Method and reliability of measuring midurethral area and echogenicity, and changes during and after pregnancy.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Internal closure of the urethral sphincter is one of the mechanisms in maintaining continence. Little is known about changes in the urethral sphincter during pregnancy. We designed this study to develop a reliable method to measure the area and mean echogenicity of the midurethra during and after pregnancy and to assess changes over time. METHODS: Two observers independently segmented the urethra as follows: in the sagittal plane, the urethra was positioned vertically, the marker was placed in the middle section of the lumen of the urethra, and eight tomographic US images of 2.5 -mm slices were obtained. The central image was selected, and area and mean echogenicity were calculated automatically. Intra- and interobserver reliability were determined by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Two hundred and eighty women underwent TPUS at 12 weeks and 36 weeks of gestation and 6 months postpartum, and 3D/4D transperineal ultrasound (TPUS) images of 40 pregnant nulliparous women were used for the reliability study. Paired t tests were used to assess changes in echogenicity and area. RESULTS: The ICC for measuring the area was substantial, at 0.77 and for measuring mean echogenicity was almost perfect, at 0.86. In the total study group (n = 280), midurethral area and mean echogenicity were significantly lower 6 months after delivery compared with 12 and 36 weeks of gestation. CONCLUSIONS: Our protocol for measuring area and mean echogenicity of the midurethra is reliable. This study indicates that structural changes in the midurethraoccur during pregnancy.

Mean echogenicity and area of puborectalis muscle in women with stress urinary incontinence during pregnancy and after delivery.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Pregnancy and childbirth are risk factors for the development of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Urinary continence depends on normal urethral support, which is provided by normal levator ani muscle function. Our objective was to compare mean echogenicity and the area of the puborectalis muscle between women with and those without SUI during and after their first pregnancy. METHODS: We examined 280 nulliparous women at a gestational age of 12 weeks, 36 weeks, and 6 months after delivery. They filled out the validated Urogenital Distress Inventory and underwent perineal ultrasounds. SUI was considered present if the woman answered positively to the question "do you experience urine leakage related to physical activity, coughing, or sneezing?" Mean echogenicity of the puborectalis muscle (MEP) and puborectalis muscle area (PMA) were calculated. The MEP and PMA during pregnancy and after delivery in women with and without SUI were compared using independent Student's t test. RESULTS: After delivery the MEP was higher in women with SUI if the pelvic floor was at rest or in contraction, with effect sizes of 0.30 and 0.31 respectively. No difference was found in the area of the puborectalis muscle between women with and those without SUI. CONCLUSIONS: Women with SUI after delivery had a statistically significant higher mean echogenicity of the puborectalis muscle compared with non-SUI women when the pelvic floor was at rest and in contraction; the effect sizes were small. This higher MEP is indicative of a relatively higher intramuscular extracellular matrix component and could represent diminished contractile function.

Changes in the mean echogenicity and area of the puborectalis muscle during pregnancy and postpartum.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) volume transperineal ultrasound imaging is increasingly used to assess changes in the dimensions of the pelvic floor during pregnancy and after delivery. Little is known with regard to the area of the puborectalis muscle and its structural changes. Echogenicity measurement, a parameter that provides information on the structure of muscles, is increasingly used in orthopaedics and neuromuscular disease evaluation. This study is aimed at assessing the changes in the mean echogenicity of the puborectalis muscle (MEP) and the puborectalis muscle area (PMA) during first pregnancy and after childbirth. METHODS: The MEP and PMA of 254 women during first pregnancy were measured at 12 and 36 weeks' gestation and 6 months postpartum. To determine the effect of child-birth on MEP and PMA, the results at 6 months postpartum were separately analysed for vaginal deliveries, operative vaginal deliveries (ventouse) and caesarean section deliveries. Mean differences in MEP and PMA were analysed using ANOVA statistics. RESULTS: The MEP at 6 months postpartum was, independent of manoeuvre, significantly (p < 0.001) lower than MEP values during pregnancy. After caesarean delivery, the PMA was significantly smaller at maximum pelvic floor contraction than PMA after vaginal delivery (p = 0.003) or operative vaginal delivery (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that structural changes in the puborectalis muscle during and after pregnancy, as measured by MEP, occur and can be analysed. In addition, the mode of delivery affects the area of the puborectalis during contraction after delivery. For true volume analysis, as part of an assessment of contractility of the puborectalis muscle we will need 3D volume analysis.

