Urinary incontinence before and after pelvic organ prolapse surgery-A national database study.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: To investigate how pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery affects symptoms of urinary incontinence (UI) in women with POP and concomitant UI. METHODS: Data from the Danish Urogynaecological Database were collected from 2013 to 2016. Inclusion criteria were urinary incontinent women who underwent POP surgery alone. Based on the preoperative results of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence-short form (ICIQ-UI-sf), women were categorized with stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) or mixed urinary incontinence (MUI). Postoperatively, the women were categorized based on the postoperative ICIQ-UI-sf, except here, undefined urinary incontinence and urinary continence were added to the categories. Statistical analyses included multivariate logistic regression analyses, examining the odds of urinary continence in each category. The included parameters were preoperative POP stage (POP-Q), compartment, BMI, age and preoperative ICIQ-UI-sf total score. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 1657 women were included. Significantly more women with preoperative UUI achieved urinary continence (60%) compared to women with preoperative SUI (52%) and MUI (38%). More than 70% of all women achieved either urinary continence or an improvement in UI, regardless of subtype. For women with UUI, the likelihood of achieving urinary continence was higher if the anterior compartment was involved. Women with MUI were more likely to achieve urinary continence if they had POP-Q stage 3-4. CONCLUSIONS: Most women with symptomatic POP and concomitant UI find that their UI is either cured or improved after POP surgery alone.

De novo urinary incontinence after pelvic organ prolapse surgery-a national database study.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of de novo urinary incontinence (UI) after pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery. METHODS: Data from 2013 to 2016 were collected from the Danish Urogynecological Database, where registration for any urogynecological procedure performed in Denmark is mandatory. Inclusion criteria were urinary continent women who underwent POP surgery. A woman was urinary continent if her total score on the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence-short form (ICIQ-UI-sf) was 0 and she answered 'never' to 'When does urine leak?' Postoperatively, the women were categorized as continent or women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) or undefined UI. We performed multivariate logistic regression analyses. The included parameters were preoperative POP stage (POP-Q), compartment, BMI and age. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: We included 1198 women. The risk of de novo UI was 15%; 45% had SUI, 30% had UUI, 16% had MUI, and 10% had undefined UI. BMI was highly associated with de novo UI; the risk was 12% for women with BMI < 25, 16% for women with BMI 25 - < 30 and 23% for women with BMI ≥ 30. Age, compartment and POP stage were not associated with de novo UI. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of de novo UI is the same regardless of the involved compartment/s and POP stage. BMI is significantly associated with de novo UI; twice as many women with BMI ≥ 30 had de novo UI compared with women with BMI < 25.

Prolapse reduction deteriorates the urethral closure mechanism.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) reduction is often performed in the preoperative assessment of women before POP surgery. Using urethral pressure reflectometry (UPR), we sought to investigate how POP reduction affects the urethral closure mechanism. METHODS: Women with anterior or posterior vaginal wall prolapse stage ≥II with and without POP reduction were examined with a speculum. We performed prolapse staging according to the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system, UPR measurements at rest and during squeezing, and standardized stress tests with 300 ml saline. All examinations were repeated after insertion of a speculum. RESULTS: We included 38 women: 22 with anterior and 16 with posterior vaginal wall prolapse POP-Q stage ≥II. During POP reduction, resting and squeezing urethral pressures decreased by 2.5 cmH2O (p = 0.007) and 5.1 cmH2O (p < 0.0001), respectively, in all women. During POP reduction, the number of positive stress tests increased from four (18%) to eight (36%) in women with anterior vaginal wall prolapse and from one (6%) to nine (56%) in women with posterior vaginal wall prolapse. CONCLUSIONS: POP reduction decreases urethral pressure, especially during squeezing, and consequently increases the number of positive stress tests. The test itself artificially deteriorates the urethral closure mechanism.

Implantation of the argus sling in a hard-to-treat patient group with urinary stress incontinence.

