Complementary therapies for bladder pain syndrome: a systematic review

International Urogynecology Journal, Dec 2015

Introduction and hypothesis Bladder pain syndrome is a difficult condition to treat. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness of various complementary therapies available for treatment. Methods This review was conducted in adherence with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews. Citations were retrieved using a comprehensive database search (from inception to July 2014: CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, Medline and SIGEL and grey literature). Studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected. Eligibility consisted of women with bladder pain syndrome, an intervention of alternative/complementary therapies and an outcome of improvement of symptoms. Information regarding study characteristics and primary outcomes was collated. The Cochrane risk of bias scale was used to evaluate the quality of the studies included. Results A total of 1,454 citations were identified, 11 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria (4 randomised control trials [RCTs] and 7 prospective studies). The key interventions studied were acupuncture, relaxation therapy, physical therapy, hydrogen-rich therapy, diet and nitric oxide synthetase. Conclusion Therapies with the potential for benefit in patients with bladder pain syndrome are dietary management, acupuncture and physical therapy. These findings were obtained from small studies and hence caution is advised. Robustly designed multicentre RCTs on these complementary therapies are needed to guide patients and clinicians.

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Complementary therapies for bladder pain syndrome: a systematic review

Int Urogynecol J Complementary therapies for bladder pain syndrome: a systematic review Tina S. Verghese 0 1 2 3 4 Richael Ni Riordain 0 1 2 3 4 Rita Champaneria 0 1 2 3 4 Pallavi M. Latthe 0 1 2 3 4 0 Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit, Birmingham University , Birmingham , UK 1 Newham University Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust , Birmingham , UK 2 University of Birmingham , Birmingham , UK 3 School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, The University of Birmingham , B15 2TT Birmingham , UK 4 Birmingham Women's NHS Foundation Trust , Birmingham , UK Introduction and hypothesis Bladder pain syndrome is a difficult condition to treat. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness of various complementary therapies available for treatment. Methods This review was conducted in adherence with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews. Citations were retrieved using a comprehensive database search (from inception to July 2014: CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, Medline and SIGEL and grey literature). Studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected. Eligibility consisted of women with bladder pain syndrome, an intervention of alternative/complementary therapies and an outcome of improvement of symptoms. Information regarding study characteristics and primary outcomes was collated. The Cochrane risk of bias scale was used to evaluate the quality of the studies included. Results A total of 1,454 citations were identified, 11 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria (4 randomised control trials [RCTs] and 7 prospective studies). The key interventions studied were acupuncture, relaxation therapy, physical therapy, hydrogen-rich therapy, diet and nitric oxide synthetase. Conclusion Therapies with the potential for benefit in patients with bladder pain syndrome are dietary management, acupuncture and physical therapy. These findings were obtained from small studies and hence caution is advised. Robustly designed multicentre RCTs on these complementary therapies are needed to guide patients and clinicians. Alternative or complementary therapies; Myofascial physical therapies; Acupuncture; Bladder pain syndrome - Introduction Materials and methods Identification of studies Study selection and data extraction Methodological quality Data synthesis Results Fig. 1 Flow process of the review Cita ons excluded a er screening tles/ abstracts (n=1425) -Incorrect popula on -Duplicates -No useable data -Not locatable KEY: + indicates low risk of bias - indicates high risk of bias ? unclear risk of bias KEY: + indicates low risk of bias - indicates high risk of bias ? unclear risk of bias Acupuncture and relaxation therapy KEY: + indicates low risk of bias - indicates high risk of bias ? unclear risk of bias Hydrogen-rich therapy Physical therapy L-arginine * * x * * liaenkg lieankg rrceod rrceod * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Discussion Compliance with ethical standards Conflicts of interest None. 1. 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Tina S. Verghese, Richael Ni Riordain, Rita Champaneria, Pallavi M. Latthe. Complementary therapies for bladder pain syndrome: a systematic review, International Urogynecology Journal, 2016, pp. 1127-1136, Volume 27, Issue 8, DOI: 10.1007/s00192-015-2886-3