37 / 83
E
valuation
of
endometriosis
-
associated
pain
and
influence
of
conventional
treatment
:
a
systematic
review
R
ev
A
ssoc
M
ed
B
ras
2015; 61(6):507-518
515
TABLE 3
(Cont.) Main results of 17 studies that evaluated the effect of drugs on pain scores.
Study
Sample
Medication
used
Number of patients
treated
Information regarding pain
(instrument used, types of
pain, etc.)
Main results and/or conclusion
Morelli et al.
32
63 women GnRHa
(leuprolide
acetate)
15 – adenomyosis (group A)
48 – endometriosis (group B)
VAS (before and 3 months after
administration of GnRHa)
Before using the drug, the scores were 72.5±18.5
versus
68.5±19.9 in groups
A and B, respectively, and this difference was not statistically significant
(p=0.48). After three months of treatment, the VAS scores decreased signifi-
cantly in patients with adenomyosis (23.3±16.7
vs
. 31.8±10.0 for groups A
and B, respectively; p<0.05). The values are expressed as mean ± standard
deviation. When comparing both groups, the reduction in CPP intensity, ex-
pressed as ΔVAS (difference between VAS scores prior to and after the use of
GnRHa), was significantly higher in patients with adenomyosis compared to
those with endometriosis (49.3±16 8
versus
36.7±15.6 for group A and B, re-
spectively; p<0.001), showing greater effectiveness of GnRHa in the reduc-
tion of CPP in adenomyosis. In summary, a significant reduction in CPP in-
tensity was observed in both groups (p<0.05), but was significantly higher in
group A compared with B (p<0.001).
VAS: visual analogue scale, CPP: chronic pelvic pain, LNG-IUS: intrauterine system with levonorgestrel, DMPA: medroxyprogesterone acetate, GnRHa: gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues, NI: not informed, COCs: combined oral contraceptives, ED:
endometriosis.