Pelvic Congestion Syndrome-Associated Pelvic Pain: A Systematic Review of Diagnosis and Management

Frank F. Tu, David Hahn, John F. Steege
In: Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey · 2010 · vol. 65(5) , pp. 332–340 · doi:10.1097/ogx.0b013e3181e0976f · PMID:20591203 · W2043711312
review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 21 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This systematic review found that optimal diagnostic methods for pelvic congestion syndrome remain unclear, and treatments like embolization, surgery, or hormonal suppression show varied success rates without comparative trials.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

UNLABELLED: To systematically evaluate the diagnosis and treatment of female pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS). We searched the PubMed database and relevant bibliographies for English-language studies published between January 1966 and May 2009 pertaining to diagnosis and treatment of female PCS-related pelvic pain. Treatment articles were restricted to those containing at least 4 subjects and a specified length of follow-up. Diagnostic test studies were included if they included subjects with and without pelvic pain. Two reviewers abstracted characteristics and outcomes from all controlled diagnostic studies and treatment papers. Six diagnostic and 22 treatment studies met entry criteria. Diagnostic method studies (pelvic venography, magnetic resonance imaging, or ultrasound) generally lacked appropriate reference standards, blinded assessors, or proven reliability. Treatment studies (using transvenous catheter embolization, surgical ligation, hysterectomy, or hormonal suppression) reporting ordinal outcomes found improvement from 24% to 100%; a similarly wide range of improvement was found with change in continuous rating of visual analogue scale pain scores (mean follow-up 4 months to 5.6 years). Both progestins and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists are effective in decreasing pain symptoms. The optimal diagnostic approach for PCS-related pelvic pain remains unclear, and controlled trials comparing medical and interventional treatments are urgently needed for PCS-associated pelvic pain. TARGET AUDIENCE: Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Family Physicians. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: After completion of this article, the reader will be able to Compare different surgical treatments for pelvic congestion syndromes associated with pelvic pain syndromes. Estimate the relative severity of pelvic congestion in women using current venographic criteria. Choose between different diagnostic methods for characterizing pelvic venous blood flow and anatomy in women presenting with pelvic pain.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (47)

Cited by (21)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:00:01.174412+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK