The treatment pathway considered by NICE and SMC in secondary care^1,2

• NICE and SMC acknowledged that the treatment pathway for BPS is complex and varied between services ^1,2
• Many of the standard oral treatments currently used for BPS are to treat symptoms (e.g. painkillers, amitriptyline, gabapentin, etc) or are being used off-label (e.g. cimetidine, hydroxyzine)^3,4
• If patients have an inadequate response to these oral symptomatic treatments, previously there were limited options available, including bladder instillations^1,2

Bladder instillations

• Bladder instillations are commercially available medical devices containing hyaluronic acid and/or chondroitin sulphate or locally prepared specials (“bladder cocktails”), and typically given in a hospital setting
• As an invasive procedure, bladder instillations are not always an easy option for patients; they can be viewed as inconvenient and undignified^1,2
• Repeated catheterisations can result in post-insertion pain and increase the risk of UTIs⁵

Proposed treatment pathway to consider for BPS with bladder lesions:

Where elmiron^® fits into the treatment pathway:

• NICE and SMC have identified the need for an effective alternative to bladder instillations^1,2
• elmiron^® offers an effective treatment option for use before bladder instillations in BPS patients with bladder lesions^1,2
• elmiron^® is the first and only oral medication licensed for BPS with bladder lesions
• elmiron^® has been assessed by NICE, SMC and AWMSG^1-3