International Continence Society (ICS) report on the terminology for sexual health in men with lower urinary tract (LUT) and pelvic floor (PF) dysfunction

Abstract

Introduction:The terminology for sexual health in men with lower urinary tract (LUT) and pelvic floor (PF) dysfunction has not been defined and organized into a clinically based consensus terminology report. The aim of this terminology report is to provide a definitional document within this context that will assist clinical practice and research.Methods: This report combines the input of the members of sexual health in men with LUT and PF Dysfunction working group of the International Continence Society (ICS), assisted at intervals by external referees. Appropriate core clinical categories and a sub-classification were developed to give coding to definitions. An extensive process of 18 rounds of internal and external review was involved to exhaustively examine each definition, with decision-making by collective opinion (consensus). The Committee retained evidence-based definitions, identified gaps, and updated or discarded outdated definitions. Expert opinions were used when evidence was insufficient or absent. Results: A terminology report for sexual health in men with LUT and PF dysfunction, encompassing 198 (178 NEW) separate definitions, has been

The AdVance Sling and Male Sexual Function: A Prospective Analysis on the Impact of Pelvic Mesh on Erectile and Orgasmic Domains in Sexually Active Men With Postprostatectomy Stress Urinary Incontinence

“… 5 , 15 , 16 , 17 Similarly, our study showed most of the patients achieved total continence with sustained continence outcomes at 24 months of follow-up study. This study utilized a strict definition of complete continence as 0 pad use based on the recent International Continence Society report on the terminology for sexual health and lower urinary tract dysfunction 18 and the high success rate of AdVance MS in this highly select group of males with PPUI in restoring continence is likely to further enhance other quality of life measures including sexual activities, as evident by the significant improvements in overall PGI-I (mean 1.4) scores in this study. There is a strong correlation between urinary incontinence and sexual function in males following RP, and restoration of urinary continence will improve sexual function.…”

The Unmet Needs for Studying Chronic Pelvic/Visceral Pain Using Animal Models

“…If central sensitization and other chronic pain mechanisms are identified, the definition of chronic pelvic pain also applies, even if the general rule of six months is yet to be confirmed [ 8 ]. According to the ICS, whenever chronic pelvic pain cannot be associated with a well-defined pathology, it is called chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) [ 9 ]. Bladder pain syndrome (BPS) is an example of CPPS ( Table 1 ).…”

“…Both the IASP/EAU and ICS/ESSIC classifications consider that endometriosis is associated with visceral pain. However, while in the IASP/EAU definition pain is due to the possible extra-pelvic location of the lesion [ 1 , 2 , 6 ] and the term secondary indicates that it is associated with tissue inflammation, in the ICS/ESSIC definition pain results from the tissue inflammation detected by nociceptors [ 9 ].…”

“…The ICS/ESSIC do not have a definition for EPS. The ICS classification is based on symptoms, and therefore it may not distinguish endometriosis from EPS [ 9 ]. Hence, endometriosis may have been used to define EPS in many clinical studies and reports.…”

“…On the other hand, CPBPS is not considered a pelvic pain syndrome by the IASP/EAU, probably because the location of pain, although difficult to identify, is mostly (but not exclusively [ 11 ]) found in the visceral region. In the ICS/ESSIC definition, however, the pelvic classification is due to the lack of connection of the pain to a visceral organ impairment [ 9 ].…”