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Parturition mode recommendation and symptoms of pelvic floor disorders after obstetric anal sphincter injuries

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Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

Our primary objective was to evaluate parturition mode (PM) recommendations following obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIs) and adherence to these recommendations and to evaluate recurrence of OASIs in women who had a subsequent vaginal delivery (VD). The hypothesis was that adherence to the PM recommendations leads to a reasonable OASI recurrence rate.

Methods

This was a retrospective observational cohort study of patients with previous OASIs between 2010 and 2016. After an outpatient visit including 3D transperineal ultrasound to screen for pelvic floor and anal sphincter injuries, all patients received recommendations for a subsequent PM. Patients were invited to complete validated questionnaires 2 to 5 years post-OASIs.

Results

The majority of invited patients (265/320) attended follow-up, with 264 receiving a recommendation for PM. Only 5.6% did not adhere to the received recommendation. One hundred sixty-one patients delivered again, 58% had a VD, and 42% had a cesarean section (CS). Recurrence of OASIs was observed in 4.3% of the patients that had a VD. Fecal incontinence occurred in 4.9%, however any form of anal incontinence in 48% of patients. While dyspareunia was common in patients with residual external anal sphincter (EAS) injuries and levator ani muscle (LAM) avulsions, anal pain occurred more frequently in EAS injuries and fecal incontinence in LAM avulsions.

Conclusions

This study showed that the vast majority of patients followed PM recommendations, and this resulted in a low recurrence of OASIs with a high CS rate. Fecal incontinence after OASIs was correlated with the degree of OASIs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Regional Pelvic Floor Unit, Department of Gynecology, Albert Schweitzer Hospital, Albert Schweitzerplaats 25, 3318, AT, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

    Matthieu van der Vlist, Daniella Oom & Cornelis Hogewoning

  2. Department of Biostatistics, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Joost van Rosmalen

  3. Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Astrid van Ovost

Authors
  1. Matthieu van der Vlist
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  2. Daniella Oom
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  3. Joost van Rosmalen
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  4. Astrid van Ovost
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  5. Cornelis Hogewoning
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Contributions

van der Vlist, M.Y.; Protocol/project development. Data collection. Data analysis. Manuscript writing/editing.

Oom, D.M.J.; Manuscript writing/editing.

van Rosmalen, J; Data analysis.

van Ovost, A.M.A; Data collection. Manuscript writing/editing.

Hogewoning, C.J.A.; Protocol/project development. Manuscript writing/editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthieu van der Vlist.

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van der Vlist, M., Oom, D., van Rosmalen, J. et al. Parturition mode recommendation and symptoms of pelvic floor disorders after obstetric anal sphincter injuries. Int Urogynecol J 31, 2353–2359 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-020-04241-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-020-04241-4

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