Hypopressive technique versus pelvic floor muscle training for postpartum pelvic floor rehabilitation: A prospective cohort study.

AIMS: Abdominal hypopressive technique (AHT) is gaining popularity as an alternative to pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) during postpartum. Although, there is no solid evidence for its recommendation. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational cohort study in a university hospital with 105 primiparae who performed a two-month PFMT or AHT program. The aim was to compare the effectiveness of both treatments in terms of morphofunctional changes in 3D transperineal ultrasound, manometry, dynamometry, and differences in urinary incontinence symptoms (ICIQ-IU-SF) and satisfaction. RESULTS: The average change in levator ani muscle was 1.2 mm higher in AHT group vs PFMT (95% confidence interval [CI], -2.2 to -0.2; P = .017). No statistically significant differences were shown in maximal strength changes between groups. After AHT, basal tone change was 63.0 g/cm2 higher than PFMT (95% CI, -129 to 2.9; P = .06). A statistically significant reduction in ICIQ-IU-SF was observed after both treatments [(PFMT, -0.8 points; 95% CI, -1.4 to -0.1; P = .015), (AHT, -0.7 points; 95% CI, -1.3 to -0.1; P = .018]. AHT showed a higher median satisfaction score than PFMT (P = .004). CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study is the first that analyses the effect of AHT vs PFMT during postpartum. The results suggest a higher improve for AHT in levator muscle thickness and satisfaction compared to PFMT. These must be considered with caution due to the limitations of the study. Further randomized clinical trials about both techniques during postpartum are required.

Relevancia clínica del signo del pedículo en el diagnóstico del pólipo endometrial / Clinical relevance of the pedicle sign in diagnosing of the endometrial polyp

Objetivo: Valorar la rentabilidad diagnóstica del signo del pedículo vascular detectado mediante Doppler color/potencia para el diagnóstico del pólipo endometrial. Método: Se realiza una revisión sistemática y metanálisis. Para ello, se llevó a cabo una búsqueda electrónica de los siguientes términos: "endometrial polyp", "Doppler", "ultrasound" (MeSH) y "pedicle sign". Se incluyeron: estudios prospectivos o de cohortes retrospectivos; investigaciones de mujeres con enfermedad orgánica endometrial y pacientes con pólipos endometriales; estudios que tuvieran como objetivo la evaluación de la prueba diagnóstica la ecografía mediante Doppler color/potencia para el diagnóstico de pólipo endometrial, y trabajos que usaran el diagnóstico anatomopatológico como prueba de referencia. El período comprendió de enero de 2003 a mayo de 2015. Todos los análisis se realizaron mediante el módulo MIDAS y METANDI de la versión STATA 12.0 para Windows (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, EE.UU.). Un valor de p < 0.05 fue considerado estadísticamente significativo. Resultados: Se identificaron un total de 629 artículos, de los que se excluyeron 623, por lo que fueron incluidos en el metanálisis final 6 artículos. Dichos estudios incluían 1237 mujeres y 362 pólipos endometriales (prevalencia del 29.3%). La sensibilidad, la especificidad, la razón de verosimilitud (LR, likelihood ratio), tanto positiva como negativa (LR-) para el signo del pedículo fueron 77% (intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%: 53% a 91%), 95% (IC 95%: 87% a 98%), 16.0 (IC 95%: 7.1 a 35.9) y 0.24 (IC 95%: 0.11 a 0.54), respectivamente. Se detectó una heterogeneidad importante en los estudios. Conclusión: El signo del pedículo ofrece un rendimiento aceptable para el diagnóstico de los pólipos endometriales.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of vascular pedicle sign detected by color Doppler/power ultrasound for the diagnosis of endometrial polyp. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. An electronic search (Pubmed) was conducted using the following terms: "endometrial polyp", "Doppler", "ultrasound" (MeSH), and "pedicle sign". Criteria for inclusion were as follows: prospective or retrospective cohort studies; studies of women with endometrial organic pathology and women with endometrial polyps; studies to evaluate the diagnostic test using color Doppler ultrasound/power for the diagnosis of endometrial polyp, and studies using pathological diagnosis as the gold standard. The period covered was January 2003 to May 2015. All analyses were performed using the MIDAS and METANDI module STATA version 12.0 for Windows (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). A value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 629 papers were identified, of which 623 were excluded, including 6 studies in the meta-analysis. These studies included 1237 women and 362 endometrial polyps (29.3% prevalence). The sensitivity, specificity, LR and LR- for the sign of the pedicle were 77% (95% CI, 53%-91%), 95% (95% CI, 87%-98%), 16.0 (95% CI, 7.1-35.9) and 0.24 (95% CI, 0.11 to 0.54), respectively. Significant heterogeneity was detected in studies. Conclusion: The sign of the pedicle provides acceptable performance for diagnosis of endometrial polyp.

