Maintenance of the response to dimethyl sulfoxide treatment using hyperbaric oxygen in interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome: a prospective, randomized, comparative study.

What Researchers Did

Researchers conducted a randomised comparative pilot study to evaluate hyperbaric oxygen therapy for maintaining the response to intravesical dimethyl sulfoxide in women with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome.

What They Found

Out of 20 women with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome, 14 (70%) experienced clinical improvement after initial dimethyl sulfoxide treatment (p < 0.05). Patients randomised to hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the second phase showed a more substantive and prolonged maintenance of these beneficial effects.

Canadian Relevance

This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was not conducted in Canada, nor did it involve Canadian participants or researchers.

Study Limitations

This was an open, prospective, randomised, comparative pilot study with a small sample size of 20 patients, limiting the generalizability of the findings.