317 From the 1 Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt; 2 Anesthesiology and Algesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt; 3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia; 4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Bahri University, Khartoum, Sudan Received: Sep. 06, 2013; Accepted: Jan. 15, 2015 Correspondence to: Dr. Mohamed Alkhatim Alsammani, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buriadah, KSA. P. O. Box: 665. Buraidah 51452, KSA. Tel: 966‑568525808; Fax. 966‑16‑3801228; Email: m_sammani@yahoo.com DOI: 10.4103/2319‑4170.151034 Inferior Hypogastric Plexus Blockade versus Acupuncture for the Management of Idiopathic Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial Magdy M. Amin 1 , Abdou S. Ait‑Allah 1 , Ahmed El‑Said A. Ali 2 , Rafat A. Salem 2 , Salah Roshdy Ahmed 1 , Mohamed Akhatim Alsammani 3,4 P elvic pain is a common gynecological complaint among females of reproductive age. The intensity of pain may vary from mildly irritating to incapacitating. [1] Chronic pel‑ vic pain (CPP) is commonly defined as noncyclic pain of at least 6 months duration, localized to the pelvis or anterior abdominal wall, or at or below the umbilicus and at lower Background: To compare the clinical efficacies of inferior hypogastric plexus blockade and acupuncture in the management of idiopathic chronic pelvic pain (CPP). Methods: The study included 117 patients with CPP. Group 1 in‑ cluded 62 patients who underwent inferior hypogastric plexus blockade and group 2 included 55 patients who underwent acupuncture. Pain level was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) immediately and at 2, 6, and 12 weeks after treatment. Results: The preprocedure VAS score was 7.6 ± 0.15 in group 1 and 7.7 ± 0.24 in group 2 (p > 0.05). Pelvic pain de‑ creased significantly in both groups after treatment, with pretreatment and posttreatment scores of 7.6 ± 0.15 and 2.2 ± 0.88, respectively, in group 1 (p < 0.0001) and 7.7 ± 0.24 and 4.7 ± 0.11, respectively, in group 2 (p < 0.0001). However, the decrease in pain scores throughout the clinical follow‑up was significantly more in group 1 than in group 2 (p< 0.0001). Complete disappearance of symptoms was achieved in 72.6% of patients in group 1 compared to 54.5% of patients in group 2 (p = 0.3737). Patients who did not benefit from the treatment were significantly more in group 2 than in group 1 (25.5% vs. 6.5%, p = 0.0294). No complications were reported in both groups. Conclusion: The study results showed that inferior hypogastric blockade had a 72.6% success rate and showed a significantly higher effect on reducing pain intensity in a short period of time in the management of CPP, compared to acupuncture. (Biomed J 2015;38:317-322) Key words: acupuncture, chronic pelvic pain, complications, efficacy, inferior hypogastric plexus block At a Glance Commentary Scientific background of the subject Pelvic pain is a common gyneco‑ logical complaint among females of re‑ productive age. There are many modalities treatment of chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in women. The choice of one of these treat‑ ments depends on doctor’s preferences, familiarity, and his/her own training, most probably due to lack of clinical trials in this area. What this study adds to the field The study has yielded more evidence that inferior hypogastric plexus blockade provides a better effect in reducing pain in‑ tensity and duration of treatment in women with CCP compared to acupuncture. Original Article