Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome—Visceral or Neuropathic Pain Syndrome?

Abstract

Loin pain hematuria syndrome (LPHS) is a rare pain syndrome, which is somewhat poorly characterized and challenging to treat. The condition of LPHS is still controversial and there is no consensus of validated diagnostic criteria or optimal treatment strategies. The epidemiology of LPHS is unknown and the mechanisms/etiologies contributing to LPHS remain uncertain. There exists some debate whether LPHS represents neuropathic pain or visceral pain. Curiously, for such a controversial pain syndrome there is substantially more written in the literature regarding surgical-type treatments than conservative treatments. A brief review of LPHS potential pathophysiology and potential treatment approaches is presented.