On the Reliability and Validity of Physician Ratings for Vulvodynia and the Discriminant Validity of its Subtypes

Abstract

Findings from the present study suggest that physician ratings for Friedrich's criteria can be operationalized and found to be reliable and valid in a wide range of women with vulvodynia. The absence of differences between subtypes on measures of pain, sexual function, psychological function, and quality of life challenge the clinical significance of these subtypes and support the theory that vulvodynia represents a continuum of chronic vulvar pain rather than two distinct entities.