Clinical
Resources
This page gathers practical clinical resources to support urologists and other specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of IC/BPS — from the latest ESSIC diagnostic proposal and overviews of confusable and associated conditions, to visual diagnostic material and treatment guidance. New resources will be added as further ESSIC publications become available.
Diagnosis
Diagnosing IC/BPS requires more than recognising its characteristic symptoms: it also means carefully excluding other conditions that can present similarly, while remaining alert to conditions that may occur alongside it. This section brings together ESSIC’s latest diagnostic proposal, practical overviews to support differential diagnosis, and visual resources for diagnostic assessment.
Optimizing the Diagnosis of Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome: an ESSIC Proposal
Published in 2026, our proposal sets out a refined approach to optimising the diagnostic pathway for IC/BPS, developed by a panel of leading specialists in the field. The full article is freely available as open access.
IC/BPS: Confusable Diseases and Disorders
The diagnosis of IC/BPS is still largely one of exclusion: a number of other diseases and disorders can present with similar symptoms and signs, and need to be ruled out before a diagnosis of IC/BPS can be confirmed. However, the presence of one of these conditions does not necessarily rule out IC/BPS as a concurrent diagnosis — the two can, and often do, coexist.
This overview summarises the confusable diseases and disorders most relevant to the diagnostic process.
Treatment
Once a diagnosis is confirmed, treatment is guided by the patient’s subtype and individual symptom profile, as no single approach is effective for every patient. This section brings together ESSIC’s resources on treatment, starting with a general overview of the principles guiding patient management.
IC/BPS: Treatment Overview
IC/BPS patients form a highly heterogeneous population: no single treatment works for everyone, and there is currently no cure.
This overview outlines the general principles guiding treatment — including the role of subtyping and phenotyping, the value of a multimodal and multidisciplinary approach, and the psychological impact the condition can have on patients — offering specialists a practical starting point for clinical decision-making.
Images and Videos: Cystoscopy
Visual recognition plays a key role in diagnosing IC/BPS, particularly in identifying Hunner lesions during cystoscopy. This section will feature cystoscopy videos and photographs to support diagnostic assessment and training.