Management of Pelvic Pain in Older Women

In: Handbook of Gynecology · 2017 · pp. 559–570 · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17798-4_51 · W4245359922
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This chapter provides a comprehensive summary of chronic pelvic pain management in older women, aiming to facilitate appropriate investigation and treatment for generalists.

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This chapter reviews chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in older women, defining CPP as lower abdominal/pelvic pain lasting at least 6 months with functional impact, and outlining epidemiology, healthcare utilization, and costs. It emphasizes that a substantial proportion of women with CPP have no well-defined etiology after completion of investigations and frames management by recognizing limitations of purely organ-specific explanations. A stated caveat is that it is a general, comprehensive summary rather than an original study, synthesizing existing information without introducing new trial-level evidence. Relevance to endometriosis: the chapter is included in the corpus because it cites work on central changes associated with chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis, though its main focus is broad CPP management in older women rather than endometriosis-specific mechanisms.

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Abstract

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is defined as intermittent or constant pain in the lower abdomen or pelvis for at least 6 months in duration, with subsequent impact on the ability to attend to daily living activities. Gynecologists have traditionally focused on the organ-specific approach or viscera to explain or identify the pain source. It is important to recognize that as many as 55% of women presenting with CPP will have no well-defined etiology following completion of all investigations. CPP is fairly common, with an estimated prevalence of 3.8% in the adult female population. It is the impetus for 10% of gynecologic referrals, 12% of hysterectomies, and 40% of laparoscopic procedures. The socioeconomic CPP cost is considerable, with estimated direct health care cost of $880 million per year in the United States, besides $2 billion dollars direct and indirect costs annually. Of these women, 15% report missing work, and 45% note experiencing reduced productivity. This chapter will provide a comprehensive summary of chronic pelvic pain management in older women for the generalist and to facilitate appropriate investigation and management Access this chapter Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout Purchases are for personal use only Similar content being viewed by others

References

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