Reproducibility of the International Endometrial Analysis Group Color Score for Assigning the Amount of Flow Within the Endometrium Using Stored 3-Dimensional Volumes.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility for assigning an International Endometrial Tumor Analysis (IETA) group color score for endometrial vascularization on color Doppler imaging. METHODS: Sixty-eight endometrial 3-dimensional volumes from endometrial color Doppler assessments of women with different endometrial disorders were evaluated by 8 different examiners (4 skilled examiners and 4 obstetric and gynecologic trainees). One skilled examiner who did not participate in the assessments selected the 68 volumes from a database to select a balanced number of each IETA score. Each examiner evaluated the 68 endometrial volumes to assign the IETA color score (1, absence of vascularization; 2, low vascularization; 3, moderate vascularization; or 4, abundant vascularization) using tomographic ultrasound imaging. The analysis was repeated 4 weeks later, and interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility was analyzed by calculating the weighted κ index. The second of the measurements made by each observer was used to estimate interobserver reproducibility. RESULTS: The intraobserver reproducibility was very good for all examiners, with a weighted κ index ranging from 0.84 to 0.91. The interobserver reproducibility was good or very good for all estimated comparisons, with a weighted κ index ranging from 0.77 to 0.96, regardless of experience level. CONCLUSIONS: The reproducibility of assigning the IETA color score for assessing endometrial vascularization using 3-dimensional volumes is good or very good regardless of the experience of the examiner.

Malignancy risk of sonographically benign appearing purely solid adnexal masses in asymptomatic postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the natural history of benign appearing purely solid ovarian lesions in asymptomatic postmenopausal women. METHODS: Retrospective observational cohort study comprising 99 women (mean age, 58.2 years, ranging from 50 to 77 years) diagnosed as having a purely solid ovarian lesion at transvaginal ultrasound between April 2001 and October 2015. Inclusion criteria were as follows: asymptomatic postmenopausal women with a well-defined purely solid ovarian lesion with International Ovarian Tumor Analysis color score 1 or 2, without ascites and/or signs of carcinomatosis. Clinical, sonographic, biochemical (CA-125), and histologic data (in case of surgery) were retrieved for analysis. Patients who were managed conservatively were assessed by transvaginal sonography every 6 months for a minimum of a year. In case of bilateral lesions we used the largest one for analysis. RESULTS: Five women (5.1%) had bilateral lesions. Mean size of the lesion was 2.9 cm (range, 1.0-7.8 cm). Most lesions were homogeneous (96.0%). Acoustic shadowing was present in 59.6% of cases. International Ovarian Tumor Analysis color score was 1 in 77.8% and 2 in 22.2% of the cases, respectively. Median CA-125 was 10.8 IU/mL (range, 3.0-403.0 IU/mL). Forty-two women underwent surgery after diagnosis (histologic diagnoses were as follows: fibroma (n = 26), fibrothecoma (n = 5), dermoid (n = 3), Brenner tumor (n = 3), endometrioma (n = 2), thecoma (n = 1), primary invasive cancer (n = 2). One case of invasive cancer CA-125 was 403.0 IU/mL and in the other case CA-125 was 6.0 IU/mL. They both were stage 1. Fifty-seven women were managed with serial follow-up. With a median follow-up time of 36 months (range, 12-142 months) all these lesions had no change and women remain asymptomatic. Considering all 99 cases the risk of malignancy is 2% (95% CI, 0.1-7.5). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of malignancy of benign appearing purely solid adnexal masses in asymptomatic postmenopausal women is low. Conservative management of these lesions might be an option.

