Evaluation of effectiveness of pharmacological treatment in pelvic congestion syndrome.

Abstract

Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) is a pain syndrome characterized by positional pelvic pain and is associated with pelvic and vulvar varicosities as well as symptoms of dyspareunia and postcoital pain. Since the etiology of PCS is complex, the treatment should be individualized. Despite both pharmacological and interventional methods being used, there is significant predominance of minimally invasive therapies e.g. embolization. The study considers the answer to the question of whether pharmacological therapy is altogether effective. Using a combination of keywords, a PubMed search was performed for the years 1987-2022. The relevant articles were appointed and included in this narrative review. Despite the multitude of alternatives for pharmacological treatment, the systemic side effects of the medications used, as well as the interactions between drugs, affect patients' compliance and persistence. Furthermore, the quality of the currently existing evidence, considering the efficacy of the given substances, is low. Because of the adverse effects and thus the limited drug administration period, there is currently insufficient research on long-term effectiveness of the PCS pharmacological treatment. Therefore, prospective, comparative studies with larger patient population sizes are necessary to provide the possibility of efficient pharmacological therapy.