Efficacy and predictive criteria for success of photobiomodulation therapy in women presenting with vulvar and vaginal pain.

OBJECTIVE

Vulvar and vaginal pain is a frequent complaint that may have psychological consequences. Treatments such as muscle relaxation physiotherapy, sophrology, and photobiomodulation (PBM)/low-intensity laser therapy (LLT) are used, but there are a few data concerning the efficacy of PBM/LLT. The objective of the current study was to assess the effectiveness and the predictive factors associated with the success of PBM/LLT in women presenting with vulvar and vaginal pain.

METHOD: Success was defined as a Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) of 1 or 2. A single-center, retrospective, observational study (cohort study) was conducted on 52 women, 27 of whom were in the success group and 25 in the failure group. Patients had 6 to 8 PBM/LLT sessions with an endovaginal probe and completed pre- and post-therapy questionnaires. The analysis was carried out on the various recorded characteristics.

RESULTS

The overall success rate was 52%. The univariate analysis significantly revealed less burning pain in the success group (OR 0.13; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.62). There were also more patients without vaginal atrophy and non-menopausal women in the success group (OR 0.21; 95% CI: 0.04-0.82 for both). However, the multivariate analysis did not show any significant difference for any predictive factor.

CONCLUSION

We observed a moderate success rate associated with PBM/LLT in women presenting with vulvar and vaginal pain. Multivariate analysis revealed no predictive factor for success.