Nocturnal Vulval Pain in Girls-A Subset of Vulvodynia?

J Low Genit Tract Dis

St John's Institute of Dermatology, Guy's & St Thomas NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom.

Published: July 2023

Objectives: The aims of the authors' case series were to outline the clinical features of prepubertal nocturnal vulval pain syndrome and to look at management and outcomes.

Methods: Clinical details of prepubertal girls experiencing episodes of nocturnal vulval pain with no identifiable cause were recorded and analyzed. Parents completed a questionnaire to look at outcomes.

Results: Eight girls with age at onset of symptoms between 3.5 and 8 years (mean 4.4 years) were included. Each patient described intermittent episodes of vulval pain lasting between 20 minutes and 5 hours, starting 1-4 hours after falling asleep. They were crying and rubbing or holding the vulva with no obvious cause seen. Many were not fully awake and 75% had no recollection of the events. Management focused on reassurance alone. The questionnaire showed that 83% had full resolution of symptoms with a mean duration of 5.7 years.

Conclusions: Prepubertal nocturnal vulval pain syndrome may be a subset of vulvodynia (generalized, spontaneous, intermittent) to be included in the clinical spectrum of night terrors. Recognizing the clinical key features should aid prompt diagnosis and reassurance of the parents.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/LGT.0000000000000752DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

vulval pain
20
nocturnal vulval
16
prepubertal nocturnal
8
pain syndrome
8
pain
5
nocturnal
4
pain girls-a
4
girls-a subset
4
subset vulvodynia?
4
vulvodynia? objectives
4

Similar Publications

Pain that occurs during sexual activity is highly prevalent during a woman's lifetime, affecting ∼15% of women. The etiology of dyspareunia is multifactorial. Therefore, treatment must be individualized.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The management of vulval disorders in Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) clinics requires targeted approaches due to the wide range of conditions affecting the vulva. Vulval diseases encompass various aetiologies, including dermatoses, pain syndromes, and pre-malignant conditions, necessitating specialized care often involving multidisciplinary collaboration.

Purpose: This guideline aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of specific vulval conditions that may present in GUM clinics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Healthcare providers often lack awareness, knowledge, and confidence in managing vulvodynia, which can lead to difficulties with diagnosis and treatment for individuals with the condition.

Objective: To develop and test an educational online toolkit tailored to supporting community-based primary care providers with diagnosis, treatment, and patient support for vulvodynia.

Methods: A sample of 19 community-based family physicians completed online surveys before and after testing the Vulvodynia Primary Care Toolkit (the toolkit hereafter) in their practice for 6 months.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Low-dose naltrexone as a treatment for vulvodynia: A case series.

Case Rep Womens Health

March 2025

Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecology Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 460 Waterstone Drive, Hillsborough, NC 27278, USA.

Vulvodynia is a chronic vulvar pain condition that can be challenging to treat and often requires multi-modal interventions for symptom management. Low-dose naltrexone (LDN) is a reversible competitive antagonist at opioid receptors and may have utility in treating chronic pain conditions. In a specialty gynecology clinic at an academic medical center, patients with poorly controlled vulvodynia who had failed standard treatments were offered LDN as an adjunct pain treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Vulvodynia is a multifactorial disease affecting 7%-16% of reproductive-aged women in general population; however, little is still known about the genetics underlying this complex disease.

Aim: To compare polygenic risk scores for hormones and receptors levels in a case-control study to investigate their role in vulvodynia and their correlation with clinical phenotypes.

Methods: Our case-control study included patients with vestibulodynia (VBD) and healthy women.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!