Examination for Cystitis

Hi, does anyone know what procedures are used to diagnose cystitis and are any of them invasive?

Cystitis is properly diagnosed via a urine culture. This needs to be a clean-catch specimen. They would not normally use an invasive procedure unless there were other unusual factors to consider. Further, the lab tests that should be ordered are "a culture and sensitivity". The sensitivity part is where they use various antibiotic disks on whatever bacteria grow out to ensure that they prescribe an effective antibiotic and not one that your particular bacteria are resistant to.

Many doctors, NPs, and PAs take a few shortcuts here, but what I just described are the proper tests that should be ordered. (Analogous to going to a doctor for a sore throat and having an antibiotic prescribed without doing a culture and sensitivity test.

I hope you find this useful.

Usually, cystoscopy is needed at some time, to look in the bladder and check the lining of it, and see the extent of it... however, for a regular cystitis, no scope is needed.

I correct myself--for some reason, i should;ve said for interstitial cystitis, not for regular epidoes of cystitis.

Cystoscopy would only be used for severe/recurrent infections when a root cause needs to be found such as a structural abnormality.

Alexa75, at the risk of getting too technical here, cystitis and interstitial cystitis are two very different things. The typical cystitis that is fairly common, especially among females is usually due to a bacterial infection. Burning when you urinate, sometimes blood in the urine, sometimes cloudy or smelly urine are the typical symptoms. This is generally cured with antibiotics as I described in a previous posting. Interstitial cystitis is a whole different thing that is thought to be caused by a problem with your immune system where your own body attacks the lining of the bladder. It is usually something that is treated, but not cured. 😜 It is also usually not associated with a bacterial infection. And yes, cystoscopy would be used if interstitial cystitis was suspected. Burning and pain are common symptoms, but as they say, if you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras. If you suddenly have symptoms, it is almost certainly the common cystitis.