Quality of life and vaginal symptoms of postmenopausal women using pessary for pelvic organ prolapse: a prospective study.

Abstract

The use of pessary is an option for the conservative treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). However, here are few studies assess the quality of life (QoL) after inserting the pessary for POP. We have hypothesized that the use of pessary would modify QoL in women with POP. A prospective, observational study was performed that included 19 women with advanced POP. Pessary was introduced, and the SF-36 (general quality of life) and ICIQ-VS (vaginal symptoms and quality of life subdomain) questionnaires were applied before the introduction and after six months. A single question about the satisfaction regarding the use of the device was presented (subjective impression). The mean age of the women included was 76 years. Most of them were non-caucasian (52.6%), with no prior pelvic surgery (57.5%), with urinary symptoms (78.9%). A third of the patients reported sexual activity. After treatment, 22.2% of them presented vaginal infection, and 27.7% increased vaginal discharge. Urinary symptoms remained unaltered. Women reported 100% satisfaction after using the pessary (77.7% partial improvement; 22.3% total improvement). SF-36 had significant improvement in three specific domains: general state of health (p=0.090), vitality (p=0.0497) and social aspects (p=0.007). ICIQ-VS presented a reduction in the vaginal symptoms (p < 0.0001) and an improvement in QoL (P < 0.0001). The use of pessary for six months improved the QoL and reduced vaginal symptoms for women with advanced POP.