Comprehensive overview of the venous disorder known as pelvic congestion syndrome

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Abstract

Pelvic venous disorders (PeVD) also known as Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (PCS) affect a great number of women worldwide and often remain undiagnosed. Gynecological symptoms caused by vascular background demand a holistic approach for appropriate diagnosis. This is a relevant cause of chronic pelvic pain and atypical varicose veins. The diagnosis is based on imaging studies and their correlation with clinical presentation. Although the aetiology of PCS still remains unclear, it may result from a combination of factors including genetic predisposition, anatomical abnormalities, hormonal factors, damage to the vein wall, valve dysfunction, reverse blood flow, hypertension and dilatation. The following paper describes an in-depth overview of anatomy, pathophysiology, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of PCS. In recent years, minimally invasive interventions have become the method of first choice for the treatment of this condition. The efficacy of a percutaneous approach is high and it is rarely associated with serious complications.

Key Messages

Pelvic venous disorders demand a holistic approach for appropriate diagnosis.
This article takes an in-depth look at existing therapies of Pelvic Congestion Syndrome and pathophysiology of this condition.
Embolisation is an effective and safe treatment option.

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Most cited references 126

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The care of patients with varicose veins and associated chronic venous diseases: clinical practice guidelines of the Society for Vascular Surgery and the American Venous Forum.

Robert McLafferty, , Laura Gillespie … (2011)

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and the American Venous Forum (AVF) have developed clinical practice guidelines for the care of patients with varicose veins of the lower limbs and pelvis. The document also includes recommendations on the management of superficial and perforating vein incompetence in patients with associated, more advanced chronic venous diseases (CVDs), including edema, skin changes, or venous ulcers. Recommendations of the Venous Guideline Committee are based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system as strong (GRADE 1) if the benefits clearly outweigh the risks, burden, and costs. The suggestions are weak (GRADE 2) if the benefits are closely balanced with risks and burden. The level of available evidence to support the evaluation or treatment can be of high (A), medium (B), or low or very low (C) quality. The key recommendations of these guidelines are: We recommend that in patients with varicose veins or more severe CVD, a complete history and detailed physical examination are complemented by duplex ultrasound scanning of the deep and superficial veins (GRADE 1A). We recommend that the CEAP classification is used for patients with CVD (GRADE 1A) and that the revised Venous Clinical Severity Score is used to assess treatment outcome (GRADE 1B). We suggest compression therapy for patients with symptomatic varicose veins (GRADE 2C) but recommend against compression therapy as the primary treatment if the patient is a candidate for saphenous vein ablation (GRADE 1B). We recommend compression therapy as the primary treatment to aid healing of venous ulceration (GRADE 1B). To decrease the recurrence of venous ulcers, we recommend ablation of the incompetent superficial veins in addition to compression therapy (GRADE 1A). For treatment of the incompetent great saphenous vein (GSV), we recommend endovenous thermal ablation (radiofrequency or laser) rather than high ligation and inversion stripping of the saphenous vein to the level of the knee (GRADE 1B). We recommend phlebectomy or sclerotherapy to treat varicose tributaries (GRADE 1B) and suggest foam sclerotherapy as an option for the treatment of the incompetent saphenous vein (GRADE 2C). We recommend against selective treatment of perforating vein incompetence in patients with simple varicose veins (CEAP class C(2); GRADE 1B), but we suggest treatment of pathologic perforating veins (outward flow duration ≥500 ms, vein diameter ≥3.5 mm) located underneath healed or active ulcers (CEAP class C(5)-C(6); GRADE 2B). We suggest treatment of pelvic congestion syndrome and pelvic varices with coil embolization, plugs, or transcatheter sclerotherapy, used alone or together (GRADE 2B). Copyright © 2011 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Prevalence of Chronic Pelvic Pain Among Women: An Updated Review

Alebtekin Ahangari (2014)

