[Chronic pelvic pain in women from a gynecologic viewpoint]

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Gynecologists face challenges managing chronic pelvic pain in women, considering causes like endometriosis, adhesions, and pelvic varicosis alongside other somatic and psychosocial factors, and using diagnostic tools and multidisciplinary approaches.

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This paper reviews chronic pelvic and lower abdominal pain in women from a gynecologic perspective, outlining possible gynecologic causes and non-gynecologic somatic contributors, with emphasis on conditions including endometriosis and pelvic adhesions/PID, as well as irritable bowel syndrome and bladder pain syndrome. It summarizes psychosocial associations reported in the literature, noting confirmed comorbidity with anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and depression, while also stating that the roles of social factors and links to physical or sexual abuse remain unclear and not definitively assignable. The paper highlights diagnostic steps as history taking, gynecologic examination, and laparoscopy, and describes multidisciplinary therapeutic approaches with early integration of psychosomatic care and psychotherapy. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it specifically lists endometriosis as a key gynecologic cause within a broader differential diagnosis for chronic pelvic pain, while addressing it as one of several contributors.

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Abstract

Chronic pelvic pain in women is a difficult subject that challenges the gynecologist in practice. Possible gynecological causes are endometriosis, adhesions/PID, pelvic varicosis and ovarian retention syndrome/ovarian remnant syndrome. Other somatic causes are irritable bowel syndrome, bladder pain syndrome and fibromyalgia.Confirmed psychosocial factors contributing to chronic pelvic pain are comorbidity with anxiety disorders, substance abuse or depression, but the influence of social factors is less certain. The connection to physical and sexual abuse also remains unclear. Important diagnostic steps are studying the patient's history, a gynecological examination and laparoscopy. Multidisciplinary therapeutic approaches are helpful. Basic psychosomatic care and psychotherapy should be integrated into the therapeutic concept at an early stage of the disease.
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Zusammenfassung Der chronische Becken- oder Unterbauchschmerz der Frau stellt in der gynäkologischen Praxis ein schwieriges diagnostisches und therapeutisches Problem dar, das im Umgang mit den betroffenen Frauen eine stete Herausforderung ist. Mögliche gynäkologische Ursachen und Befunde sind Endometriose, Adhäsionen/PID, pelvine Varikosis und „ovarian retention syndome/ovarian remnant syndrome“. Andere somatische Ursachen sind Reizdarmsyndrom, „bladder pain syndrome“/interstitielle Zystitis sowie Erkrankungen des Muskel-Skelett-Systems und des Bindegewebes. Gesicherte psychosoziale Ursachen sind eine hohe Komorbidität mit psychologischen Faktoren wie Angststörungen, Substanzabhängigkeit oder depressiven Störungen, wobei eine eindeutige Zuordnung zu sozialen Faktoren nicht nachgewiesen ist. Auch ein Zusammenhang zu körperlichem und sexuellem Missbrauch kann nicht abschließend bewertet werden. In der Diagnostik sind Anamnese, gynäkologische Untersuchung und die Durchführung einer Laparoskopie als wichtige Schritte durchzuführen. Multidisziplinäre Therapieansätze sind als Erfolg versprechend anzusehen. Die psychosomatische Grundversorgung soll von Beginn an in das Behandlungskonzept integriert werden. Auch die Einleitung einer Psychotherapie soll frühzeitig in das Behandlungskonzept integriert werden. Abstract Chronic pelvic pain in women is a difficult subject that challenges the gynecologist in practice. Possible gynecological causes are endometriosis, adhesions/PID, pelvic varicosis and ovarian retention syndrome/ovarian remnant syndrome. Other somatic causes are irritable bowel syndrome, bladder pain syndrome and fibromyalgia. Confirmed psychosocial factors contributing to chronic pelvic pain are comorbidity with anxiety disorders, substance abuse or depression, but the influence of social factors is