Obstetrics and Gynaecology Dpt., Teaching Hospital Bulovka, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University Prague, Prague, Czechia.
Sports Motoric Laboratory, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University Prague, Prague, Czechia.
PLoS One. 2023 Apr 17;18(4):e0281268. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281268. eCollection 2023.
Dyspareunia is genital pain before, during or after penile-vaginal sexual intercourse. The prevalence of dyspareunia ranges from 8 to 22%. Sexual intercourse concomitant with a pelvic organic lesion is likely to cause pain in most cases. However, in these cases, the pain depends not only on sexual intercourse. In its basic definition, dyspareunia in women is considered an idiopathic affection without a typical organic constitution. It is only present with penile-vaginal penetration. Long-term hypoxia in perineal muscles can cause muscle and perimuscular changes, leading to chronic pain not sufficiently responding to standard therapy. During the entrance examination to our previous study on dyspareunia, we noted significantly lower pulse oximetry levels in the perineal area of affected women. We aimed to compare pulse oximetry oxygen saturation (SpO2) of dyspareunia-affected women to healthy, pain-free women. A retrospective study was performed. The study participants were women who had participated in our previously published study on dyspareunia. This retrospective study was approved by the Ethical Committee. The study included 62 women: 31 dyspareunia-affected women in the treatment group and 31 healthy women in the control group.
During their examinations, women in the dyspareunia and control groups were measured for SpO2. The procedure was performed in the vulvo-perineal rear region, involving the commissure and the bulbospongiosus muscle. Median and mean SpO2 were compared between the treatment and control groups. Testing for sample size accuracy was performed retroactively.
There were 31 participants in each group. The SpO2 data were skewed and did not follow a Gaussian distribution. The Mann-Whitney U test was run to determine differences in perineum oximetry between the treatment group and controls. The median SpO2 was 91 in the treatment group and 92 in the control group. This difference was statistically significant, p = 0.002. Sample size accuracy was assured by post hoc calculation.
Idiopathic dyspareunia is inherent in cohabitation muscle pain that standard therapy could not explain nor treat. We detected clinically meaningfully decreased levels of SpO2 in affected patients. We compared pelvic oximetry between dyspareunia-affected women in the treatment and control groups. This comparison showed significant hypoxia in the perineal muscle area (p = 0.002). Our results may help us understand the source of this pain and guide treatment accordingly.
性交疼痛是指阴茎进入阴道前、中、后发生的生殖器疼痛。性交疼痛的患病率为 8%至 22%。大多数情况下，伴有盆腔器质性病变的性交可能会引起疼痛。然而，在这些情况下，疼痛不仅取决于性交。根据基本定义，女性性交疼痛被认为是一种没有典型器质性构成的特发性疾病。它仅存在于阴茎阴道插入时。长期的会阴部肌肉缺氧会导致肌肉和肌间变化，导致对标准治疗反应不佳的慢性疼痛。在我们之前关于性交疼痛的研究入门考试中，我们注意到受影响女性的会阴部脉搏血氧饱和度（SpO2）明显较低。我们旨在将受性交疼痛影响的女性的脉搏血氧仪氧饱和度（SpO2）与健康、无痛的女性进行比较。这是一项回顾性研究。研究参与者为参加我们之前发表的关于性交疼痛的研究的女性。这项回顾性研究得到了伦理委员会的批准。该研究包括 62 名女性：31 名性交疼痛受影响的女性在治疗组，31 名健康女性在对照组。
在检查过程中，性交疼痛组和对照组的女性测量 SpO2。程序在会阴-会阴后区进行，涉及会阴联合和球海绵体肌。比较治疗组和对照组的中位数和平均值 SpO2。对样本量准确性进行了回溯性测试。
每组有 31 名参与者。SpO2 数据偏态分布，不符合正态分布。使用曼-惠特尼 U 检验确定治疗组和对照组之间会阴血氧饱和度的差异。治疗组 SpO2 的中位数为 91，对照组为 92。这一差异具有统计学意义，p = 0.002。通过事后计算确保了样本量的准确性。
特发性性交疼痛是固有于同居肌肉疼痛的，标准治疗无法解释或治疗。我们在受影响的患者中检测到临床意义上显著降低的 SpO2 水平。我们比较了治疗组和对照组中受性交疼痛影响的女性的骨盆血氧测定值。这种比较显示会阴肌肉区域明显缺氧（p = 0.002）。我们的研究结果可能有助于我们了解这种疼痛的来源，并相应地指导治疗。
