ICS book review on Facing Pelvic Pain: A Guide for Patients and Their Families, by Elise De.
Chronic Pelvic Pain syndrome is defined as pain with a minimum duration of 6 months after the exclusion of other etiologies. It corresponds to a complex condition experienced by both men and women. It has a multifactorial nature that may have numerous etiologies including psychological, urological, gynecological, musculoskeletal, infectious, and hormonally driven causes, remaining however idiopathic in almost two thirds of cases (1) The literature also describes it as a dysfunction of the general pain system.
Pelvic pain syndrome is often associated with negative cognitive, behavioral, sexual, and emotional consequences as well as with symptoms suggestive of lower urinary tract, sexual, bowel, pelvic floor, or gynecological dysfunction, significantly affecting the quality of life of patients. Its frequency stands relatively high with rates between 3 and 10% of the population being described and bearing the characteristic of affecting more frequently women. This obviously determines a financial impact with costs linked to treatment estimated at 880 million dollars annually, making it a significant health burden (2).
Nevertheless, treatment modalities and management are considered still under development (3). Multimodal and tailored approaches are advocated emphasizing conservative and oral agents followed by intravesical treatments with only patients continuing to be symptomatic going on to have more intervention therapies. In all, guidelines refer to the use of patient education to improve their understanding about the disease but also the realistic goals (4)
This book written under the guidance of Elise De and Theodore Stern fully answers to the challenge. This exhaustive work written by “leading health care providers researchers, and advocates in the field, Facing Pelvic Pain combines top-tier medical information and compassionate counsel on the diagnosis and management of the condition, with a caring and sensible approach to the physical and emotional aspects of living with pelvic pain and its complications “ It definitely represents a precious source for patients facing this chronic burden and looking for answers, but should also be seen, thanks to its completeness as a useful tool for nurses, physiotherapists, medical career students and general practitioners.
Definitely a must have for anyone dealing with these issues either as a patient or as a care provider!
For more information on this book please see: https://www.facingpelvicpain.org/
- Sacral Neuromodulation treating chronic pelvica pin: a meta analysis and systematic review of the literature. Amr Mahran et Al. Int Urogynecol J (2019) 30:1023-1035
- New insights about chronic pelvic pain syndrome. K . Grinberg et Al. Public health 2020,17,3005
- EAU Guidelines
- How can we improve the diagnosis and management of bladder pain syndrom?Part 2. Vik Khullar, A. DIgesu, N. Veit-Rubin et Al. Neururol and Urodynamics 2019, 38:S71-S81.
Additional Information
ICS Live: 10 Pearls for managing chronic pelvic pain in patients with mesh complications
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School Press Release, February 2021
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