Sharp, shooting neuropathic pain in the rectum or genitals: pudendal neuralgia.

In 18 mo, the author encountered six patients with severe sharp, shooting genital or rectal pain. All patients had cancer, diabetes, or both, and all patients responded dramatically to adjuvant analgesics with or without opioid analgesics. The author concludes that the presence of pudendal neuralgia should prompt a search for an underlying cause, and that this severe neuropathic pain syndrome is effectively managed with adjuvant analgesics.