RESULTS The instruments most frequently used were single-item VAS and Biberoglu and Behrman pain score , while multidimensional inventories were used in few studies .
The results of clinical studies in CPP are more frequently based on one-dimensional measurements .
RATIONALE Many types of  pain assessment are available to research ers carrying out clinical trials in chronic pelvic pain ( CPP ) , ranging from a single-item scale to multidimensional inventories .
AIM Our objective was to investigate which assessment s of pain are more commonly used in clinical trials on CPP .
A Randomized Clinical Trial to Compare Two Different Approaches in Women With Chronic Pelvic Pain
One hundred six patients with chronic pelvic pain were r and omly allocated to one of two treatment groups . In the st and ard-approach group , organic causes of pelvic pain were excluded first and diagnostic laparoscopy was routinely performed . If no somatic cause could be found , attention was given to other causes such as psychological disturbances . In the second group an integrated approach was chosen . From the beginning equal attention was devoted to somatic , psychological , dietary , environmental , and physiotherapeutic factors . In this group , laparoscopy was not routinely performed . Both groups were similar with respect to clinical characteristics of the patients and the severity of their pain as assessed by various pain parameters . Postcoital pain was reported by 27 % of the patients . Twenty percent of the patients had had negative sexual experiences such as childhood sexual abuse or rape . Evaluation of the pain 1 year after the institution of treatment revealed that the integrated approach improved pelvic pain significantly more often than the st and ard approach for three out of four pain parameters ( P<.01 ) . Laparoscopy played no important role in the treatment of pelvic pain . It is concluded that equal attention to both organic and other causative factors from the beginning of therapy is more likely to result in a reduction of pelvic pain than is a st and ard approach
RESULTS The instruments most frequently used were single-item VAS and Biberoglu and Behrman pain score , while multidimensional inventories were used in few studies .
The results of clinical studies in CPP are more frequently based on one-dimensional measurements .
RATIONALE Many types of  pain assessment are available to research ers carrying out clinical trials in chronic pelvic pain ( CPP ) , ranging from a single-item scale to multidimensional inventories .
AIM Our objective was to investigate which assessment s of pain are more commonly used in clinical trials on CPP .