Vulvodynia: an introduction and critical review of a chronic pain condition

Vulvodynia, or chronic vulvar discomfort, has become an increasingly recogn ized complaint in the medical literature. However, classification, assessme nt, and treatment for vulvodynia have not been universally established. The re is a serious need for greater understanding of this disorder since evide nce suggests, although not life-threatening, vulvodynia appears to have a s ignificant impact on quality of life. This article reviews the medical and psychological literature on vulvodynia published since 1983, the first year vulvodynia was recognized as a diagnosis in the medical literature. The pu rpose of this article is to provide a review of the literature on diagnosti c issues, treatment options, and psychosocial sequelae with the aim of high lighting areas in need of future research. Finally, suggestions are made fo r considering: vulvodynia from a multidimensional, chronic pain perspective . (C) 2000 International Association for the Study of Pain. Published by El sevier Science B.V, All rights reserved.