RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Childbirth is a common factor which increases the risk of obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS). Damage to the anal sphincters increases the risk of anal incontinence, which has a debilitating impact on the quality of life. Post-repair laxatives are prescribed in this group of women. However, there is no consensus regarding the type or frequency with which they are used, and available guidelines lack consistency and evidence to support the recommendations. AIM: The aim was to review and compare the international, national and local Australian management guidelines for recommendations regarding laxative use in women after OASIS. METHOD: An online literature search of medical and nursing databases such as PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus and Cochrane was performed between January 2000 and October 2020. Full-text articles with MeSH headings and Text Words [TW] identified guidelines in the prevention, management and care of OASIS. The search terms included 'obstetric anal sphincter injury', 'OASIS', 'perineal tear', 'postpartum continence', 'bowel injury', 'aperient', 'laxative use' and 'bulking agents'. RESULTS: Thirteen guidelines were included. Laxatives were recommended in most guidelines; however, there was a lack of consistency regarding the type of laxative used, frequency, dose and duration of use. Guidelines were based on historical evidence, with paucity of recently acquired data identified. CONCLUSIONS: There is no consensus regarding an optimal laxative regime for women who sustain an anal sphincter injury after childbirth. Further research is required to develop evidence-based robust clinical guidelines regarding laxative use in women who sustain OASIS.
RESUMEN
Among Australian females, sexual assault affects 1 in 5 Australian women [1], and 1 in 10 girls [2]. While it is well known that females who experience sexual assault have an increased risk of future pelvic pain, there is limited knowledge regarding the occurrence of other gynaecological morbidity. We performed systematic review and meta-analysis for the relationship between sexual assault and gynaecological morbidity. We searched online electronic databases for observational studies on the subject published between 1993 and 2018. Search terms included variants of 'sexual abuse', 'sexual assault' and a range of gynaecological morbidity. Two independent reviewers completed study selection, quality assessment and data extraction. For each gynaecological symptom we calculated common odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals in relation to sexual abuse history. Our search identified 1846 studies, of which 38 studies were included. A history of sexual assault was significantly associated with overall gynaecological morbidity (RR 1.42; 95%CI, 1.27-1.59), pelvic pain (RR 1.60; 95%CI, 1.36-1.89), 'dyspareunia' (pooled RR 1.74, 95%CI, 1.50-2.02); 'dysmenorrhea' (pooled RR 1.20; 95%CI, 1.11-1.29); 'abnormal menstrual bleeding' (pooled RR 1.29; 95%CI, 1.12-1.49)) and 'urinary incontinence' (pooled RR 1.31; 95%CI, 1.12-1.53)), while association was not statistically significant for 'vaginismus'(pooled RR 1.71; 95%CI, 0.87-3.36) and 'vulvodynia' (pooled RR 1.49; 95%CI, 0.76-2.91). There was no relation with 'prolapse' (pooled RR 1.10; 95%CI, 0.53-2.30). Females with a history of sexual assault have a significantly increased risk of different gynaecological disorders later in life.
