Papers of the Week

Persistent pelvic pain affects between 10-20% of women with a significant impact on their physical and mental health, sexual relationships, families and society. Estimates of the cost to women and the community is over $9 billion/annum. Although endometriosis is considered a leading cause of pelvic pain, no symptoms reliably allow the identification of those with and without endometriosis. Furthermore, the significance of mild endometriosis is now debated. The optimal clinical approach for pelvic pain and endometriosis remains unclear, with increasing evidence of other contributing factors such as central sensitisation. Studies to date have significant limitations due to their sample size, relatively short follow-up, and inclusion of only women with laparoscopically identified endometriosis.