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 included 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 decreased 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% versus 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.

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