Hemorrhagic cystitis is a condition characterized by recurrent hematuria, urinary urgency and supra pubic pain.

The causes of Hemorrhagic cystitis include radiation, chemotherapeutic drugs such as cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide, and some viral and bacterial infections. Radiation-induced cystitis generally occurs as an adverse effect of therapeutic radiation administered to the pelvis for various malignancies, mostly of prostate, urinary bladder and cervix. The incidence of radiation cystitis in patients undergoing radiotherapy has been determined to be between 5.7 and 11.5%.

The basic pathology of tissue damage in Hemorrhagic cystitis is cytotoxicity, causing sub-lethal cellular damage, progressive obliterative endarteritis, tissue ischemia, loss of collagen and fibrosis. Hypovascularity causes tissue hypoxia and under such conditions, damaged fibroblasts fail to produce collagen along with superadded infection. Bladder biopsy shows mucosal edema, vascular telengiectasis, sub-mucosal hemorrhages, obliterative endarteritis and smooth muscle fibrosis.

Conventional treatments include intravascular instillation of formalin, alum and silver nitrate, systemic use of steroids and aminocaproic acid, antibiotics, cauterization of bleeding vessels, prostaglandin infusion and bilateral ligation of hypogastric arteries.