Physiotherapy and combined cognitive-behavioural therapy for patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome: results of a non-randomised controlled feasibility trial.

OBJECTIVE: To explore feasibility in terms of delivering and evaluating a combination of physiotherapy and psychotherapy for patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS). DESIGN: Prospective non-randomised controlled pilot study. SETTING: Tertiary care facility with a specialised interdisciplinary outpatient clinic for patients with CPPS. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 311 patients was approached; 60 participated. 36 patients were included in the intervention group (mean age ±SD 48.6 years±14.8; 52.8% female) and 24 in the control group (mean age ±SD 50.6 years±14.5; 58.3% female). Fourteen participants were lost to follow-up. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were non-randomly allocated to the intervention group with two consecutive treatment modules (physiotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy) with a duration of 9 weeks each or to the control group (treatment as usual). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Feasibility was operationalised in terms of delivering and evaluating the therapeutic combination. Regarding eligibility as the first aspect of feasibility, willingness to participate, dropout and satisfaction were assessed; for the second aspect, standardised self-report questionnaires measuring health-related quality of life, depression severity and pain were applied. RESULTS: Although eligibility and willingness-to-participate rates were low, satisfaction of the participants in the intervention group was high and dropout rates were low. Results indicated a small and non-significant intervention effect in health-related quality of life and significant effects regarding depression severity and pain. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of physiotherapy and psychotherapy for patients with CPPS seems to be feasible and potentially promising with regard to effect. However, a subsequent fully powered randomised controlled trial is needed. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00009976) and ISRCTN (ISRCTN43221600).

Mental disorders in patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS).

OBJECTIVE: Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is a debilitating pain condition with prevalence rates between 2.0% and 26.6%. Studies indicate that CPPS is often associated with psychosocial factors, but little is known about the presence of full-blown mental disorders in female and male patients with CPPS. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the frequencies of mental disorders in patients with CPPS. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected from patients visiting a specialized outpatient clinic. Frequencies of mental disorders were investigated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and compared to the general population. Furthermore, self-rating questionnaires were used to assess somatic symptom severity (PHQ-15), depression severity (PHQ-9) and anxiety severity (GAD-7). RESULTS: Data from 178 CPPS patients (60.1% female; age M=49.1, SD=18.0) were analyzed. Of the total sample, 95.2% (95% CI 90.8-97.9) suffered from at least one mental disorder. The most prevalent mental disorders were somatoform disorders (91.7%; 95% CI 86.4-95.4), followed by mood disorders (50.6%; 95% CI 42.8-58.4) and anxiety disorders (32.1%; 95% CI 25.2-39.8). The self-reported symptom burden was also significantly higher than in the general population. Compared to men, women met the diagnoses of somatoform (p=0.012) and anxiety disorders (p=0.027) significantly more often and reported a significantly higher total somatic symptom severity (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results provide evidence for a clinically relevant psychosocial symptom burden in patients with CPPS, indicating the need for the examination of psychopathologies and multi-professional treatment for this patient group.