Yuanjing Gao1, Zhiwei Zhao2, Yanlin Yang1, Meiqin Zhang1, Jiang Wu3, Yali Miao4. 1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE, West China Second University Hospital, West China Campus, Sichuan University, No.17 People's South Road, Chengdu, 610041, China. 2. West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. 3. Deep Underground Space Medical Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxuexiang, Chengdu, China. jw@scu.edu.cn. 4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE, West China Second University Hospital, West China Campus, Sichuan University, No.17 People's South Road, Chengdu, 610041, China. miaoyali2006@163.com.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common medical condition universally. In addition to physical examination, experts have increasingly turned their attention to ultrasound in diagnosing POP for its low cost and dynamic imaging. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the methods of pelvic floor ultrasound in diagnosing POP, which has been lacking up till now. METHODS: We included original papers comparing the outcome of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system and ultrasound, published from 2008 to present in English, using electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, PUBMED). All stages of the review were conducted in parallel by two reviewers. RESULTS: Fifteen papers were included. We found that current methods have advantages and limitations. The main methods are to measure levator hiatus-related parameters and distances between the lowest point of the pelvic organs and reference lines during Valsalva maneuver, contraction, and at rest. CONCLUSIONS: Pelvic floor ultrasound is valuable in diagnosing POP, yet suffers from a weakness in precision compared with physical examination. From the existing research, we found that the differences in baseline data such as weight, height, ethnicity, etc., may affect the cutoffs of the above-mentioned parameters. Further research is required to find one appropriate cutoff for each parameter, even if it is necessary to set group values for every parameter according to varying situations.
INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common medical condition universally. In addition to physical examination, experts have increasingly turned their attention to ultrasound in diagnosing POP for its low cost and dynamic imaging. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the methods of pelvic floor ultrasound in diagnosing POP, which has been lacking up till now. METHODS: We included original papers comparing the outcome of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system and ultrasound, published from 2008 to present in English, using electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, PUBMED). All stages of the review were conducted in parallel by two reviewers. RESULTS: Fifteen papers were included. We found that current methods have advantages and limitations. The main methods are to measure levator hiatus-related parameters and distances between the lowest point of the pelvic organs and reference lines during Valsalva maneuver, contraction, and at rest. CONCLUSIONS: Pelvic floor ultrasound is valuable in diagnosing POP, yet suffers from a weakness in precision compared with physical examination. From the existing research, we found that the differences in baseline data such as weight, height, ethnicity, etc., may affect the cutoffs of the above-mentioned parameters. Further research is required to find one appropriate cutoff for each parameter, even if it is necessary to set group values for every parameter according to varying situations.
Entities:
Keywords:
Clinical examination; POP-Q; Pelvic floor ultrasound; Pelvic organ prolapse