Active head lifting from supine in early infancy: an indicator for non-optimal cognitive outcome in late infancy.

AIM: To explore whether active head lifting from supine (AHLS) in early infancy is associated with cognitive outcome in the second year of life. METHOD: The presence of AHLS was always recorded in the notes of infants admitted to our tertiary neonatal intensive care unit. Random sampling was used to pair infants with AHLS with two comparison infants without AHLS whose sex, gestational age, birth year (1993-2009), time of assessment, and developmental test (Griffiths Mental Development Scales, Mental Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II, or cognitive subtest of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III) were comparable. Brain injury identified from neonatal cranial ultrasound scans was classified as no - mild or moderate - severe. Z-scores of cognitive test outcomes were calculated for multivariable analysis. RESULTS: Eighty-seven preterm (34 males, 53 females) and 40 term (17 males, 23 females) infants with AHLS were identified. AHLS was documented at a mean (corrected) age of 7.0 (SD 1.7) and 8.1 (SD 2.2) months respectively. The cognitive assessments were performed at a mean corrected age of 15.7 (SD 1.7) and 23.9 (SD 1.6) months in preterm infants, and 19.1 (SD 2.3) months in term infants. The mean cognitive outcome of preterm and term infants with AHLS was lower than that of infants without AHLS (p=0.002 and p=0.004 respectively). This remained after excluding infants with cerebral palsy with matching comparison infants (p=0.001 in preterm and p=0.001 in term infants). The mean difference was highest (1.35SD) between term male infants and comparison infants (p=0.001). INTERPRETATION: AHLS is associated with a less favourable cognitive outcome in the second year of life in preterm as well as in term-born infants than in comparison infants.

Association of First-Trimester Echogenicity of the Puborectalis Muscle With Mode of Delivery.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between mean echogenicity of the puborectalis muscle, measured using transperineal ultrasonography, in women during their first pregnancy and the subsequent mode of delivery. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of a prospective observational study on the association between stress urinary incontinence and levator muscle avulsion after delivery of a first pregnancy. In this study, 280 nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies were examined with transperineal ultrasound examination at 12 and 36 weeks of gestation. Patients were recruited from an obstetrics practice associated with the university medical center in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Mean echogenicity of the puborectalis muscle values were measured at rest, in pelvic floor muscle contraction, and during the Valsalva maneuver. The subsequent mode of delivery was classified into five categories: spontaneous vaginal delivery, instrumental vaginal delivery, elective cesarean delivery, cesarean delivery resulting from nonreassuring fetal status, and cesarean delivery resulting from failure to progress. Mean echogenicity of the puborectalis muscle values according to mode of delivery were compared by analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test. RESULTS: Of the 254 women included, 157 had spontaneous vaginal delivery, 47 underwent cesarean delivery (11 elective, 36 emergency), and 45 had vacuum operative vaginal delivery; in five patient files, the mode of delivery was not recorded. Of the analyzed women, those who delivered by cesarean because of failure to progress had a significantly lower mean echogenicity of the puborectalis muscle in pelvic floor contraction at 12 weeks of gestation (mean echogenicity of 116±14) than women who had spontaneous vaginal delivery (132±21; Tukey's post hoc test, P=.03), instrumental vaginal delivery (138±21; P=.004), and cesarean delivery resulting from nonreassuring fetal status (139±20; P=.02). CONCLUSION: Lower mean echogenicity of the puborectalis muscle values in pelvic floor contraction during the first pregnancy at 12 weeks of gestation is associated with subsequent cesarean delivery as a result of failure to progress.