Perineal descent and patients' symptoms of anorectal dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, and urinary incontinence.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging study was to assess the relation between the position and mobility of the perineum and patients' symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. METHODS: Patients' symptoms were measured with the use of validated questionnaires. Univariate logistic regression analyses were used to study the relationship between the questionnaires domain scores and the perineal position on dynamic MR imaging, as well as baseline characteristics (age, body mass index, and parity). RESULTS: Sixty-nine women were included in the analysis. Only the domain score genital prolapse was associated with the perineal position on dynamic MR imaging. This association was strongest at rest. CONCLUSIONS: Pelvic organ prolapse symptoms were associated with the degree of descent of the perineum on dynamic MR imaging. Perineal descent was not related to anorectal and/or urinary incontinence symptoms.

Reproducibility of same session repeated cystometry and pressure-flow studies in women with symptoms of urinary incontinence.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the reproducibility of same session repeated urodynamic measurements in women with symptoms of urinary incontinence. METHODS: Women presenting with symptoms of urinary incontinence underwent standardized urodynamic examination, which consisted of free uroflowmetry and two filling cystometries and pressure-flow studies. Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and McNemar tests were used to describe the same session reproducibility. RESULTS: Two evaluable urodynamic tests were available in 152 patients. Overall, reproducibility of the urodynamic parameters were good to excellent (ICC range: 0.72-0.93), except for the bladder volume at first sensation of bladder filling (ICC = 0.46) and the maximum Watt's factor (ICC = 0.68). The bladder volume at first sensation and the maximum cystometric capacity were systematically higher in the second run (mean difference (95% CI) = -45 (-73; -37) and -3 (-15; 10), respectively). Reproducibility of the diagnosis stress urinary incontinence and/or detrusor overactivity were good to excellent (median ICC = 0.76, P = 0.68 and P = 1.00, respectively). Reproducibility of the volume and amplitude at involuntary detrusor contractions, however, were only poor (ICC = 0.18 and 0.25, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The reproducibility of same session repeated urodynamic measurements in women with symptoms of urinary incontinence was good to excellent. Our results provide the scientific support for guidelines that recommend the omission of repeated filling cystometries and pressure-flow studies in cases where the first test confirms the pathology expected.

Protocol for the value of urodynamics prior to stress incontinence surgery (VUSIS) study: a multicenter randomized controlled trial to assess the cost effectiveness of urodynamics in women with symptoms of stress urinary incontinence in whom surgical treatment is considered.

BACKGROUND: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common problem. In the Netherlands, yearly 64.000 new patients, of whom 96% are women, consult their general practitioner because of urinary incontinence. Approximately 7500 urodynamic evaluations and approximately 5000 operations for SUI are performed every year. In all major national and international guidelines from both gynaecological and urological scientific societies, it is advised to perform urodynamics prior to invasive treatment for SUI, but neither its effectiveness nor its cost-effectiveness has been assessed in a randomized setting. The Value of Urodynamics prior to Stress Incontinence Surgery (VUSIS) study evaluates the positive and negative effects with regard to outcome, as well as the costs of urodynamics, in women with symptoms of SUI in whom surgical treatment is considered. METHODS/DESIGN: A multicentre diagnostic cohort study will be performed with an embedded randomized controlled trial among women presenting with symptoms of (predominant) SUI. Urinary incontinence has to be demonstrated on clinical examination and/or voiding diary. Physiotherapy must have failed and surgical treatment needs to be under consideration. Patients will be excluded in case of previous incontinence surgery, in case of pelvic organ prolapse more than 1 centimeter beyond the hymen and/or in case of residual bladder volume of more than 150 milliliter on ultrasound or catheterisation. Patients with discordant findings between the diagnosis based on urodynamic investigation and the diagnosis based on their history, clinical examination and/or micturition diary will be randomized to operative therapy or individually tailored therapy based on all available information. Patients will be followed for two years after treatment by their attending urologist or gynaecologist, in combination with the completion of questionnaires. Six hundred female patients will be recruited for registration from approximately twenty-seven hospitals in the Netherlands. We aspect that one hundred and two women with discordant findings will be randomized. The primary outcome of this study is clinical improvement of incontinence as measured with the validated Dutch version of the Urinary Distress Inventory (UDI). Secondary outcomes of this study include costs, cure of incontinence as measured by voiding diary parameters, complications related to the intervention, re-interventions, and generic quality of life changes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT00814749.

Symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction are poorly correlated with findings on clinical examination and dynamic MR imaging of the pelvic floor.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The aim of the study was to determine whether patients' symptoms agree with findings on clinical examination and dynamic MR imaging of the pelvic floor. METHODS: Symptoms of pelvic organ dysfunction were measured with the use of three validated questionnaires. The domain scores were compared with POP-Q and dynamic MR imaging measurements. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (r(s)) was used to assess agreement. RESULTS: Only the domain score genital prolapse was significantly correlated in the positive direction with the degree of pelvic organ prolapse as assessed by POP-Q and dynamic MR imaging (r(s) = 0.64 and 0.27, respectively), whereas the domain score urinary incontinence was inversely correlated (r(s) = -0.32 and -0.35, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The sensation or visualization of a bulge in the vagina was the only symptom which correlated positively with the degree of pelvic organ prolapse, and clinical examination and dynamic MR imaging showed similar correlation in this respect.

A systematic review of clinical studies on dynamic magnetic resonance imaging of pelvic organ prolapse: the use of reference lines and anatomical landmarks.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The aim of our study was to provide a systematic literature review of clinical studies on pelvic organ prolapse staging with use of dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. METHODS: The databases EMBASE and PubMed were searched. Clinical studies were included in case they compared pelvic organ prolapse stages as assessed on dynamic MR imaging (using a reference line) with a standardized method of clinical prolapse staging. RESULTS: Ten studies were included, which made use of seven different reference lines in relation to a wide variety of anatomical landmarks. CONCLUSION: Only few studies have compared pelvic organ prolapse stages as assessed by dynamic MR imaging and clinical examination in a standardized manner. The available evidence suggests that prolapse assessment on dynamic MR imaging may be useful in the posterior compartment, but clinical assessment and dynamic MR imaging seem interchangeable in the anterior and central compartment.

POP-Q, dynamic MR imaging, and perineal ultrasonography: do they agree in the quantification of female pelvic organ prolapse?

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: This study evaluates the agreement in prolapse staging between clinical examination, dynamic magnetic resonance (MR), imaging and perineal ultrasonography. METHODS: Anatomical landmarks in the anterior, central, and posterior compartment were assessed in relation to three reference lines on dynamic MR imaging and one reference line on dynamic ultrasonography. These measurements were compared to the according POP-Q measurements. Agreement between the three methods was analyzed with Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (r(s)) and Bland and Altman plots. RESULTS: Correlations were good to moderate in the anterior compartment (r(s) range = 0.49; 0.70) and moderate to poor (r(s) range = -0.03; 0.49) in the central and posterior compartment. This finding was independent of the staging method and reference lines used. CONCLUSION: Pelvic organ prolapse staging with the use of POP-Q, dynamic MR imaging, and perineal ultrasonography only correlates in the anterior compartment.

Dynamic magnetic resonance imaging: reliability of anatomical landmarks and reference lines used to assess pelvic organ prolapse.

The aim of this study was to determine the intra- and interobserver reliability of dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) staging in pelvic organ prolapse patients. In 30 patients with pelvic organ prolapse, dynamic MR images were assessed independently by two observers. Various anatomical landmarks to asses pelvic organ prolapse were used in relation to the pubococcygeal line, H-line, and mid-pubic line. Clinical measurement points were assessed in relation to the mid-pubic line. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to describe the intra- and interobserver reliability. Overall, the intra- and interobserver reliability of MR imaging measurements was excellent to good. The pubococcygeal line showed superior reliability (ICC range 0.70-0.99). The reliability of clinical measurement points, however, were only moderate (ICC range 0.20-0.96). The intra- and interobserver reliability of quantitative prolapse staging on dynamic MR imaging were good to excellent. The pubococcygeal line appears the most reliable to use.