Bladder Involvement in Systemic Sclerosis: Urodynamic and Histological Evaluation in 23 Patients

The Inflammatory Contracted Bladder

“…Certain connective tissue pathologies like systemic sclerosis or scleroderma have been associated with lower urinary tract symptoms, urodynamic abnormalities and bladder wall fibrosis [47]; however; the lowest volumetric capacity was reported with 114 mL.…”

Prevalence and Disease‐Specific Risk Factors for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Systemic Sclerosis: An International Multicenter Study

“…The 2 most important mechanisms generating LUTS in SSc appear to be the functional impairment (resulting from the different disease manifestation) and dysfunction of the autonomous nervous system. The latter could explain why digestive symptoms are closely associated with voiding and post‐micturition symptoms . The association between joint inflammation (synovitis) and LUTS probably results from a greater functional disability or a shared inflammatory mechanism with the voiding category of LUTS (Supplementary Figure , available on the Arthritis Care & Research web site at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acr.23454/abstract).…”

“…The association between joint inflammation (synovitis) and LUTS probably results from a greater functional disability or a shared inflammatory mechanism with the voiding category of LUTS (Supplementary Figure , available on the Arthritis Care & Research web site at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acr.23454/abstract). The involved mechanisms and their interactions are probably more complex than the proposed model, since there are discrepancies when bladder histology, urodynamic measures, severity of autonomic deficit, and urinary symptoms are taken into consideration . Further studies are needed to better understand the physiopathology of LUTS in SSc.…”

A case report of bilateral hydroureteronephrosis associated with systemic sclerosis

“…An impaired esophagus leads to dysphasia, especially for solids, and reflux of the gastric contents into the distal esophagus with peptic esophagitis. However, Minervini et al 12 demonstrated that urinary symptoms and urodynamic features were correlated neither with the severity of vesical fibrosis nor with visceral involvement, and gastrointestinal fibrosis seems to be closely associated with impairment in bladder. As reported in previous papers and this paper, 12 patients with atrophic bladder showed gastrointestinal involvement with complaints such as dysphagia, nausea, diarrhea, and narrowing of the oral aperture.…”