Pain reduction as the main parameter for monitoring improvement in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) following endovascular treatment of Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (PCS)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate pain reduction as the main parameter for monitoring improvements in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in a female patient following endovascular treatment of Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (PCS).A 38-year-old female patient with chronic intermittent, “dragging” abdominal pain, lasting more than two years, mainly in the lower abdomen, radiating to the sacral region, underwent SARS CoV-2 infection in October 2021, and COVID-19, which lasted 10 days. Eight months later, complaints of pain in the lower abdominal area, during the mentrual cycle, during prolonged standing, after sports activities and during and after intercourse, increased. The patient was compelled to begin diagnosis of these complaints due to the severe pain and concerns about whether she had contracted cancer of the cervix uteri. She was diagnosed on transvaginal ultrasound-Doppler and Angio-MR of the pelvic vessels with PCS. Treatment was undertaken at the Department of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Interventions, St. John Paul II Hospital, Krakow, Poland. Intraoperatively, after confirmation through selective angiography, of previously diagnosed insufficiency of the left ovarian vein (LOV) and of the parametrial veins (PMV), the selective obliteration was performed with an adhesive dedicated to endovascular closure of veins and vascular malformations (Glubran2). The range of pain intensity, according to theVisual Analogue Scale (VAS), in Exam. 1 (before surgery), was in the premenstrual period (BM) 7.0 points, which increased during menstruation (DM) or after intense activity (AIA) to 8.0 points, and occasionally during and after intercourse even to 9.0 points. These values were very high, indicating that pain significantly affected the patient's quality of life. The extent of pain severity decreased significantly in Study 2 (two months after surgery) and Study 3 (four months after surgery) and was 2.0 points in the premenstrual period (BM), which increased only slightly during menstruation (DM) or after intense activity (AIA) to 3.0 points, and decreased again to 2.0 points during and after intercourse. The patient reported that the procedure significantly and positively affected her functioning in daily life, especially in caring for a young child, which is evidence of the achievement of HRQoL improvement.Endovascular treatment for Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (PCS) was effective in reducing pain and improving the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of a patient with PCS.