Short statured primigravidae: Options for the obstetric management from a survey of UK obstetricians.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the current antenatal and intrapartum management options for primigravid women of short stature with a clinically large fetus by a survey of UK Obstetricians. STUDY DESIGN: An online survey comprised of 15 questions including the options on timing and mode of delivery, counselling about the risk of long-term pelvic floor morbidity following spontaneous vaginal and instrumental deliveries, choice of instruments and the role of episiotomy. The survey was sent to the participants as a part of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) Newsletter between September 2017 to October 2018. The scenario described was of a primigravid short stature woman (i.e. height of 160 cm or less) who presents with a clinically large fetus at 38 weeks gestation. RESULTS: 424 Obstetricians participated in the survey. The participation ratio cannot be identified as the survey was emailed as a part of the RCOG Newsletter. Sixty five percent respondents stated that they would scan for estimated fetal weight, 48 % would offer induction of labour at 40 weeks and 14 % would offer an elective/planned caesarean section (CS) at 39-40 weeks. Fifty nine percent would discuss all these risks: obstructed labour, shoulder dystocia, instrumental delivery and obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI). 73 % would not discuss the long-term risks of urinary and/or faecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. In the presence of failure to progress in the second stage of labour, 69 % would attempt a rotational instrumental delivery and 5% would offer a caesarean section. Manual rotation and 'straight' forceps application were the most frequent type of rotational delivery, followed by Ventouse and Kiellands forceps. Thirty four percent stated that they do not routinely perform an episiotomy in this scenario. Seventy three percent stated that their choice of instrument was not based on the long-term risk of urinary and faecal incontinence. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that 40 % of the respondents would not discuss all of the complications after vaginal delivery in women of short stature. The most common delivery option would be vaginal delivery.

Ultrasound bladder wall thickness and detrusor overactivity: a multicentre test accuracy study.

OBJECTIVE: Women with overactive bladder (OAB) often undergo urodynamics before invasive treatments are considered. Ultrasound measurement of bladder wall thickness (BWT) is a less invasive, less expensive and widely available test. It has the potential to diagnose the presence of detrusor overactivity (DO). We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of BWT in the diagnosis of DO. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Twenty-two UK clinics (university and district general hospitals). METHODS: Consecutive eligible women with OAB symptoms had transvaginal ultrasound to estimate BWT (index test). The reference standard for the diagnosis of DO was urodynamic testing with multichannel subtracted cystometry. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratios using a BWT threshold of ≥5 mm were used to indicate the presence of DO, and the area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve to give an overall estimate of BWT accuracy. RESULTS: Between March 2011 and 2013, 644/687 (94%) women recruited had both tests. The mean age was 52.7 years (standard deviation 13.9) and DO was diagnosed in 399/666 (60%) women. BWT had a sensitivity of 43% [95% confidence interval (CI) 38-48%], specificity of 62% (95% CI 55-68%), and likelihood ratios of 1.11 (95% CI 0.92-1.35) and 0.93 (95% CI 0.82-1.06) for positive and negative tests, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.53 (95% CI 0.48-0.57). Extensive sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses were carried out, but did not alter the interpretation. CONCLUSIONS: BWT is not a good replacement test for urodynamics in women with overactive bladder. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Bladder wall thickness is not a good replacement test for urodynamics in women with overactive bladder.

