Beyond vulvodynia: from a correct diagnosis to a multidisciplinary care program. A referral center experience

Vulvodynia is a chronic pain condition without an identifiable cause. As such, it is a diagnosis of exclusion, and all other causes of vulvar pain should be excluded. Although a standard treatment for vulvodynia has not been established yet, multidisciplinary care programs appear to be effective.

The aim of this retrospective monocentric study was to analyze the prevalence of vulvodynia among women referred to our institution for a suspected diagnosis and to evaluate the efficacy of a multidimensional treatment plan. The primary outcome was the prevalence of vulvodynia following differential diagnosis. Secondary outcomes included: prevalence of the differential diagnoses, symptom resolution rate following treatment, and the relation between persistence of symptoms and (a) patients’ age; (b) coexisting chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs).

After having ruled out all other causes of vulvar pain, only 40.1% of women were considered as affected by vulvodynia. The most frequent differential diagnoses included lower genital tract infections (25.3%), vulvar lichen sclerosus (17.6%) and vulvovaginal atrophy (8.2%). Following a multidisciplinary care program, resolution of symptoms was observed in 13.6% cases, improvement in 64.3% and persistence in 21.9%. We did not find a statistically significant association between persistence of symptoms and age > 38 years (OR 2.10; p = 0.30). Women with one or more COPCs other than vulvodynia had a 75% increased risk of not obtaining a resolution of symptoms (OR 1.75; p = 0.44).

A thorough differential diagnosis and a multidisciplinary care program may represent a first way out of the muddle in the management of these patients.