Correlation Pelvic Floor Function and Ultrasound Findings One Year After Childbirth

Urinary Incontinence Clinical Trial

— DeliverUU  

Official title:

Correlation Pelvic Floor Function and Ultrasound Findings One Year After Childbirth

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05530681
• Other study ID #: s66245
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 1, 2022
• Est. completion date: September 1, 2025

Study information

• Verified date: September 2022
• Source: Universitaire Ziekenhuizen Leuven
• Contact: Jan Deprest, MD, PhD
• Phone: +3216344269
• Email: jan.deprest[@]uzleuven.be
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This is a single-center prospective cohort study sponsored by the University Hospitals Leuven (UZ). Women will undergo a pelvic floor ultrasound and will be asked to fill out a questionnaire at the time of their admission into the labour suite, at the postpartum check-up and 12 months postpartum. The primary objective is to correlate self-reported symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD) (binary outcome) at one year after delivery with structural changes to the Pelvic Floor Muscles (PFM) and postpartum evidence of levator avulsion (binary indicator) as measured by TransPerineal UltraSound (TPUS). Secondary objectives are to compare demographical and obstetrical variables between patients suffering from PFD symptoms or pelvic floor injury (documented one year after delivery) and those who do not; to record how patients manage and cope with PFD including recovery and compliance with Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) as prescribed in the standard pathway of peripartum care; and to use of TPUS images for the development of artificial intelligence tools for automated image analysis. Primary outcomes are PFD symptoms one year after delivery and injury to the PFM evidenced by POP-Q and TPUS. The demographic variables and information about the pregnancy and the delivery will be obtained from the medical records. The presence and severity of PFD will be measured using standardized self-reporting tools: Pelvic Organ Prolapse Distress Index (POP-DI), Patient Assessment Constipation-SYMptoms (PAC-SYM), International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Urinary Incontinence - Short Form (ICIQ-SF), St. Mark's Incontinence Score (SMIS), Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Female Sexual Distress Scale - Revised (FSDS-R). FSFI is a widely used generic tool with sufficient granularity and validated in a large number of languages. FSDS-R assesses the construct "personal distress", which has been considered as an additional important aspect contributing to sexual dysfunction of women. PFD, as a clustered outcome, being the presence of any kind of pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms, will be defined as POP-DI score of ≥11 OR ICIQ-SF score of ≥1 OR SMIS score of ≥1 OR FSFI score ≤ 26.55 OR FSDS-R score ≥11.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 320
• Est. completion date: September 1, 2025
• Est. primary completion date: September 1, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years to 45 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• age = or > 18 years
• Dutch/English-speaking
• > 33 weeks gestation
• delivering in UZ Leuven
• vaginal delivery

Exclusion Criteria:

• age < 18 years
• not Dutch/English-speaking
• < 33 weeks gestation
• not delivering in UZ Leuven
• non-vaginal delivery
• Any disorder, that independently from delivery, affects pelvic floor function or structure, such as, but not limited to musculoskeletal or neurologic diseases.
• any women with drug addiction, cognitive deficit, language-barrier and illiteracy
• any disorder or timing or circumstances, which in the Investigator's opinion represents an obstacle to proper informed consent, or safe and/or compliant participation.
• any prior or simultaneous treatment(s) potentially jeopardising safety or compromising trial integrity.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Anal Incontinence
• Anal Sphincter Injury
• Constipation
• Enuresis
• Fecal Incontinence
• Obstetric Trauma
• Pelvic Floor Disorders
• Pelvic Organ Prolapse
• Pelvic Pain
• Prolapse
• Sexual Dysfunction
• Urinary Incontinence

Intervention

Diagnostic Test:
• Questionnaire
The survey consists in standardized and validated questionnaires on urinary function (ICIQ-SF, 4 items), bowel function (SMIS, 7 items and PAC-SYM, 12 items), symptoms of prolapse (POPDI, 6 items) and sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index FSFI, 19 items and Female Sexual Distress Scale - Revised FSDS-R, 13 items). questionnaire will be used at recruitment, at the postpartum visit, at the first annual follow-up visit.
• Pelvic floor ultrasound
Pelvic floor ultrasound is the preferred imaging modality for documenting pelvic floor anatomy during pregnancy or after delivery. This examination is routinely performed in the outpatient clinic during patient visits (including the one year check-up after delivery). The technique used to assess the pelvic floor is described in detail in the 2019 practice parameters issued by IUGA.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Universitaire Ziekenhuizen Leuven

References & Publications (33)

AIUM/IUGA practice parameter for the performance of Urogynecological ultrasound examinations : Developed in collaboration with the ACR, the AUGS, the AUA, and the SRU. Int Urogynecol J. 2019 Sep;30(9):1389-1400. doi: 10.1007/s00192-019-03954-5. — View Citation

Avery K, Donovan J, Peters TJ, Shaw C, Gotoh M, Abrams P. ICIQ: a brief and robust measure for evaluating the symptoms and impact of urinary incontinence. Neurourol Urodyn. 2004;23(4):322-30. — View Citation

Baser RE, Li Y, Carter J. Psychometric validation of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) in cancer survivors. Cancer. 2012 Sep 15;118(18):4606-18. doi: 10.1002/cncr.26739. Epub 2012 Feb 22. — View Citation

