A forgotten disease: pelvic congestion syndrome as a cause of chronic lower abdominal pain.

Data from the medical records of the patients with dilated ovarian veins (OV) and the control group without dilated OV, including gynecological examinations available either in electronic medical records or matching paper-based gynecological files accessible within the hospital records. PCS-associated symptoms of interest included chronic or recurrent abdominal, back and flank pain, dyspareunia, ovarian point tenderness on bimanual examination, urological symptoms (dysuria, urinary frequency, urgency, hematuria), and vulvar and lower extremity varicosities.Demographic information was also collected: menopausal status, age, ethnicity, height, body mass index (BMI), blood group, gravidity, parity, birth weights of children, method of contraception, position of uterus (ante- or retroverted), smoking, alcohol consumption and signs of infection as measured in blood tests (CPR, leucocytes).