Trial reportAmerican journal of obstetrics and gynecology2019
Effect of gabapentin on sexual function in vulvodynia: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
Trial report in American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Beyond the placebo effect: a systematic review and a network meta-analysis of treatment strategies for vulvodynia.BMC women's health · 2026Pooled it
- Current and future pharmacotherapy for female sexual dysfunction.Nature reviews. Urology · 2026Review
- Vulvodynia (chronic vulval pain).BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Article
- A survey of patient tolerance and satisfaction with capsaicin for neuroproliferative vestibulodynia.Sexual medicine · 2024Article
- Predictors of sexual satisfaction among patients with chronic pain.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Vulvodynia, Genital Eczema and Lichen Sclerosus: What are the Successful Treatments from a Patient's Perspective?International journal of women's health · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of topical gabapentin in the treatment of vulvodynia: a narrative synthesis.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Evaluation and Treatment of Vulvodynia: State of the Science.Journal of midwifery & women's health · 2023Review
- Pharmacological Treatments for Localized Provoked Vulvodynia: A Scoping Review.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2023Article
- Preferred physical characteristics of lidocaine thin film for women with vestibulodynia.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Vulvodynia: Pain Management Strategies.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSexual dysfunction is common in women with vulvodynia.
objectiveThe purpose of this study was (1) to evaluate whether extended-release gabapentin is more effective than placebo in improving sexual function in women with provoked vulvodynia and whether there is a relationship between treatment outcome and pelvic pain muscle severity that is evaluated by palpation with standardized applied pressure and (2) to evaluate whether sexual function in women with provoked vulvodynia would approach that of control subjects who report no vulvar pain either before or after treatment. STUDY
designAs a secondary outcome in a multicenter double-blind, randomized crossover trial, sexual function that was measured by the Female Sexual Function Index was evaluated with gabapentin (1200-3000 mg/d) compared with placebo. Pain-free control subjects, matched by age and race, also completed Female Sexual Function Index for comparison.
resultsFrom August 2012 to January 2016, 230 women were screened at 3 academic institutions, and 89 women were assigned randomly to treatment. Gabapentin was more effective than placebo in improving overall sexual function (adjusted mean difference, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 0.4-2.2; P=.008), which included desire (mean difference, 0.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.0-3.3; P=.04), arousal (mean difference, 0.3; 95% confidence interval, 0.1-0.5; P=.004), and satisfaction (mean difference, 0.3; 95% confidence interval, 0.04-0.5; P=.02); however, sexual function remained significantly lower than in 56 matched vulvodynia pain-free control subjects. There was a moderate treatment effect among participants with baseline pelvic muscle pain severity scores above the median on the full Female Sexual Function Index scale (mean difference, 1.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.3-2.8; P=.02) and arousal (mean difference, 0.3; 95% confidence interval, 0.1-0.6; P=.01) and pain domains (mean difference, 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.02-0.9; P=.04).
conclusionGabapentin improved sexual function in this group of women with provoked vulvodynia, although overall sexual function remained lower than women without the disorder. The most statistically significant increase was in the arousal domain of the Female Sexual Function Index that suggested a central mechanism of response. Women with median algometer pain scores >5 improved sexual function overall, but the improvement was more frequent than the pain domain. We hypothesize that gabapentin may be effective as a pharmacologic treatment for those women with provoked vulvodynia and increased pelvic muscle pain on examination.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.