Current use of the pelvic organ prolapse quantification system in clinical practice among Korean obstetrician-gynecologists

Soo Rim Kim,Myung Jae Jeon,Dong Hoon Suh

doi:10.1186/s12905-021-01354-w

Abstract

BackgroundTo assess current use of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system in clinical practice among Korean obstetrician-gynecologists.MethodsA web-based questionnaire was sent to 780 Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology members. The items evaluated in the questionnaire were demographic characteristics and current use of the POP-Q system in the evaluation of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and surgical decision-making. Differences between POP-Q users and nonusers were analyzed by using the two-sample t-test and chi-squared test.ResultsOne hundred twenty-six members (16%) responded to the survey. Of the respondents, 48% reported using the POP-Q system in the evaluation of POP. Members who were female, urogynecologists, or performed a high volume of prolapse surgery were more likely to use the POP-Q system (p < 0.05). All but one of the POP-Q users reported using the specific criteria to determine whether each compartmental prolapse should be corrected during prolapse surgery. Most respondents used stage 2 or the hymen as a threshold for prolapse to be corrected for all compartments.ConclusionsLess than half of Korean obstetrician-gynecologists use the POP-Q system in the evaluation of POP. Almost all of POP-Q users make a surgical decision based on the results of the POP-Q examination.

Highlights

To assess current use of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system in clinical practice among Korean obstetrician-gynecologists
The aim of this study was to assess current use of the POP-Q system for the evaluation of POP and surgical decision-making among Korean obstetrician-gynecologists
16% completed a fellowship for prolapse surgery, 52% had more than 10 years of experience, and 14% conducted more than 50 cases of prolapse surgery per year

Summary

Introduction

To assess current use of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system in clinical practice among Korean obstetrician-gynecologists. Several grading/staging systems have been developed to document the extent of prolapse, the most common system with international acceptance is the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system This system involves quantitative measurements of six vaginal points representing anterior, apical, and posterior vaginal prolapse in centimeters relative to the hymen, and has been shown to have good interobserver and intraobserver reliabilities [5, 6]. It does not identify the underlying support defects, which may limit its use in clinical practice including surgical decision-making

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