The multidisciplinary approach to defining the urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes: report from a national institutes of health workshop, december 13-14, 2007, Baltimore, MD.

Interstitial cystitis and chronic prostatitis remain clinical enigmas, partly because the conditions are so ill-defined, partly because they overlap so much with each other and other local and systemic pain syndromes, and partly because our management strategies are rather poor. Recently, the condition traditionally identified as interstitial cystitis has become known as interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS), painful bladder syndrome, and/or bladder pain syndrome, whereas chronic nonbacterial prostatitis syndromes have become known as chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) or simply chronic pelvic pain syndrome. The overall purpose of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Workshop was to begin to redefine these 2 major urologic pelvic pain syndromes in the context of the other major syndromes with which they are commonly associated (eg, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome). The specific aims of the workshop were to discuss disease definitions and diagnostic protocols of these major chronic pelvic pain disorders, discuss the interrelationships among these disorders, and identify common symptomatology and diagnostic assessment to ensure complete evaluation of all relevant comorbidities. Finally, it was hoped that the workshop would lead to development of a diagnostic algorithm that could be tested in a “pilot” study. The participants included a planning committee, a designated advisory panel, and interested researchers, clinicians, patients, and other stakeholders. The following is a brief synopsis of the discussion.