Prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction in patients with interstitial cystitis.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction in women with interstitial cystitis (IC).

Methods: Women with IC and pelvic pain were referred to the Beaumont Women's Initiative for Pelvic Pain and Sexual Health program. A comprehensive patient history and pelvic examination were completed by a certified women's health nurse practitioner.

Fact or fiction--is abuse prevalent in patients with interstitial cystitis? Results from a community survey and clinic population.

Purpose: We determined whether abuse is associated with interstitial cystitis by surveying patients with interstitial cystitis and controls. We corroborated this association in a clinic population.

Materials And Methods: A survey was mailed to 406 women diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and 5,000 age matched, randomly selected women in the United States.

Variability in catheter microwave sterilization techniques in a single clinic population.

Purpose: We designed a survey to assess the microwave sterilization technique practiced by patients at our clinic who perform clean intermittent catheterization.

Materials And Methods: A 23-question survey addressing urinary catheter use and home sterilization techniques was mailed to 129 patients. A followup survey was mailed to 47 respondents who reported using a microwave oven to sterilize the catheters to assess the microwave technique further.

Mechanisms of impaired gallbladder contractile response in chronic acalculous cholecystitis.

The mechanisms involved in the impaired gallbladder contractile response in chronic acalculous cholecystitis are unknown. To determine the mechanisms that may lead to impaired gallbladder emptying in chronic acalculous cholecystitis, gallbladder specimens removed during hepatic resection (controls) and after cholecystectomy for chronic acalculous cholecystitis were attached to force transducers and placed in tissue baths with oxygenated Krebs solution. Electrical field stimulation (EFS) (1 to 10 Hz, 0.