Clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of eosinophilic cystitis: A retrospective study

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic cystitis (EC) is a rare inflammatory urinary bladder disorder whose etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment are unknown. The work aims to evaluate the clinical manifestations, cystoscopic characteristics, pathological features, treatment, and clinical outcome of EC patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The clinical records and histopathology material of 22 patients diagnosed as EC during ten years were reviewed and analyzed for patient's age, sex, clinical data, cystoscopic features, biopsy procedures, treatment plan, follow-up, and prognosis. Frequencies, normality tests, descriptive statistics, and correlations were run. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 46.5 + 17 years, 12 females and 10 males. Regarding the patient's complaints, dysuria was the most frequent main symptom, followed by hematuria. On cystoscopic examination, bladder mass was seen in 54.5% of patients. Six patients (27.3%) were associated with different allergic diseases; however peripheral eosinophilia was shown in two patients (9.1%). All cases revealed predominance of eosinophilic infiltration on microscopic examination. The most commonly used medications were corticosteroids for 72.7% of patients with tapering dose giving a significant improvement with a recorded recurrence in one patient after 12 months from the first lesion. CONCLUSIONS: No specific clinical presentation for EC patients and histopathology is the standard diagnostic tool. Medical treatment including corticosteroids was the first line with good prognosis, although recurrence remains a possibility which emphasizes the importance of patients’ follow-up.