Vaginismus and Infertility

Background: Vaginismus described as persistent or reccurent difficulties for woman to allow vaginal entry of a penis, a finger or there is often avoidance and anticipation, fear or experience of pain, along with variable involuntary contraction of pelvic muscle. Reviews: Vaginismus can lead to unconsummated marriage, and also can be hidden caused of infertility. Vaginismus can be categorized as primary (lifelong), patient has never experiences non painful intercourse or secondary (acquired), patient has previously normal but now experience pain. Vaginismus should be considered as part of differential diagnosis in patient who has no satisfaction in sexual intercourse or do not tolerate penetration. Diagnosis is made by making a good history taking. A variety of intervention have been suggested in some case report study. Effective treatment to vaginismus include sex education, psychosexual therapy, systematic desensitization, anxiolytic and Botulinum Toxin (botox). While there are few controlled studies on the management of vaginismus, they are limited and poorly designed. Summary: Goal of treatment is not only to achieve pregnancy but also increase quality of life. Either natural or assisted, vaginismus is still have to be cured. A great teamwork is required to successfull therapy.

Patient-Reported Health Outcomes and Quality of Life after Peripartum Hysterectomy for Placenta Accreta Spectrum

Objective Short-term morbidity of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is well described, but few data are available regarding long-term outcomes and quality of life. We aimed to evaluate patient-reported outcomes after hysterectomy for PAS. Study Design This is a prospective cohort study of women with risk factors for PAS who were enrolled antenatally. Exposed women were defined as those who underwent cesarean hysterectomy due to PAS. Unexposed women were those with three or more prior cesareans or placenta previa, but no PAS, who underwent cesarean delivery without hysterectomy. Two surveys were sent to patients at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months postpartum: (1) a general health questionnaire and (2) the SF-36, a validated quality of life survey. Aggregate scores for each questionnaire were calculated and responses were analyzed. Results At 6 months postpartum, women with PAS were more likely to report rehospitalization (odds ratio [OR] 5.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40–24.3), painful intercourse (OR 2.50, 95% CI 1.04–6.02), and anxiety/worry (OR 3.77, 95% CI 1.43–9.93), but were not statistically more likely to report additional surgeries (OR 3.39, 95% CI 0.99–11.7) or grief and depression (OR 2.45, 95% CI 0.87–6.95). At 12 months, women with PAS were more likely to report painful intercourse, grief/depression, and anxiety/worry. At 36 months, women with PAS were more likely to report grief/depression, anxiety/worry, and additional surgeries. Women with PAS reported significantly lower quality of life in physical functioning, role functioning, social functioning, and pain at 6 months postpartum, but not in other quality of life domains. Decreased quality of life was also reported at 12 and 36 months in the PAS group. Conclusion Women with PAS are more likely to report ongoing long-term health issues and decreased quality of life for up to 3 years following surgery than those undergoing cesarean for other indications. Key Points

Vestibular Anatomic Localization of Pain Sensitivity in Women with Insertional Dyspareunia: A Different Approach to Address the Variability of Painful Intercourse

The pathophysiology underlying painful intercourse is challenging due to variability in manifestations of vulvar pain hypersensitivity. This study aimed to address whether the anatomic location of vestibular-provoked pain is associated with specific, possible causes for insertional dyspareunia. Women (n = 113) were assessed for “anterior” and “posterior” provoked vestibular pain based on vestibular tenderness location evoked by a Q-tip test. Pain evoked during vaginal intercourse, pain evoked by deep muscle palpation, and the severity of pelvic floor muscles hypertonicity were assessed. The role of potential confounders (vestibular atrophy, umbilical pain hypersensitivity, hyper-tonus of pelvic floor muscles and presence of a constricting hymenal-ring) was analyzed to define whether distinctive subgroups exist. Q-tip stimulation provoked posterior vestibular tenderness in all participants (6.20 ± 1.9). However, 41 patients also demonstrated anterior vestibular pain hypersensitivity (5.24 ± 1.5). This group (circumferential vestibular tenderness), presented with either vestibular atrophy associated with hormonal contraception use (n = 21), or augmented tactile umbilical-hypersensitivity (n = 20). The posterior-only vestibular tenderness group included either women with a constricting hymenal-ring (n = 37) or with pelvic floor hypertonicity (n = 35). Interestingly, pain evoked during intercourse did not differ between groups. Linear regression analyses revealed augmented coital pain experience, umbilical-hypersensitivity and vestibular atrophy predicted enhanced pain hypersensitivity evoked at the anterior, but not at the posterior vestibule (R = 0.497, p < 0.001). Distinguishing tactile hypersensitivity in anterior and posterior vestibule and recognition of additional nociceptive markers can lead to clinical subgrouping.