less certain. The connection to physical and sexual abuse also remains unclear. Important diagnostic steps are studying the patient’s history, a gynecological examination and laparoscopy. Multidisciplinary therapeutic approaches are helpful. Basic psychosomatic care and psychotherapy should be integrated into the therapeutic concept at an early stage of the disease. Similar content being viewed by others Literatur Berman S, Munakata J, Naliboff BD et al (2000) Gender differences in regional brain response to visceral pressure in IBS patients. Eur J Pain 4(2):157–172 Beutel ME, Weidner K, Brähler E (2005) Chronic pelvic pain of women and its co-morbidity. Geburtsh Frauenheilkd 65:61–67 DGPFG (Hrsg) (2009) Der chronische Unterbauchschmerz der Frau, Leitlinie der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychosomatische Frauenheilkunde und Geburtshilfe. Kramarz, Berlin Ehlert U, Heim C, Hellhammer DH (1999) Chronic pelvic pain as a somatoform disorder. Psychother Psychosom 68(2):87–94 Engel CC Jr, Walker EA, Engel AL (1998) A randomized, double-blind crossover trial of sertraline in women. J Psychosom Res 44(2):197–201 Greimel ER, Gartner MA, Deutsch MT (1999) Unterbauchschmerzen ohne Organbefund-ein Leitsymptom für somatoforme Störungen? Geburtsh Frauenheilkd 59:458–464 Hadfield R, Mardon H, Barlow D, Kennedy S (1996) Delay in the diagnosis of endometriosis: a survey of women from the USA and the UK. Hum Reprod 11(4):878–880 Kuligowska E, Deeds L 3rd, Lu K 3rd (2005) Pelvic pain: overlooked and underdiagnosed gynecologic conditions. Radiographics 25(1):3–20 Latthe P, Latthe M, Say L et al (2006) WHO systematic review of prevalence of chronic pelvic pain: a neglected reproductive health morbidity. BMC Public Health 6:177 Mathias SD, Kuppermann M, Liberman RF et al (1996) Chronic pelvic pain: prevalence, health-related quality of life and economic correlates. Obstet Gynecol 87(3):321–327 Peters AA, van Dorst E, Jellis B et al (1991) A randomized clinical trial to compare two different approaches in women with chronic pelvic pain. Obstet Gynecol 77(5):740–744 Rapkin AJ, Kames LD, Darke LL et al (1990) History of physical and sexual abuse in women with chronic pelvic pain. Obstet Gynecol 76(1):92–96 Sauer N, Eich W (2007) Somatoforme Störungen und Funktionsstörungen. Dtsch Ärzteblatt 104:43–51 Stones RW, Mountfield J (2001) Interventions for treating chronic pelvic pain in women (Cochrane Review). Cochrane Library, Issue 4(2):CD000387 Swank DJ, Swank-Bordewijk SC, Hop WC et al (2003) Laparoscopic adhesiolysis in patients with chronic abdominal pain: a blinded randomized controlled multicenter trial. Lancet 361:1247 Vercellini P, Trespidi L, De Giorgi O et al (1996) Endometriosis and pelvic pain: relation to disease stage and localization. Fertil Steril 65(2):299–304 Walker EA, Roy-Byrne PP, Katon WJ, Jemelka R (1991) An open trial of nortriptyline in women with chronic pelvic pain. Int J Psychiatry Med 21(3):245–252 Walling MK, Reiter RC, O’Hara MW et al (1994) Abuse history and chronic pain in women: I. Prevalences of sexual abuse and physical abuse. Obstet Gynecol 84(2):158–159 Walling MK, O’Hara MW, Reiter RC et al (1994) Abuse history and chronic pain in women: II. A multivariate analysis of abuse and psychological morbidity. Obstet Gynecol 84(2):200–206 Zondervan KT, Yudkin PL, Vessey MP et al (2001) Chronic pelvic pain in the community-symptoms, investigations and diagnoses. Am J Obstet Gynecol 184(6):1149–1155 Interessenkonflikt Die korrespondierende Autor versichert, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Siedentopf, F. Chronischer Beckenschmerz der Frau aus gynäkologischer Sicht. Urologe 48, 1193–1198 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00120-009-2041-1 Published: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00120-009-2041-1

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Condition tags

chronic_pelvic_painendometriosisirritable_bowel_syndrome

MeSH descriptors

Genital Diseases, Female Genital Diseases, Female Pain Measurement Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain Women's Health Female Genital Diseases, Female Genital Diseases, Female Germany Humans Pain Measurement Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain

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