLARES OF VARYING DURATION: RESULTS FROM THE MAPP STUDY Siobhan Sutcliffe, Graham Colditz, Ratna Pakpahan, Melody Goodman, Gerald Andriole, and Henry Lai Siobhan SutcliffeSiobhan Sutcliffe St. Louis, MO More articles by this author , Graham ColditzGraham Colditz St. Louis, MO More articles by this author , Ratna PakpahanRatna Pakpahan St. Louis, MO More articles by this author , Melody GoodmanMelody Goodman St. Louis, MO More articles by this author , Gerald AndrioleGerald Andriole St. Louis, MO More articles by this author , and Henry LaiHenry Lai St. Louis, MO More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2013.02.1834AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES In one of the first studies to describe symptom flares in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome patients, we identified a larger spectrum of flares than expected, both in terms of duration (ranging from minutes to months) and frequency. We have now extended this study to examine symptoms during flares of varying duration, and their associated health care utilization and bother. We performed this study at one site of the Multidisciplinary Approaches to the study of chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) study. METHODS At their 6-month visit, participants completed an additional flare survey that asked them: 1) whether they had ever had flares (defined as “symptoms that are much worse than usual”) that lasted <1 hr, >1 hr and <1 day, and >1 day; and 2) for each duration of flare, to report their typical levels of pelvic pain, urgency, frequency, and overall urologic and pelvic pain symptoms; their most bothersome symptom; and their levels of health care utilization and bother. We compared participants' responses by duration of flares and to their baseline MAPP values by generalized linear mixed models. RESULTS Fifty two of 60 participants completed the flare survey, 49 of whom reported having flares (94%). Symptoms were worse during a flare than at baseline (all p<0.05), with increasing severity of symptoms as the duration of flares increased (p=0.14 for overall symptoms to p<0.0001 for pelvic pain). Pelvic pain was the most bothersome symptom reported for flares of all duration (86.3-90.5%). As the duration of flares increased, participants were more likely to contact a health care provider (p=0.0005), increase or change their medication (p=0.079), not engage in their usual activities (p<0.0001), think about their symptoms (p=0.001), and be bothered by their symptoms (p=0.001). Even for flares lasting <1 hr, 68% of participants reported disruption to their usual activities to some degree, and all reported thinking about their symptoms and being bothered by their symptoms during these flares. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that flares are painful, disruptive, bothersome, and associated with greater health care utilization, particularly long flares but also short flares. Future research should focus on ways in which to prevent and treat this bothersome aspect of urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes. © 2013 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 189Issue 4SApril 2013Page: e182 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2013 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Siobhan Sutcliffe St. Louis, MO More articles by this author Graham Colditz St. Louis, MO More articles by this author Ratna Pakpahan St. Louis, MO More articles by this author Melody Goodman St. Louis, MO More articles by this author Gerald Andriole St. Louis, MO More articles by this author Henry Lai St. Louis, MO More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...