What should the clinician ask to distinguish between OAB and IC? A clinician should be aware that though urgency is a common factor between the two, the two conditions are very different. Though urgency is a common symptom of IC/PBS, it is a characteristic feature of OAB.
The clinician should be wary that the urgency arises due to concern about impending incontinence or increasing pain and discomfort.
Another major distinction is the cause of the illness.
OAB can be caused by a variety of factors including caffeine intake,
pelvic floor problems, high fluid consumption and bladder abnormalities. IC on the other hand has no one known cause.
Despite the fact that IC is treatable,
it is chronic with no cure. OAB can be cured depending on the underlying cause.
Both conditions may represent a clinical manifestation of a hypersensitive bladder and should be included in the differential diagnosis for patients who present with urgency and frequency.
It is especially important that IC be considered in patients with OAB.