Evaluation of a Phyto Aromatherapy Treatment in the Management of Recurrent Cystitis

Plain-language summary

Half of the women have a once-in-a-lifetime episode of cystitis. Recurrence occurs in about 20% to 30% of patients, and half of these patients will have more than 4 episodes per year, defining recurrent cystitis. The clinical assessment sometimes brings to light favourable factors; variables in pre- or post-menopause; but in the majority of cases, no explanatory cause can solve the problem and some authors refer to resignation as a classic reaction to this problem. several countries have already opted for alternative treatments (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, phytotherapy, diuresis treatment), especially since the pressure of antibiotic selection is at the root of the dramatic spread of bacterial resistances. There is a growing interest in the potential of complementary medicine to assist in this care. Products based on cranberries, for example, have been particularly studied and a 2012 Cochrane review concluded that there is a benefit with an estimated risk reduction of between 10 and 20%. Another "alternative" approach is the use of Chinese medicinal herbs. These herbs have been used for more than 2000 years. The implementation of phyto-aromatherapy treatment implies a global management of patients with recurrent cystitis. Initially, it involves a curative phase as soon as the first symptoms of the attack appear, thanks to a mixture of antibacterial essential oils. In a second phase, it integrates a preventive phase over several months thanks to an association of medicinal plants whose effects in this field have been proven in vitro and in vivo, allowing to rebalance a "terrain" associating anxiety, hypersensitivity to pain, a terrain willingly associated with the irritable bowel syndrome in these patients. While having few side effects, the plants will act, in the long term, at different levels: directly on the cause of the disease thanks to their antiseptic, antiadhesive and diuretic activities, but also by reducing the symptoms thanks to their anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antispasmodic and anxiolytic activities. Investigators hypothesize that patients with recurrent cystitis can be improved by a two-phase, multi-plant, phyto-aromatherapy treatment combining several plants: the treatment of attacks, by aromatherapy, and a prophylactic treatment, by phytotherapy. In the absence of any such studies published in the literature, investigators propose a non-randomised prospective monocentric interventional pilot study on 15 patients with proof of concept and feasibility.

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