The prevalence of continuing chronic pelvic pain following a negative laparoscopy

This is a retrospective study to assess the prevalence of continuing symptoms in women following a negative laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain. The case-notes of 347 laparoscopies were reviewed. Of the 189 laparoscopies in which the indication for the procedure was chronic pelvic pain, 67 were found to be negative. This group of patients were each sent a questionnaire asking about continuing symptoms. The results of the questionnaire show that 48% of patients remain dissatisfied with their clinical care, 53% continue to require regular analgesics for their pain, 43% feel that their quality of life had been affected in a major way and 30% admit to feeling depressed in a major way due to their symptoms. This data would suggest that despite a negative laparoscopy for chronic pelvic pain, a significant percentage of patients would benefit from continuing medical input in order to help deal with their symptoms.