Surgical and nonsurgical interventions for vulvar and clitoral pain in girls and women living with female genital mutilation: A systematic review

Background: Vulvar and clitoral pain are known complications of female genital mutilation (FGM). Several interventions have been used to treat these conditions. This review focuses on surgical and nonsurgical interventions to improve vulvar and clitoral pain in women living with FGM.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of nonsurgical and surgical interventions for alleviating vulvar and clitoral pain in women living with any type of FGM and to assess the associated adverse events.

Search strategy: The search included the following major databases: Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov. These were searched from inception until August 10, 2015 without any language restrictions.

Selection criteria: Study designs included randomized controlled trials, cluster randomized trials, nonrandomized trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, controlled before-and-after studies, historical control studies, and interrupted time series with reported data comparing outcomes among women with FGM who were treated for clitoral or vulvar pain with either surgical or nonsurgical interventions.

Data collection and analysis: Two team members independently screened studies for eligibility.

Results: No studies were included.

Conclusion: Limited information exists on management of vulvar and clitoral pain in women living with FGM. This constitutes an important area for further research.

Prospero registration: CRD42015024521.