Approaches to pain management in urology

E.I. Karpov

City Clinical Polyclinics No. 6, Ryazan, Russian Federation

Phenazopyridine is an urinary pain reliever that is eliminated in the urine and has a local analgesic effect on bladder mucosa. This paper addresses the results of preclinical and clinical trials on phenazopyridine and, in particular, its pharmacokinetics. The efficacy of this drug for symptom relief in dysuria caused by the irritation of lower urinary tract mucosa (as a result of infections, surgeries, probing, or catheterization) is demonstrated. It is important to remember that the use of phenazopyridine to relieve dysuria in urinary infections should not delay the diag-nosis and pathogenetically oriented treatment. Since phenazopyridine provides analgesic effect on bladder mucosa and also can turn urine reddish orange, this agent can be employed to perform cystoscopy or chromocystoscopy, i.e., to identify ureteral orifices or to assess ureteral patency in the course of gynecological surgeries. It was demonstrated that phenazopyridine reduces pain severity after cystoscopy.  Safety profile of phenazopyridine is discussed as well. This agent has a favorable safety profile when used as indicated.

Keywords: phenazopyridine, urinary pain reliever, cystitis, radiation cystitis, stent, sling surgery, cystoscopy, chromocystoscopy.

For citation: Karpov E.I. Approaches to pain management in urology. Russian Medical Review. 2020;4(2):118–121. DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2020-4-2-118-121.