Pelvic organ support in nulliparous pregnant and nonpregnant women: A case control study

To investigate whether parity status can be predicted by physical examination and which findings are most predictive. A retrospective chart review of 75 postmenopausal nulliparous/parous sister pairs who underwent gynecological examination as part of a study. An examiner, blinded to parity status, predicted parity status based on physical findings recorded on 146 women. Parity status was correctly predicted for 84.9% of the women. Of the 22 women for whom parity prediction was incorrect, 11 were nulliparous and 11 parous. The physical findings most commonly used for prediction were presence or absence of abdominal striae, appearance of the cervical os, and condition of hymen. Absence of the hymen at 6 o'clock alone correctly predicted parity in 11 of 12 parous and 11 of 11 nulliparous women. Parity status can be predicted based on physical exam in the majority of women. Blinding of investigators to parity status may not be feasible.

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 55%

Is parity in the eye of the beholder?

Buchsbaum

Duecy

2007

“…One study found that pregnancy itself is responsible for some degree of prolapse, with a prevalence of 48% for stage 2 prolapse determined by pelvic organ prolapse quantification in pregnant primiparae women compared to 0% in a group of non-pregnant primiparae women [7].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The contractile properties of vaginal myofibroblasts: Is the myofibroblasts contraction force test a valuable indication of future prolapse development?

Meyer¹,

Achtari

Hohlfeld³

et al. 2008

Using a specific myofibroblast contraction test, we try to predict future utero-vaginal prolapse development in young primiparae women. We compare myofibroblast cultures of the vaginal wall in primiparae women (group 1), young multiparae women (group 2) and older multiparae women (group 3) who were operated on for severe utero-vaginal prolapse. A myofibroblast-mediated collagen gel contraction assay determined a contraction factor that was compared in the three groups of women. The myofibroblasts contraction factor after 24 and 48 hours was significantly higher in group 1 women (2.4 +/- 0.6/4.4 +/- 1.9) compared to group 2 (1.6 +/- 0.3/ 1.8 +/- 0.1) andgroup 3 (1.6 +/- 0.3/1.8 +/- 0.3), but showed no differences in group 1 women without (2.1 +/- 0.5/3.5 +/- 1.9) and with (2.7 +/- 0.6/5.1 +/- 1.7) cystocoele. Vaginal myofibroblasts of young women show better contraction forces than young women with severe utero-vaginal prolapse. The latter have a myofibroblast contraction factor similar to those of older post-menopausal women operated for the same condition.

“…Demographic information including age, race, and gestational age were recorded at each evaluation along with POPQ stage and the nine POPQ points: Aa, Ba, Ap, Bp, PB, GH, D, C, and TVL. All POPQ examinations were performed as previously described [10]. For women returning for postpartum evaluations, mode of delivery, infant weight, and length of second stage of labor were recorded.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pelvic organ support in pregnancy and postpartum

O’Boyle

Calhoun

et al. 2004

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate pelvic organ support during pregnancy and following delivery. This was a prospective observational study. Pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POPQ) examinations were performed during each trimester of pregnancy and in the postpartum. Statistical comparisons of POPQ stage and of the nine measurements comprising the POPQ between the different time intervals were made using Wilcoxon's signed rank and the paired t-test. Comparison of POPQ stage by mode of delivery was made using Fisher's exact test. One hundred thirty-five nulliparous women underwent 281 pelvic organ support evaluations. During both the third trimester and postpartum, POPQ stage was significantly higher compared to the first trimester (p<0.001). In the postpartum, POPQ stage was significantly higher in women delivered vaginally compared to women delivered by cesarean (p=0.02). In nulliparous pregnant women, POPQ stage appears to increase during pregnancy and does not change significantly following delivery. In the postpartum, POPQ stage may be higher in women delivered vaginally compared to women delivered by cesarean.