Three-Dimensional Hysterosalpingo-Contrast-Sonography for the Assessment of Tubal Patency in Women with Infertility: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We aimed at performing a systematic review to determine the diagnostic accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) hysterosalpingo-contrast-sonography (HyCoSy) for detecting tubal occlusion. METHODS: A systematic review in Medline database search from January 1989 to October 2015 to identify relevant studies evaluating 3D-HyCoSy. Eligibility criteria were studies assessing the role of 3D-HyCoSy for diagnosing tubal occlusion in infertile women. Index test was 3D-HyCoSy. Reference standard was laparoscopy with dye test or X-ray hysterosalpingography. Quality was assessed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool. Pooled sensitivity and specificity for the method were estimated. RESULTS: A total number of 88 papers were identified. After exclusions, nine studies were ultimately included. Pooled estimated sensitivity was 98% (95% CI 91-100) with a moderate heterogeneity (I2: 64.8%, 95% CI 39.6-89.9; and Cochran Q 22.7, p < 0.001). Pooled estimated specificity was 90% (95% CI 83-95) with significant heterogeneity (I2: 80.3%, 95% CI 68.1-92.5; and Cochran Q 40.6, p < 0.001). Positive likelihood ratio was 10.3 (95% CI 5.6-18.7) and negative likelihood ratio was 0.02 (95% CI 0.00-0.21). CONCLUSION: 3D-HyCoSy is an accurate test for diagnosing tubal occlusion in women with infertility.

Intraoperative Gross Examination and Intraoperative Frozen Section in Patients With Endometrial Cancer for Detecting Deep Myometrial Invasion: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis comparing diagnostic performance of intraoperative gross evaluation (IGE) and intraoperative frozen section (IFS) for the assessment of myometrial invasion in patients with endometrial cancer. METHODS: An extensive search was performed in several databases from January 1989 to May 2015. Eligibility criteria were studies using intraoperative gross evaluation or intraoperative frozen section to determine deep myometrial invasion in patients with endometrial cancer using the final histopathology report with reference standard. Quality was assessed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 tool. RESULTS: Forty-seven articles were identified. Of these, 35 studies were selected and included in the meta-analysis. A total of 6387 women were evaluated intraoperatively with any of the 2 methods mentioned. Pooled sensitivity and specificity for IGE were 71% (95% confidence interval [CI], 63%-77%) and 91% (95% CI, 89%-93%), respectively. Heterogeneity was found high for sensitivity (I2: 83.6%; Cochran Q: 79.4; P < 0.001) and moderate for specificity (I, 51.4%; Cochran Q, 29.8; P =0.01). Pooled sensitivity and specificity for IFS were 85% (95% CI, 81%-88%) and 97% (95% CI, 96%-98%), respectively. Heterogeneity was found moderate for sensitivity (I, 56.4%; Cochran Q, 45.9; P < 0.001) and high for specificity (I, 83.2%; Cochran Q, 118.9; P < 0.001). Both sensitivity (P = 0.0008) and specificity (P = 0.0021) were significantly higher for IFS compared to IGE. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative frozen section has better diagnostic performance than intraoperative gross evaluation for the intraoperative diagnosis of deep myometrial invasion in patients with endometrial cancer.

Transvaginal/transrectal ultrasound for assessing myometrial invasion in endometrial cancer: a comparison of six different approaches.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic performance of six different approaches for assessing myometrial infiltration using ultrasound in women with carcinoma of the corpus uteri. METHODS: Myometrial infiltration was assessed by two-dimensional (2D) transvaginal or transrectal ultrasound in 169 consecutive women with well (G1) or moderately (G2) differentiated endometrioid type endometrial carcinoma. In 74 of these women three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound was also performed. Six different techniques for myometrial infiltration assessment were evaluated. The impression of examiner and Karlsson's criteria were assessed prospectively. Endometrial thickness, tumor/uterine 3D volume ratio, tumor distance to myometrial serosa (TDS), and van Holsbeke's subjective model were assessed retrospectively. All subjects underwent surgical staging within 1 week after ultrasound evaluation. Definitive histopathological data regarding myometrial infiltration was used as gold standard. Sensitivity and specificity for all approaches were calculated and compared using McNemar test. RESULTS: The impression of examiner and subjective model performed similarly (sensitivity 79.5% and 80.5%, respectively; specificity 89.6% and 90.3%, respectively). Both methods had significantly better sensitivity than Karlsson's criteria (sensitivity 31.8%, p<0.05) and endometrial thickness (sensitivity 47.7%, p<0.05), and better specificity than tumor/uterine volume ratio (specificity 28.3%, p<0.05) and TDS (specificity 41.5%, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Subjective impression seems to be the best approach for assessing myometrial infiltration in G1 or G2 endometrioid type endometrial cancer by transvaginal or transrectal ultrasound. The use of mathematical models and other objective 2D and 3D measurement techniques do not improve diagnostic performance.