INTRODUCTION: Awareness of prostate cancer is growing in the Western population, and an increasing number of patients are being referred to prostate surgery. This is a significant contributor to male stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Implantation of an artificial sphincter (AUS) is considered the gold standard treatment of SUI. This study investigates the role of minimally invasive treatment with the Argus sling in a heterogenic hard-to-treat patient group. METHOD: The study was a retrospective follow-up study with patients as their own controls. Forty-one patients were enrolled and treated with the Argus sling. Patients enrolled had persisting SUI after prostate surgery for more than 12 months, despite conservative treatment. The pre-operative daily usage of pads and the 24 hours urinary leakage were compared to the post-operative findings. The primary goal was to achieve complete continence or a reduction of more than 50% in pad usage or urinary leakage. RESULTS: In total, 71% of the 41 patients enrolled met our primary objective. Complete continence was obtained in 56%, and a reduction of 50% or more was obtained in an additional 15%. CONCLUSION: This study has reproduced continence rates seen in previous studies, but in the hard-to-treat patients with urgency or formerly failed surgery, the continence rate was found to be inferior. The AUS has produced similar results and must still be considered the gold standard treatment of SUI, but the Argus sling is an alternative for patients who want a passive system or for patients not suitable for AUS.

Posterior colporrhaphy does not affect the urethral closure mechanism.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Studies have suggested that a posterior vaginal wall prolapse might compress the urethra and mask stress urinary incontinence (SUI), much like an anterior vaginal wall prolapse. A recent study with urethral pressure reflectometry (UPR) has shown that the urethral closure mechanism deteriorates after anterior colporrhaphy; this could explain the occurrence of postoperative de novo SUI. We hypothesized that urethral pressure would also decrease after posterior colporrhaphy. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study where women with posterior vaginal wall prolapse ≥stage II were examined before and after posterior colporrhaphy. We performed prolapse staging according to the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system, UPR measurements at rest, during squeezing and straining, and standardized stress tests with 300 ml saline. The women filled out International Consultation on Incontinence-Urinary incontinence (ICIQ-UI) short forms. The sample size was 18, with a power of 99.9% and a level of significance of 5%. Parameters were compared using paired t tests or Fisher's exact test, where appropriate; p values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Eighteen women with posterior vaginal wall prolapse ≥stage II were recruited. One woman did not undergo surgery. There were no changes in urethral pressure at rest (p = 0.4), during squeezing (p = 0.2) or straining (p = 0.2), before and after surgery. The results of the stress tests and ICIQ-UI short forms were the same after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The urethral closure mechanism is not affected by posterior colporrhaphy. Our study does not support the theory that the posterior vaginal wall prolapse compresses the urethra and masks SUI.

The urethral closure mechanism is deteriorated after anterior colporrhaphy.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Urethral pressure reflectometry (UPR) has proven highly reproducible in women with pelvic organ prolapse. We hypothesized that urethral parameters would decrease after anterior colporrhaphy. METHODS: A prospective, observational study where women with anterior vaginal wall prolapse ≥stage II were assessed before and after anterior colporrhaphy. Assessments consisted of prolapse staging according to the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system, UPR measurements at rest, during squeezing and straining (at a standardized abdominal pressure of 50 cmH2O, PO-Abd 50), standardized stress tests with 300 ml saline, and answering the International Consultation on Incontinence - Urinary incontinence short form. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) was defined as a positive stress test and a questionnaire with symptoms of SUI and a bother score > 1. Sample size was 30, power was 100% and the level of significance was 5%. We analyzed data with paired t-tests or non-parametric Wilcoxon signed rank tests; p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Twenty-eight women who underwent anterior colporrhaphy completed the study. PO-Abd 50 decreased 12 cmH2O after surgery (p < 0.0001). Five women developed postoperative SUI and one had persistent SUI; the six women's preoperative PO-Abd 50 was lower than the rest (p < 0.01). If preoperative PO-Abd 50 was ≤65 cmH2O, the positive predictive value for postoperative SUI was 50%, and if PO-Abd 50 was ≥85 cmH2O, the negative predictive value was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: The urethral closure mechanism deteriorates after anterior colporrhaphy. Using UPR, we can calculate a woman's risk of SUI after anterior colporrhaphy.

