Background: The signs and symptoms of the genitourinary syndrome of
menopause are well established, and there is extensive knowledge with high
scientific evidence about the response that vaginal and urinary tissues present
to various treatments. However, this does not usually apply to the vulva in
general, or any of its structures in particular, since it is included in the term
vulvovaginal. The aim of this review is to improve knowledge about the vulva and
to improve symptoms in women who experience vulvar pain associated with atrophy.
Methods: The study was registered at PROSPERO (registration number
CRD42020172102). We also assessed the quality of evidence for each outcome of
interest according to the GRADE criteria. Results: We systematically
reviewed eight studies: four with ospemifene, a pilot study with prasterone, a
study using a combination of estrogens and androgens, another study that used
CO laser surgery and another with application of 0.005% estriol gel to the
vulvar vestibule. Meta-analysis was not possible due to the heterogeneity and
small sample size of the included studies. Ospemifene orally, at a dose of 60 mg
daily for a time period of between 60 days and 20 weeks, report preliminary data
showing improvements of vulvar and vestibule trophism. Prasterone showed in an
open-label prospective survey, improve in the vulvoscopic results and
dyspareunia, in women that used vaginal prasterone. The combination of estriol
and testosterone propionate 2% for 12 weeks showed an improve of Vulvar pain due
to atrophy (VPA) and dyspareunia in a descriptive prospective survey. A
retrospective analysis of 79 postmenopausal women presenting vulvar pain who were
treated with CO laser or laser plus ospemifene, showed that vestibular
dryness was significantly lower in the ospemifene + laser group compared with the
laser treatment group (–87% vs –34%, respectively). Finally, we also included a
prospective open-label survey using for a 12-week treatment period, a fingertip
to apply 0.25 g of vaginal gel containing 25 g of estriol to the vulvar
vestibule daily for three weeks and then twice weekly for up to 12 weeks.
Dyspareunia improved or was cured (score 1) by week 12 in 81.4% of
patients. Discussion: All the therapeutic strategies show improvement in
vulvar pain, but not all are papers with the same scientific evidence. The best
quality studies are those carried out with ospemifene since they are randomized
and placebo controlled studies. However, the improvement demonstrated by
prasterone, estriol, the combination of estrogens and androgens, as well as the
CO laser, although they do not have high-quality studies, should not be
ruled out since they promise good results and the user profiles they represent,
allow more women to be reached. We propose a therapeutic strategy where the
patient expresses her preferences, based on previous experiences and treatments
already carried out. In addition, we believe that correctly informing patients
about VPA can help a better therapeutic response. More investigation about the
vulvar treatments is needed.