Two year follow-up and comparison of pelvic floor muscle electromyography after first vaginal delivery with and without episiotomy and its correlation with urinary incontinence: A prospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Few prospective studies have revealed the long-term neuromuscular alterations of pelvic floor after vaginal delivery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of episiotomy on the electrical activity of pelvic floor muscle 2 years following vaginal delivery, and explore the relation between surface electromyography (sEMG) amplitudes and urinary incontinence. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 427 primiparous women with full-term singleton vaginal delivery were included in the cohort and 362 with no further births within the 2 year follow-up completed observations. Of these, 200 underwent episiotomy and 162 underwent nonepisiotomy. Clinical demographic characteristics, vaginal EMG variables and urinary incontinence-specific questionnaire scores were collected at 6 weeks, 6, 12 and 24 months after childbirth, respectively. Primary outcomes were the comparison of sEMG values between the episiotomy and nonepisiotomy groups throughout 2 years. Secondary outcomes were the correlation between sEMG of both groups and the incidence and severity of urinary incontinence. Spearman's correlation analysis, Kruskal-Wallis test and ANOVA with Bonferroni correction were used to analyze the variables. RESULTS: Amplitude of maximal fast and endurance contractions on sEMG in the episiotomy group was significantly lower than the nonepisiotomy counterpart. Such difference of sEMG persisted for a long period after birth: endurance contraction, 33.12 ± 8.92 vs 35.085 ± 9.98, p < 0.01 at 24 months, and fast contraction, 36.53 ± 8.87 vs 39.05 ± 9.98, p = 0.01 at 12-month. Although there was no significant difference in incidence and severity of urinary incontinence between both groups, a negative correlation existed between EMG values of muscle contraction and urinary incontinence symptoms throughout. CONCLUSIONS: Primiparous women delivered with episiotomy demonstrated lower contractile sEMG activity of pelvic floor muscle in the long term. The lower sEMG values of fast contraction were associated with urinary incontinence symptoms.

Effectiveness of intravaginal electrical stimulation combined with electromyography biofeedback-mediated pelvic floor muscle training for postpartum symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse: protocol for the PROSPECT randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is seen in up to 30-70% of women presenting for routine gynecology care and 10% of women suffering from bothersome POP symptoms. Vaginal childbirth is one of the most prominent contributing factors for POP. Pelvic muscle training (PFMT) is considered effective to improve mild to moderate POP symptoms. In addition, higher-intensity, supervised PFMT aided by biofeedback and electrical stimulation may confer greater benefit. However, the long-term efficacy of the PFMT combined with electromyography biofeedback is unknown, which indicates the need for further evidence. METHODS: This multicenter randomized controlled trial compares the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of conventional PFMT versus biofeedback-mediated PFMT plus neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for postpartum symptomatic POP women. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients with the improvement of at least one POP-Q stage at 36 months after randomization. The primary economic outcome measure is incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year at 36 months. Two hundred seventy-four women from four outpatient medical centers are randomized and followed up with pelvic floor examination, questionnaires, and pelvic ultrasonography imaging. All participants are arranged for three appointments over 12 weeks. NMES and electromyography biofeedback via intravaginal probe are added to PFMT for participants in the biofeedback-mediated PFMT group. Group allocation could not be blinded from participants and healthcare staff that deliver intervention but remain masked from medical staff that carry out PFM assessment. An intention-to-treat analysis of the primary outcome will estimate the difference of the proportion of POP-Q stage improvement between the trial groups right after the intervention, and during the follow-up until 36 months, using the chi-square test and multilevel mixed models respectively. A logistic regression analysis was used for adjusting for important baseline variables that are unbalanced. DISCUSSION: The trial results will provide evidence of the effectiveness of electromyography biofeedback-mediated PFMT in improving women's POP-Q staging, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CCTR Registry ChiCTR210002171917 . Registered on March 6, 2019.

Therapeutic effects of biofeedback therapy of perineal surface on stress urinary incontinence in elderly women / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective:To explore the therapeutic effects of biofeedback therapy of perineal surface on stress urinary incontinence(SUI) in elderly women.Methods:A total of 87 elderly women with SUI treated at the outpatient clinics of Beijing Hospital and Yunnan First People's Hospital between January 2018 and December 2019 were recruited in this prospective cohort study.All participants were therapeutically divided into the perineal BF group(n=53)and the intravaginal BF group(n=34), based on the voluntary selection.In the intravaginal BF group, 3/34 cases dropped out of the study, and finally in 31 cases the treatment was completed.All patients were treated with biofeedback for 8 weeks with twice treatment per week.The quality of life was assessed by the incontinence impact questionnaire scores.Patients underwent the 1-hour pad-weighing test, pelvic floor muscle assessment and quality of life assessment by incontinence impact questionnaire(ⅡQ-7)scores before and after treatment.The effective rate of treatment, adverse reactions and treatment satisfaction scores were compared between the two groups.Results:The urine leakage and scores of ⅡQ-7 questionnaire were significantly improved after versus before 8 weeks of treatment in the perineal BF group[(4.65±2.33) g vs.(11.02±4.85) g, (7.96±5.11) scores vs.(4.34±2.66) scores, t=8.62 and 4.58, P<0.001], and in the intravaginal BF group[(3.85±1.89) g vs.(12.43±3.96) g, (3.81±1.23) scores vs.(8.29±5.01) scores, t=10.89 and 4.84, P<0.001]. Compared with before treatment, the grading of pelvic floor muscle strength was improved after treatment, but had no significant difference in the perineal BF group(3.93±2.77 vs.2.98±2.10, t=1.99, P=0.056)and in the intravaginal BF group(4.51±3.38 vs.3.07±2.02, t=2.04, P=0.051). There was no significant difference in the urine leakage, grading of pelvic floor muscle strength and scores of ⅡQ-7 questionnaire between two groups( P>0.05). The effective rate of treatment had no significant difference between the perineal and intravaginal BF groups(81.13% or 43/53 vs.83.87% or 26/31, χ2=0.10, P=0.750). The incidences of adverse effects were higher(20.59% or 7/34 vs.1.89% or 1/53, χ2=8.68, P=0.003)and the comfort levels during treatment assessed by visual analog scale(VAS)scores were lower in the intravaginal BF group than in the perineal BF group[(8.11±2.93) scores vs.(9.88±3.84) scores, t=2.95, P=0.004]. The main adverse effects included pain or discomfort, vaginal bleeding and increased vaginal discharge in the intrasvaginal BF treatment group. Conclusions:The perineal BF method is as effective as intravaginal BF in female stress urinary incontinencetreatmentin elderly women, and has fewer adverse effects.