Table 2.
Clinical/Behavioral Characteristics for the A. Vulvodynia Subjects and B. for the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Subjects
| A. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LPVD (N=29) | Range | Mean | SD |
| Gracely Differential Descriptor Pain Scale | |||
| Pain Duration (months) | 15-360 | 90.32 | 84.10 |
| Level of Pain Intensity | 0-18 | 5.96 | 6.17 |
| Level of Pain Unpleasantness | 0-17 | 5.29 | 4.86 |
| Pain Related to Sex | |||
| Level of Pain related to Sex | 0-100 | 45.48 | 32.96 |
| Level of Pain not related to Sex | 0-80 | 8.96 | 17.62 |
| Vulvar Pain | Mean | SD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| @ 10 o'clock | 3.64 | 2.82 | |
| @ 7 o'clock | 4.96 | 2.52 | |
| @ 6 o'clock | 5.25 | 2.26 | |
| @ 5 o'clock | 5.07 | 2.46 | |
| @ 2 o'clock | 3.61 | 2.67 | |
| Total Vulvar Pain Score | 22.68 | 11.82 |
| Vaginal Muscle Tenderness | Mean | SD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulba @ 5 o'clock | 2.07 | 2.07 | |
| Bulba @ 7 o'clock | 2.00 | 2.11 | |
| Pubococcygeous @ 6 o'clock (levator at midline) | 1.29 | 2.18 | |
| Levator @ 5 o'clock | 1.89 | 1.93 | |
| Levator @ 7 o'clock | 1.93 | 2.16 | |
| Total Vaginal Muscle Tenderness Score | 7.97 | 7.77 |
| B. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IBS (N=29) | Mean | SD | |
| Bowel Symptom Questionnaire | |||
| Range | Mean | SD | |
| Overall Symptoms in the past week | 0-20 | 6.88 | 5.11 |
| Abdominal Pain in the past week | 0-20 | 4.96 | 2.52 |
| Symptom severity | 1-5 | 2.87 | .97 |
| Symptom duration (years) | 2-31 | 11.83 | 8.20 |
Pain duration and level of pain intensity were assessed on a 21-point numeric rating scale (0=neutral, 20=extremely intense) using the Gracely Differential Descriptor Pain Scale. Level of pain unpleasentness was also assesed using a 21-point numerical rating scale (scale 0-20, 0=neutral, 20=very intolerable) in the past 24 hours using the Gracely Differential Descriptor Pain Scale. Level of pain related to sex and not related to sex were recorded on a scale of 0-100 (0 = no pain, 100 = most intense pain imaginable).
For vulvar pain, pain severity was measured on an 11-point Numerical Rating Scale where 0 = none and 10 = most severe pain imaginable and total vulvar pain was calculated by totaling the scores from the 5 sites (0-50). Vaginal muscle tenderness was measured on an 11-point Numerical Rating Scale, with 0 representing no pain and 10, representing the most severe pain imaginable, almost unconscious and total vaginal muscle tenderness score was calculated by totaling the scores from the 5 sites (0-50).
Abbreviations: LPVD, localized provoked vulvodynia; N, number of subjects; SD= standard deviation
Questionnaire: Overall symptoms in the past week were measured on a 0-20 scale (0=neutral, 20=extremely intense), Abdominal Pain in the past week was measured on a 0-20 scale (0=neutral, 20=very intolerable).
Abbreviations: IBS, irritable bowel syndrome; N, number of subjects; SD, standard deviation