Vaginal pessary in advanced pelvic organ prolapse: impact on quality of life.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a highly prevalent dysfunction of the pelvic floor affecting up to 40% of women. The symptoms of POP have a major impact on quality of life. Pessary treatment is a therapy option associated with high levels of satisfaction and few complications. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to assess the impact and efficacy of vaginal pessary use on the quality of life of women with advanced POP stages III and IV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multicenter, longitudinal, prospective observational study was conducted at the Urogynecology Sector of the Hospital Ipiranga and the Hospital Central of the Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo. A sociodemographic questionnaire was employed and two scales validated in Portuguese (ICIQVS and SF 12) were applied before and 6 months after pessary use. Student´s t test, Mann-Whitney test and Fisher´s exact test were applied, adopting a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: The median age of participants was 71.5 (65-76) years and the median number of pregnancies was 4 (3-5). Deliveries were predominantly vaginal (82.5%). Women sexually active (16.49%) showed improvement in sexual function (78.6%). The participants showed improvement in vaginal symptoms (91.8%) and quality of life (92.8%) (p < 0.01) post-treatment. Of the total 97 women, the sample drop-out rate was 9.3% and 88 participants completed the two stages of the study. CONCLUSIONS: Vaginal pessary use had 90.7% efficacy, a high level of treatment satisfaction (75.3%), and a positive impact on the improvement of vaginal and sexual symptoms, quality of life, and mental health.

Is urodynamics necessary to identify occult stress urinary incontinence?

PURPOSE: To investigate Occult Stress Urinary Incontinence (OSUI) using physical exam (PE) and urodynamics (UDS) in women with advanced pelvic organ prolapse (POP), and compare the two methods. METHODS: This study comprised 105 women with POP stage-III and -IV, according to POP quantification (POP-Q) system, evaluated prospectively between January and December 2015. A standard history, an incontinence questionnaire and PE were completed before the investigation of the OSUI that was performed in the supine and standing positions, reducing the prolapse using gauze and Cheron dressing forceps. The stress test was performed with and without the prolapse reduction. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 65.7 years, mean parity 5.1 and mean body mass index 27.4. From a total of 105 patients, 70 (66.7%) presented with POP-Q stage III and 35 (33.3%) stage IV. Sixty-three (60%) women were identified as having OSUI, 27 (25.7%) as continent, and 15 (14.3%) having stress urinary incontinence. From the 63 OSUI subjects, 48 (76.2%) were identified in both evaluations, eight were identified only during PE, and seven only during UDS. The sensitivity to detect OSUI during PE and UDS was 88.9 and 87.3%, respectively (P = .783). The kappa value to measure the agreement between both tests was .648 (95% CI .441-.854). CONCLUSION: UDS and PE are equivalent and concordant to demonstrate OSUI, thus it is not necessary to perform UDS to exclusively identify OSUI. UDS utility in OSUI patients, to evaluate urethral and detrusor function, deserves further investigation.

A prospective randomized clinical trial comparing two doses of AbobotulinumtoxinA for idiopathic overactive bladder.

AIMS: To compare 300 U versus 500 U of abobotulinumtoxinA (ABO) intravesical injections for the treatment of idiopathic overactive bladder (OAB) refractory to first and second-line treatments. METHODS: A prospective, randomized, single blind study was performed in female patients with symptoms of OAB, who had failed conservative treatment. Patients were treated with 300 or 500 U of ABO injected into 30 sites, avoiding the trigone. All treatments were evaluated by voiding diary, ICIQ-OAB questionnaire, urodynamic test, visual analogue scale (VAS) for treatment satisfaction and patient global impression of improvement (PGI-I). The primary outcome was change in maximum cistometric capacity (MCC). Secondary outcome included changes in urgency, complete continence, subjective success (VAS and PGI-I), and adverse events (urinary retention, UTI, and CIC). RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were included. MCC has increased from 185.0 to 270.9 mL (300 U) and from 240.8 to 311.7 mL (500 U), comparing the baseline with 12 weeks, without statistical difference between the groups (P = 0.270). At 12 weeks, 91% of patients were dry in both groups. At 24 weeks, episodes of incontinence had returned in 50% (300 U) and 0% (500 U) (P = 0.013). Patients were better or much better (PGI-I) in70% (300 U) and 88.9% (500 U) at 12 w; and 50% (300 U) and 100% (500 U), at 24 w (P = 0.027). The peak of PVR was at 4 w, being 71.7 mL (300 U) and 96.5 mL (500 U). General UTI incidence was 35.7%. One patient (500 U) required CIC for 2 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Intravesical ABO injection at 500 U improves symptoms and quality of life for longer period of time than 300 U for idiopathic OAB.