Background: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP), defined as a noncyclical pain lasting for more than 6 months can lead to lower physical performance and quality of life in women. CPP is a worldwide problem affecting women of all ages. However, health care professionals and researchers, due to its complex nature and the lack of knowledge surrounding the condition, frequently neglect CPP. Subsequently, basic data and knowledge regarding CPP remain incomplete. Objective: To update the review of the worldwide estimation of the CPP prevalence considering the World Health Organization systematic review by Latthe et al in 2006 as point of departure. Study Design: A systematic review of CPP prevalence studies. Method: Electronic search was performed to find related articles through PubMed between 2005 and 2012 based on the PRISMA statement (2009). Results: From 140 studies, only 7 studies were about CPP prevalence. Their study design consisted of 3 cross sectional studies, one population based mailing questionnaire study, one survey study (computer assisted telephone interview), one data analysis by questionnaire, and one prospective community based study. Limitations: Paucity of population based studies in addition to probability of existence of studies at the local level with limited access to worldwide databases, lack of consensus about definition of CPP among researchers and therapists, and non-inclusion of CPP related key words in databases such as PubMed. Conclusion: Based on these articles, prevalence in general ranged between 5.7% and 26.6%. There were many countries and regions without basic data in the field of CPP. This review shows the paucity of studies, especially multidisciplinary researches with multifactorial views on CPP. Multidisciplinary studies would provide more reliable data for estimating the prevalence of CPP and its psycho-socioeconomic burden, as well as finding its etiologies and characteristics. This would be the first step towards better treatment and care for women with CPP. Key words: Chronic pelvic pain, women, epidemiology, prevalence, human, female

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The nutcracker syndrome: its role in the pelvic venous disorders.

A H Scultetus, J Villavicencio, D L Gillespie (2001)

Symptoms of pelvic venous congestion (chronic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, dysuria, and dysmenorrhea) have been attributed to massive gonadal reflux. However, obstruction of the gonadal outflow may produce similar symptoms. Mesoaortic compression of the left renal vein (nutcracker syndrome) produces both obstruction and reflux, resulting in symptoms of pelvic congestion. We describe the diagnosis and management of nine patients studied in our institutions. From a group of 51 female patients with pelvic congestion symptoms studied at our institutions, there were nine patients with symptoms of pelvic congestion, microscopic hematuria, and left-sided flank pain. The diagnosis of the nutcracker syndrome was suspected based on clinical examination, Doppler scan, duplex ultrasound scan, computed tomography scan, and magnetic resonance imaging. The diagnosis was confirmed by retrograde cine-video-angiography with renocaval gradient determination and catheterization of both internal iliac venous systems. All patients had a renocaval pressure gradient >4 mm Hg (normal, 0-1 mm Hg). Renal compression was relieved by external stent (ES) in two patients, internal stent (IS) in one patient, and gonadocaval bypass (GCB) in three. GCB was preceded by coil embolization of internal iliac vein tributaries connecting with lower-extremity varicose veins in three patients. Three patients deferred surgery and are under observation. Mean follow-up time was 36 months (range, 12-72 months). Hematuria disappeared postoperatively in all patients. ES and IS normalized the renocaval gradient and resulted in significant alleviation of symptoms (90% improvement on a scale of 0-10 where 0 = no improvement and 10 = greatest improvement). Two patients with GCB had a residual gradient of 3 mm Hg. The third patient normalized the gradient. In this group, improvement of symptoms was 60%. Patients awaiting surgery are being treated conservatively (elastic stockings, hormones, and pelvic compression). They have shown only moderate improvement. The nutcracker syndrome should be considered in women with symptoms of pelvic venous congestion and hematuria. The diagnosis is suspected by compression of the left renal vein on magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography scan and confirmed by retrograde cine-video-angiography with determination of the renocaval gradient. Internal and external renal stenting as well as gonadocaval bypass are effective methods of treatment of the nutcracker syndrome. IS and ES were accompanied by better results than GCB. Surgical and radiologic interventional methods should be guided by the clinical, radiologic, and hemodynamic findings.

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Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Ann Med

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Ann Med

Title: Annals of Medicine

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

ISSN (Print): 0785-3890

ISSN (Electronic): 1365-2060

Publication date (Electronic, pub): 22 December 2021

Publication date (Electronic, collection): 2022

Publication date PMC-release: 22 December 2021

Volume: 54

Issue: 1

Pages: 22-36

Affiliations

Department of Radiography, Medical University of Lublin , Lublin, Poland

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CONTACT Kamil Bałabuszek balkam@ 123456o2.pl Department of Radiography, Medical University of Lublin , Lublin, Poland

Article

Publisher ID: 2014556

DOI: 10.1080/07853890.2021.2014556

PMC ID: 8725876

PubMed ID: 34935563

SO-VID: eda086ab-f255-40d2-bf8f-8c15f43ec585

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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Comprehensive overview of the venous disorder known as pelvic congestion syndrome

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Annals of Family Medicine: COVID-19

Most cited references 126

The care of patients with varicose veins and associated chronic venous diseases: clinical practice guidelines of the Society for Vascular Surgery and the American Venous Forum.

Prevalence of Chronic Pelvic Pain Among Women: An Updated Review

The nutcracker syndrome: its role in the pelvic venous disorders.

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