The University of Wisconsin Interstitial Cystitis Scale (UW-IC)

 

The patient is asked about symptoms being experienced today.

 

UW-IC cystitis scale items (7):

(1) bladder pain

(2) bladder discomfort

(3) getting up at night to go to the bathroom

(4) going to the bathroom frequently during the day

(5) urgency to urinate

(6) difficulty sleeping because of bladder problems

(7) burning sensation in the bladder

 

Reference symptom items (18):

(1) general pelvic discomfort

(2) headache

(3) backache

(4) dizziness

(5) feelings of suffocation

(6) chest pain

(7) ringing in ears

(8) aches in joints

(9) swollen ankles

(10) nasal congestion

(11) flu

(12) abdominal cramps

(13) tingling in fingers and toes

(14) nausea

(15) blind spots or blurred vision

(16) heart pounding

(17) sore throat

(18) coughing

Responses	Points
not at all	0
minimally	1
a little	2
some	3
a fair amount	4
quite a bit	5
a lot	6

 

Visual analogue scales (VAS, from 0 to 100 mm)

(1) sleep satisfaction: completely to unsatisfactory

(2) pelvic pain or pressure: no pain to unbearable

(3) urethral or vaginal pain: no pain to unbearable

(4) urge to urinate: none to unbearable

(5) burning or discomfort with urination: no pain to unbearable

 

cystitis scale score =

= SUM(points for 7 cystitis items)

 

reference symptoms score =

= SUM(points for all 18 references items)

 

Interpretation:

• minimum cystitis and reference scores: 0

• maximal cystitis symptom score: 42

• maximal reference symptom score: 108

• The higher the cystitis symptom score, the more bothersome the symptoms.