In urethral syndrome – colloquially called irritable bladder – (synonyms: Frequency-urgency syndrome; hyperactive bladder; hyperreflexive bladder; hyperreflexive urinary bladder; irritable bladder; menopausal irritable bladder; psychosomatic urethral syndrome; irritable bladder syndrome;urethral pain syndrome; urethral syndrome (Engl. urethral pain syndrome; vegetative irritable bladder syndrome; ICD-10 N32.8: Other specified diseases of the urinary bladder) is an irritable condition of the urinary bladder in which no triggering cause can be found. Usually, continence is maintained.
Since no urine is lost, irritable bladder is also called overactive bladder dry (OAB dry).
In terms of associated symptoms, urethral syndrome is one of the possible manifestations of chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS). In the current guidelines of the “European Association of Urology” (EAU) it is assigned to the thematic complex of chronic pelvic pain.
In Anglo-American literature, irritable bladder appears under the term urethral syndrome.
Sex ratio: irritable bladder occurs almost exclusively in women.
Frequency peak: the disease occurs predominantly between the 3rd and 5th decade of life.
The prevalence (disease incidence) is 13.9% in the over 40 age group (in Europe and Canada).
Course and prognosis: Patients with a so-called irritable bladder (urethral syndrome) often come to urological care only after several years of suffering. Since the etiology (cause) of irritable bladder is unknown, a wide variety of methods such as bladder/pelvic floor training or even psychological counseling can be considered. Even if pharmacotherapy (drug treatment) is used, it takes a long time (possibly several weeks) for symptoms to improve.
