Les douleurs périnéales chroniques

[Irritable bowel syndrome, levator ani syndrome, proctalgia fugax and chronic pelvic and perineal pain]

OBJECTIVES

To define functional gastrointestinal pain, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), levator ani syndrome, proctalgia fugax, the pathophysiology of these syndromes and the treatments that can be proposed.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Review of articles published on the theme based on a Medline (PubMed) search and consensus conferences selected according to their scientific relevance.

RESULTS

IBS is very common. Patients report abdominal pain and/or discomfort, bloating, and abnormal bowel habit (diarrhoea, constipation or both), in the absence of any structural or biochemical abnormalities. IBS has a complex, multifactorial pathophysiology, involving biological and psychosocial interactions resulting in dysregulation of the brain-gut axis associated with disorders of intestinal motility, hyperalgesia, immune disorders and disorders of the intestinal bacterial microflora and autonomic and hormonal dysfunction. Many treatments have been proposed, ranging from diet to pharmacology and psychotherapy.

DISCUSSION

Patients with various types of chronic pelvic and perineal pain, especially those seen in urology departments, very often report associated IBS. This syndrome is also part of a global and integrated concept of pelviperineal dysfunction, avoiding a rigorous distinction between the posterior segment and the midline and anterior segments of the perineum.

[Symptomatic approach to chronic penile pain]

OBJECTIVE

To describe the aetiologies of non-cancer chronic penile pain.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A review of the literature was performed by searching the Medline database (National Library of Medicine). Search terms were either medical subject heading (MeSH) keywords (pain, penis, penile diseases) or terms derived from the title or abstract. Search terms were used alone or in combinations by using the "AND" operator. The literature search was conducted from 1990 to the present time.

RESULTS

Clinical interview and physical examination are essential elements of the assessment of chronic penile pain. The aetiologies of chronic penile pain include local diseases, referred pain, neuropathic pain, psychological or psychiatric disorders and penile pain syndrome. Neuropathic pain is related to compression of the dorsal nerve of the penis, derived from the pudendal nerve, at the inferior border of the pubis. This nerve compression syndrome, often associated with cycling, can also be responsible for decreased sensitivity of the glans and penis, genital paraesthesia (numbness) and sometimes erectile dysfunction. Penile pain syndrome, defined as pain located in the penis, but not due to an urethral cause, documented infection or another clinically apparent disease, is a diagnosis of exclusion.

CONCLUSION

The diagnosis of non-cancer chronic penile pain is essentially clinical. Compression of the dorsal nerve of the penis is part of the context of penile pain syndrome, corresponding to a diagnosis of exclusion.