Vulvar cysts and abscesses have several etiologies. The differential diagnosis includes skin and hair follicle infections, hidradenitis suppurativa, Bartholin gland cysts and abscesses, Skene gland cysts and abscesses, and wound or hematoma infections, with Bartholin gland masses being the most common.[1] Symptoms of severe pain, especially with walking and/or intercourse, fullness and pressure, as well as findings of tenderness, fluctuance, edema, induration, and erythema, typically distinguish abscesses from cysts. Infections are generally polymicrobial. Optimal treatment of vulvar masses depends on several factors, including the patient’s risk factors for systemic infection. Women with symptomatic masses of the vulva often present to the emergency department, and OB/GYN hospitalists should be well versed in the diagnosis and management of this common problem.
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