Urethral pressure reflectometry in women with pelvic organ prolapse: a study of reproducibility.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The mechanism of continence in women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) before and after surgery remains unknown. Urethral pressure reflectometry (UPR) separates women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) from continent women by measuring urethral opening pressure at an abdominal pressure of 50 cmH2O (P O-Abd 50). UPR can help identify women with POP at risk of postoperative de novo SUI. The aim of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of UPR in women with POP. METHODS: Women with anterior or posterior vaginal wall prolapse were recruited for this prospective, observational study from our outpatient clinic. The women were examined with UPR on two occasions. Measurements were done at rest, and during squeezing and straining. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS 9.4. A Bland-Altman analysis with limits of agreement and coefficients of variation was used to determine the level of agreement between measurements. Paired t tests were used to estimate the difference; a two-tailed P value of <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: We recruited 19 women with anterior vaginal wall prolapse and 11 women with posterior vaginal wall prolapse. There were no significant differences in the opening pressures at rest or during squeezing or in the values of P O-Abd 50. P O-Abd 50 showed limits of agreement of 15.3 cmH2O and a coefficient of variation of 9.9 %. CONCLUSIONS: UPR was found to be a highly reproducible method in women with POP. UPR may be used in future studies to help reveal urodynamic features predictive of postoperative de novo SUI in women with POP.

The promise of urethral pressure reflectometry: an update.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The urethral closure mechanism in women is incompletely understood. Measuring closure function in a collapsed urethral tube without distending the tube and changing its natural shape is impossible with conventional methods. Over the last decade, studies with urethral pressure reflectometry (UPR), a method that measures pressure and the corresponding cross-sectional area along the entire length of the urethra continuously by means of acoustic reflectometry, have been performed. The studies have mainly been performed on patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). METHODS: Our aim was to provide an overview of the studies conducted with UPR, establishing whether the method may be used in clinical practice. We reviewed all literature published on UPR. RESULTS: Urethral pressure reflectometry is easily performed with limited bother for the patient. The catheter consists of a 45-cm-long PVC tube connected to a thin and highly flexible polyurethane bag, which is placed in the urethra. When inserted, the bag only occupies 0.4 mm(2) of the urethra, respecting the natural shape and orientation of the urethra and, most importantly; respecting the laws of physics when measuring urethral pressure. UPR can discriminate patients with SUI from continent women and separate assessment of the sphincter function and support system is possible. Also, UPR has revealed statistically significant differences in urethral pressures after drug therapy for SUI. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that UPR has a place in clinical practice. The method has shown groundbreaking potential in the understanding of urethral dysfunction in SUI patients.

Post-void residual urine under 150 ml does not exclude voiding dysfunction in women.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: It has been claimed that post-void residual urine (PVR) below 150 ml rules out voiding dysfunction in women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and provides license to perform sling surgery. The cut-off of 150 ml seems arbitrary, not evidence-based, and so we sought to investigate the ability of PVR < 150 ml to exclude voiding dysfunction. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients who underwent invasive urodynamics from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013. Voiding dysfunction was diagnosed if both the invasive urodynamic and the free flow showed abnormal results. We registered the PVR in patients with voiding dysfunction and divided them into groups with PVR < 150 ml and PVR ≥ 150 ml. Patients were then analyzed for bladder outlet obstruction and detrusor underactivity. RESULTS: Of the 205 patients undergoing invasive urodynamics in 2013, a total of 20 had voiding dysfunction, 2 with PVR ≥ 150 ml. Eighteen patients had PVR < 150 ml (range 0-50 ml); 9 had bladder outlet obstruction while 7 had detrusor underactivity. Two patients were uncategorized. Out of the 20 patients, 7 had no symptoms or complaints indicating voiding dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with voiding dysfunction often have normal PVR and so PVR < 150 ml cannot exclude voiding dysfunction. All patients should be evaluated using free flow measurements along with PVR to obtain a reliable, objective measurement of their voiding pattern, before anti-incontinence surgery.