Defining and mapping pelvic pain: a scoping review for the advancement of clinical practice

Scritto da

MNNTZN115

in

Definire e mappare il dolore pelvico: una scoping review per l’avanzamento della pratica clinica

Autori

Tiziana Manni – Free lance, owner Ambulatorio FisioManni, Treviso, Italy

Carla Sforza – Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

Elia Bassini – Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

Background and aims

Pelvic pain is a complex and multifactorial condition involving a wide range of urological, gynecological, gastroenterological, and musculoskeletal causes. The lack of a unified definition and standardized classification further complicates diagnosis and treatment. In recent years, pain mapping has emerged as a potential tool to improve the understanding and clinical management of this symptom. This study aims to conduct a scoping review of the most recent definitions of pelvic pain, comparing various descriptions and creating pain maps to graphically represent the symptom’s distribution.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, analyzing a total of 31 articles. Data sources included secondary literature such as reviews, guidelines, consensus statements, and clinical manuals. The collected data were synthesized and visually represented through maps highlighting the pain areas associated with various pelvic syndromes.

Results

The analysis identified the main clinical conditions associated with pelvic pain and enabled the creation of maps showing the distribution of pain across different body systems: urological, gynecological, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, and nervous. The resulting maps are based on the classifications from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and the European Association of Urology (EAU). The findings revealed considerable heterogeneity in the definitions of pelvic pain and a lack of standardized visual representations.

Conclusion

Pain maps proved to be a useful tool for improving doctor-patient communication, facilitating diagnosis, and optimizing treatment planning. However, the literature highlights the need for greater standardization in the definitions and mappings of pelvic pain. Further research is needed to develop more detailed and standardized visual tools to be integrated into clinical practice.

REFERENCES

Chronic pain as a symptom or a disease: the IASP Classification of Chronic Pain for the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11)”. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. vol. 160. no. 1. pp. 19-27. Jan. 2019. 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001384.

J. Bornstein et al.. “2015 ISSVD, ISSWSH and IPPS Consensus Terminology and Classification of Persistent Vulvar Pain and Vulvodynia”. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. vol. 127. no. 4. pp. 745-751. Apr. 2016. 10.1097/aog.0000000000001359.
International Continence Society (ICS) report on the terminology for sexual health in men with lower urinary tract (LUT) and pelvic floor (PF) dysfunction”. Wiley. vol. 41. no. 1. pp. 140-165. Jan. 2022. 10.1002/nau.24846.
https://uroweb.org/guidelines/chronic-pelvic-pain (Accessed: 15 Sep. 2024); aggiornamento 2024 dell’articolo D. Engeler et al.. “The 2013 EAU Guidelines on Chronic Pelvic Pain: Is Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain a Habit, a Philosophy, or a Science? 10 Years of Development”. Elsevier BV. vol. 64. no. 3. pp. 431-439. Sep. 2013. 10.1016/j.eururo.2013.04.035.

Altri articoli