Bacteriuria and urinary tract infection after female urodynamic studies: risk factors and microbiological analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to determine risk factors for infectious complications after urodynamic study (UDS) in women, which can assist clinicians in identifying high-risk subjects who would benefit from antibiotic prophylaxis before UDS. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, we studied 232 women who underwent UDS at Santa Casa de São Paulo School of Medical Sciences between June 2013 and June 2014. Women ranging in age from 26 to 84 years who had urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, or voiding dysfunction were required to collect urine samples at 7 days before, on the day of, and 3-5 days after UDS. Urine cultures with >100,000 CFU/mL were considered positive. Risk factors associated with bacteriuria and urinary tract infection (UTI) after UDS were evaluated using multivariate analysis with multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-two out of 257 women were subjected to further analysis. The incidence of bacteriuria, transient bacteriuria, and UTI after UDS was 11.6%, 7.3%, and 4.3%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, hypothyroidism (P = .04), body mass index (BMI) >30 (P = .025), and advanced pelvic organ prolapse (P = .021) were associated with a significantly increased risk of bacteriuria; however, only BMI >30 (P = .02) was associated with an increased risk for UTI. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of infectious complications after UDS was low, and advanced pelvic organ prolapse and hypothyroidism increased the risk for bacteriuria. However, only BMI >30 was associated with bacteriuria and UTI after UDS.

Multicenter, randomized trial comparing native vaginal tissue repair and synthetic mesh repair for genital prolapse surgical treatment.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: This trial aimed to compare the outcomes of native vaginal tissue repair versus polypropylene mesh repair for the treatment of severe genital prolapse. METHODS: This multicenter randomized trial included 184 women, with POP-Q stage 3 or 4. They were randomly assigned to undergo surgical treatment using native tissue repair (n = 90) or synthetic mesh repair (n = 94). Native tissue repair surgery was performed according to site-specific defects, including sacrospinous ligament fixation for apical defects. Mesh repair (Prolift™) was performed in accordance with manufacturer recommendations. Hysterectomy was performed in all cases of uterine prolapse. Statistical tests were used to compare between-group and within-group differences before the surgery and at 1-year follow-up. We considered cure to have occurred when the POP-Q point evaluation was equal to or less than 0 and POP-Q point C better than or equal to half the total vaginal length (TVL) after 1 year. The patients answered the Prolapse Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (PQoL) and the Sexual Quotient Female Version (QS-F) questionnaire. RESULTS: Both groups were homogeneous preoperatively. There were no differences between the groups in operative time, complications or pain. At 1-year follow-up, anatomical cure rates were better in the mesh group in the anterior compartment (p = 0.019). Significant improvement in PQoL scores at 1-year follow up were observed in each group; between-group comparisons of changes in PQoL scores revealed greater improvement in the mesh group. CONCLUSION: Both techniques were effective. Anatomical efficacy was superior in the mesh group regarding the anterior compartment; quality of life changes were also greater in the mesh group. Complications were significantly higher in the mesh group.

Pubococcygeal activity on perineal ultrasound in incontinent women.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to investigate the applicability and reproducibility of perineal ultrasound (US) in the evaluation of the pubococcygeal muscle (PCM) activity in urinary incontinent women. METHODS: Thirty women were assessed twice by two examiners who measured the angle between the lateral bundles of the PCM. The 2D US on coronal view evaluated the PCM performance during squeezing, straining, and resting. RESULTS: There was significant correlation (p ≤ 0.001) in all measurements to both examiners, except for the contraction on their second assessment. The images showed asymmetries of muscle volume and activity. Five women (16.7%) had difficulty to rest after squeezing or straining, six (20%) first opened the muscle bundles when asked to squeeze them, and eight (26.7%) had no movement during different moments. CONCLUSIONS: The 2D perineal US on coronal view is useful to evaluate PCM activity. It is easily applicable and reproducible.