Abstract
Introduction and hypothesis
This study aimed to describe the self-perceived natural history of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in women seeking care.
Methods
Women presenting to a university-based urogynecology clinic for POP (n = 107) completed a questionnaire including questions about how and when their prolapse was discovered. A urogynecologic examination including the pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q) was also performed.
Results
Forty-eight percent of these women sought medical attention “immediately” after discovering a bulge. The median time to seek care was 4 months (range from 1 month to 45 years). Twenty-six percent associated their prolapse with a specific event (e.g., moving furniture or pushing a car). POP was self-discovered by 76% (81/107) of women. Self-discovered prolapses were larger than those diagnosed by physicians (Ba +1.3 vs 0.1 cm, P = .03, respectively).
Conclusions
Women seek medical advice within months of discovering their prolapse. Self-discovery is associated with higher stage prolapse than prolapse diagnosed by health care providers.
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Abbreviations
- POP:
-
Pelvic organ prolapse
- POP-Q:
-
Pelvic organ prolapse quantification
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Acknowledgement
We gratefully acknowledge support from the Office for Research on Women’s Health SCOR on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women’s Health and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grants 1 P50 HD044406 and R01 HD 38665.
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Lewicky-Gaupp, C., Margulies, R.U., Larson, K. et al. Self-perceived natural history of pelvic organ prolapse described by women presenting for treatment. Int Urogynecol J 20, 927–931 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-009-0890-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-009-0890-1