Does preoperative urodynamics improve outcomes for women undergoing surgery for stress urinary incontinence? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Urodynamics is widely used in the investigation of urinary incontinence. The existing evidence questions its add-on value in improving the outcome of surgical treatment for stress urinary incontinence (SUI). OBJECTIVES: To compare the surgical outcomes in women with SUI or stress-predominant mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) based on urodynamic diagnoses compared with diagnoses based on office evaluation without urodynamics. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched Cochrane, MedLine, Embase, CINAHL, LILACS, metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) and Google Scholar databases from inception until March 2013. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing surgical outcomes in women investigated by urodynamics and women who had office evaluation only. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two independent reviewers (S.R. and P.L.) extracted the data and analysed it using review manager (revman) 5.2 software. MAIN RESULTS: Of the 388 articles identified, only four RCTs met our criteria. The data from one study are as yet unpublished. In the other three RCTs, the women with SUI or stress-predominant MUI were randomised either to office evaluation and urodynamics (n = 388) or to office evaluation only (n = 387). There was no statistical difference in the risk ratio (RR) of subjective cure in the two groups (RR 1.02, 95%CI 0.90-1.15, P = 0.79, I(2) = 45%), objective cure (RR 1.01, 95%CI 0.93-1.11, P = 0.28, I(2) = 20%) or complications such as voiding dysfunction (RR 1.54, 95%CI 0.61-3.89, P = 0.27, I(2) = 18%) or urinary urgency (RR 0.80, 95%CI 0.28-2.3, P = 0.19, I(2) = 40%). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: In women undergoing primary surgery for SUI or stress-predominant MUI without voiding difficulties, urodynamics does not improve outcomes - as long as the women undergo careful office evaluation.

Role of perioperative low dose vaginal oestrogens in improving the outcomes of pelvic organ prolapse surgery.

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is the most common gynaecological disorder requiring surgical treatment in postmenopausal women. Surgical treatment of POP might include anterior or posterior vaginal repair, vaginal hysterectomy, vault fixation procedures like sacrocolpopexy and sacrospinous fixation. Complications of POP surgery include excessive bleeding, visceral injuries, postoperative wound infection, urinary tract infection (UTI), sexual dysfunction secondary to vaginal scarring and recurrence. Postmenopausal vaginal atrophy may increase the risk of visceral injuries due to thinning of vaginal wall and also increases the risk of surgical site wound infections due to alteration of vaginal flora and urinary tract infections (UTI). Use of vaginal low dose oestrogens to treat atrophy of the vagina may improve the subjective cure rates and minimise surgical site wound infections by altering the vaginal flora to premenopausal levels. To date there has not been any data on the outcomes of POP surgery when low dose vaginal oestrogens are used perioperatively. Hence we want to study the effectiveness of vaginal low dose oestrogen on the outcome of POP surgery in postmenopausal women.

Urinary nerve growth factor: a biomarker of detrusor overactivity? A systematic review.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a signalling protein that interacts with specific receptors in autocrine, paracrine and endocrine modes. It is produced by bladder smooth muscle and urothelium. Patients with overactive bladder and detrusor overactivity (DO) have been found to have increased urinary NGF levels in several small studies. The objective of the review was to assess the accuracy of NGF as a biomarker in the diagnosis of DO by a systematic review of the literature. A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, MEDION and LILACS databases was conducted (inception till December 2012). Selection criteria included studies where NGF (as a biomarker for DO) and urodynamics were performed in humans with symptoms of overactive bladder. Two reviewers independently selected articles and extracted data on study characteristics, quality and results. All the eight included studies were of case-control design. A meta-analysis was not performed as there were variations in the quality, methods of performing the NGF assay, different NGF cut-offs used and the format of reporting findings. Two studies used a cut-off of 0.05 for NGF levels. Six studies observed a trend towards higher NGF levels in patients with DO. There was a trend towards higher NGF in patients with DO. However, the data are imprecise and hence cannot be recommended for use in current clinical practice.

Bladder-wall-thickness ultrasound scan in the investigation of LUTS in women: challenges and limitations.

Bladder-wall-thickness (BWT) ultrasound assessment in lower urinary tract conditions has been studied extensively for the last 30 years. There is some evidence that it may have diagnostic utility in detrusor overactivity (DO). The cutoff value for BWT for diagnosing DO is still a matter of debate, with different studies using different values. Transvaginal scanning is the most accurate route of measuring BWT, with excellent interobserver variation and reproducibility. There is still ongoing evaluation of bladder ultrasound and its place in the investigation of overactive bladder symptoms.