Can effective supervised pelvic floor muscle training be provided by primary care nurses? A randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: To determine whether primary care nurses with no prior experience can, after training, provide effective supervised pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) by a three-group parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT): primary care nurse, urogynaecology nurse specialist and controls undertaken in 11 primary care/general practices, covering urban and rural settings in SW England. The sample consisted of 337 women with weak pelvic floor muscles (Modified Oxford Score 2 or less) in a randomly sampled survey. METHODS: Following detailed instruction and training, primary care nurses recruited patients who were randomized to PFMT provided by them, a urogynaecology nurse specialist or a 'no training' control group. The primary outcome measure to assess the effectiveness of training was pelvic floor muscle strength as measured by perineometry. RESULTS: Two hundred forty women aged 19 to 76 (median 49) years were recruited. After 3 months there was an increase in strength in both intervention groups compared with controls: median differences (95% CI) were 3.0 (0.3, 6.0) cmH2O higher for the primary care nurse group (n = 50) compared to the control group (n = 56; p = 0.02) and 4.3 (1.0, 7.3) cmH2O for the urogynaecology nurse specialist group (n = 53) compared to control (p < 0.01); there was no difference between the primary care nurse and urogynaecology nurse specialist groups [1.3 (-2.0,4.7; p = 0.70]. CONCLUSIONS: PFMT provided by trained primary care nurses achieved improvements in pelvic floor muscle strength compared with controls (and comparable to that of a urogynaecology nurse specialist). This could have implications for the provision of PFMT for all women and potentially help in the prevention of pelvic floor dysfunction. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered with ClinicalTrials.gov; Identifier NCT01635894. This was done retrospectively to conform to current registration requirements. When the trial commenced (2003), there was no requirement to register; this was introduced in 2005. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) decided that from July 1, 2005, no trials would be considered for publication unless they are included on a clinical trials registry, hence the retrospective registration.

Hands on or hands off the perineum: a survey of care of the perineum in labour (HOOPS).

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: There seems to be a temporal association between increasing use of "hands off" the perineum in labour and reduced use of episiotomy with an increasing rate of anal sphincter injuries. We aimed to determine how common the practice of "hands off" the perineum is. METHODS: An observational postal questionnaire study of 1,000 midwives in England in which the main objective was to obtain an estimate of the number of midwives practising either "hands on" or "hands off" was conducted. RESULTS: Six hundred and seven questionnaires were returned; 299 (49.3%, 95% CI 45.2-53.3%) midwives prefer the "hands-off" method. Less-experienced midwives were more likely to prefer the "hands off" (72% vs. 41.4%, p < 0.001). A higher proportion of midwives in the "hands-off" group would never do an episiotomy (37.1% vs. 24.4%, p = 0.001) for indications other than fetal distress. CONCLUSIONS: The "hands off" the perineum technique is prevalent in the management of labour. We hypothesise that a possible consequence might be an increased incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injury.

Moderate weight loss in obese women with urinary incontinence: a prospective longitudinal study.

This study assessed the effect of moderate weight loss in obese women with urodynamically proven urinary incontinence using the International Consultation on Incontinence recommended outcome measures. Sixty-four incontinent women were offered a weight reduction programme with a target loss of 5-10%. This included a low-calorie diet and exercise. An anti-obesity drug (Orlistat) was offered to those who failed to achieve their target. Forty-two (65%) achieved the target weight loss and had significant reduction in body mass index and girth. Weight loss was associated with significant reduction in pad test loss (median difference, 19 g; 95% confidence interval, 13-28 g; p < 0.001). There was also a clinical and statistically significant improvement in quality of life measures. These results suggest that weight reduction of 5% of initial body weight can improve urinary incontinence severity and its effects on quality of life in obese women.

Does antenatal pelvic floor muscle training affect the outcome of labour? A randomised controlled trial.

It is thought that antenatal pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) might produce a strong pelvic floor resulting in prolonged labour, whilst some believe it produces well-controlled muscles that facilitate rotation of the foetal head and shortens the duration of labour. This secondary analysis (of a previously published randomised controlled trial) assesses the labour and delivery details of 268 primigravidae who were originally randomised at approximately 20 weeks gestation to supervised PFMT or a control group. Between the two groups, there was no difference in the duration of the second stage of labour or in the need for instrumental delivery. PFMT does not appear to facilitate or obstruct labour.

The development of pelvic organ prolapse after colposuspension: a prospective, long-term follow-up study on the prevalence and predisposing factors.

The objectives of this prospective study were to determine the prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) after colposuspension and to investigate possible preoperative and operative risk factors. Seventy-seven women who underwent colposuspension between 1996 and 1997 were investigated. POP was assessed before colposuspension using the pelvic organ prolapse quantification system (POPQ). Women were reassessed at one and seven to eight years (or when referred with symptomatic POP). By seven to eight years, of the 77 women, 29 (38%) had developed symptomatic prolapse, 29 (38%) had asymptomatic prolapse, 7 (9%) had no symptoms and no prolapse, and 12 (15%) could not be assessed. POP at one year was significantly associated with the presence of posterior vaginal descent before colposuspension (odds ratio 3.07, 95% CI 1.10-8.60, p = 0.03). No variable reached statistical significance by eight years postcolposuspension. In conclusion, this is the first study to assess POP prospectively using a validated method before and after colposuspension. The results add support to the view that there is an association between colposuspension and the development of symptomatic POP (requiring surgery).