OBJECTIVE: To track the severity and location of pelvic pain associated with endometriosis throughout the reproductive-age years and to evaluate the association between these pain parameters and the stage of disease. DESIGN: Historical prospective study. SETTING: Tertiary care center. PATIENT(S): Forty-eight women with endoscopically staged endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain who had undergone medical and/or conservative surgical therapy. INTERVENTION(S): Each participant was administered a questionnaire that included a determination of the severity and location of her pain. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The stage of disease, the area of the pelvis that contained the bulk of disease, the severity of pain, and the location of the most severe pain were recorded. RESULT(S): The mean duration from the initial diagnosis until follow-up was 15.7 +/- 3.1 years, Twenty-one (43.8%) subjects denied any symptoms of pain on follow-up evaluation. Of the 27 patients with persistent pain, 21 (78%) identified the location of their most severe pain as being the same as at initial diagnosis. The stage of disease at initial diagnosis was significantly associated with a higher degree of pain at follow-up. CONCLUSION(S): These data suggest that endometriosis-associated chronic pelvic pain commonly persists throughout the reproductive years and that endometriosis stage is directly related to the persistence of pelvic pain.
OBJECTIVE: To track the severity and location of pelvic pain associated with endometriosis throughout the reproductive-age years and to evaluate the association between these pain parameters and the stage of disease. DESIGN: Historical prospective study. SETTING: Tertiary care center. PATIENT(S): Forty-eight women with endoscopically staged endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain who had undergone medical and/or conservative surgical therapy. INTERVENTION(S): Each participant was administered a questionnaire that included a determination of the severity and location of her pain. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The stage of disease, the area of the pelvis that contained the bulk of disease, the severity of pain, and the location of the most severe pain were recorded. RESULT(S): The mean duration from the initial diagnosis until follow-up was 15.7 +/- 3.1 years, Twenty-one (43.8%) subjects denied any symptoms of pain on follow-up evaluation. Of the 27 patients with persistent pain, 21 (78%) identified the location of their most severe pain as being the same as at initial diagnosis. The stage of disease at initial diagnosis was significantly associated with a higher degree of pain at follow-up. CONCLUSION(S): These data suggest that endometriosis-associated chronic pelvic pain commonly persists throughout the reproductive years and that endometriosis stage is directly related to the persistence of pelvic pain.
Authors: Yadav Sapkota; John Attia; Scott D Gordon; Anjali K Henders; Elizabeth G Holliday; Nilufer Rahmioglu; Stuart MacGregor; Nicholas G Martin; Mark McEvoy; Andrew P Morris; Rodney J Scott; Krina T Zondervan; Grant W Montgomery; Dale R Nyholt Journal: Mol Hum Reprod Date: 2015-04-16 Impact factor: 4.025