Basson R, Berman J, Burnett A, Derogatis L, Ferguson D, Fourcroy J, Goldstein I, Graziottin A, Heiman J, Laan E, Leiblum S, Padma-Nathan H, Rosen R, Segraves K, Segraves RT, Shabsigh R, Sipski M, Wagner G, Whipple B. Report of the international consensus development conference on female sexual dysfunction: definitions and classifications. J Urol. 2000 Mar;163(3):888-93. Review. — View Citation

Bø K, Braekken IH, Majida M, Engh ME. Constriction of the levator hiatus during instruction of pelvic floor or transversus abdominis contraction: a 4D ultrasound study. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2009 Jan;20(1):27-32. doi: 10.1007/s00192-008-0719-3. Epub 2008 Sep 20. — View Citation

Bø K, Finckenhagen HB. Vaginal palpation of pelvic floor muscle strength: inter-test reproducibility and comparison between palpation and vaginal squeeze pressure. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2001 Oct;80(10):883-7. — View Citation

Bø K. Does pelvic floor muscle training prevent and treat urinary and fecal incontinence in pregnancy? Nat Clin Pract Urol. 2009 Mar;6(3):122-3. doi: 10.1038/ncpuro1313. Epub 2009 Feb 3. — View Citation

Bø K. Pelvic floor muscle training in treatment of female stress urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse and sexual dysfunction. World J Urol. 2012 Aug;30(4):437-43. doi: 10.1007/s00345-011-0779-8. Epub 2011 Oct 9. Review. — View Citation

Bump RC, Mattiasson A, Bø K, Brubaker LP, DeLancey JO, Klarskov P, Shull BL, Smith AR. The standardization of terminology of female pelvic organ prolapse and pelvic floor dysfunction. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1996 Jul;175(1):10-7. — View Citation

Callewaert G, Albersen M, Janssen K, Damaser MS, Van Mieghem T, van der Vaart CH, Deprest J. The impact of vaginal delivery on pelvic floor function - delivery as a time point for secondary prevention. BJOG. 2016 Apr;123(5):678-81. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.13505. Epub 2015 Jul 6. — View Citation

DeLancey JO. The hidden epidemic of pelvic floor dysfunction: achievable goals for improved prevention and treatment. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005 May;192(5):1488-95. Review. — View Citation

Derogatis L, Clayton A, Lewis-D'Agostino D, Wunderlich G, Fu Y. Validation of the female sexual distress scale-revised for assessing distress in women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. J Sex Med. 2008 Feb;5(2):357-64. Epub 2007 Nov 27. — View Citation

Dietz HP, Shek C, Clarke B. Biometry of the pubovisceral muscle and levator hiatus by three-dimensional pelvic floor ultrasound. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2005 Jun;25(6):580-5. — View Citation

Dietz HP. Pelvic floor ultrasound: a review. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Apr;202(4):321-34. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2009.08.018. Review. — View Citation

Fleiss JL, Tytun A, Ury HK. A simple approximation for calculating sample sizes for comparing independent proportions. Biometrics. 1980 Jun;36(2):343-6. — View Citation

Frank L, Kleinman L, Farup C, Taylor L, Miner P Jr. Psychometric validation of a constipation symptom assessment questionnaire. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1999 Sep;34(9):870-7. — View Citation

Frawley HC, Galea MP, Phillips BA, Sherburn M, Bø K. Effect of test position on pelvic floor muscle assessment. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2006 Jun;17(4):365-71. Epub 2005 Oct 5. — View Citation

García-Mejido JA, Idoia-Valero I, Aguilar-Gálvez IM, Borrero González C, Fernández-Palacín A, Sainz JA. Association between sexual dysfunction and avulsion of the levator ani muscle after instrumental vaginal delivery. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2020 Sep;99(9):1246-1252. doi: 10.1111/aogs.13852. Epub 2020 Apr 12. — View Citation

Haylen BT, de Ridder D, Freeman RM, Swift SE, Berghmans B, Lee J, Monga A, Petri E, Rizk DE, Sand PK, Schaer GN. An International Urogynecological Association (IUGA)/International Continence Society (ICS) joint report on the terminology for female pelvic floor dysfunction. Int Urogynecol J. 2010 Jan;21(1):5-26. doi: 10.1007/s00192-009-0976-9. Epub 2009 Nov 25. Review. — View Citation

Kamel R, Montaguti E, Nicolaides KH, Soliman M, Dodaro MG, Negm S, Pilu G, Momtaz M, Youssef A. Contraction of the levator ani muscle during Valsalva maneuver (coactivation) is associated with a longer active second stage of labor in nulliparous women undergoing induction of labor. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Feb;220(2):189.e1-189.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2018.10.013. Epub 2018 Oct 12. — View Citation

Madhu C, Swift S, Moloney-Geany S, Drake MJ. How to use the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system? Neurourol Urodyn. 2018 Aug;37(S6):S39-S43. doi: 10.1002/nau.23740. Review. — View Citation

Neijenhuijs KI, Hooghiemstra N, Holtmaat K, Aaronson NK, Groenvold M, Holzner B, Terwee CB, Cuijpers P, Verdonck-de Leeuw IM. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)-A Systematic Review of Measurement Properties. J Sex Med. 2019 May;16(5):640-660. doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2019.03.001. Epub 2019 Apr 5. — View Citation

Rosen R, Brown C, Heiman J, Leiblum S, Meston C, Shabsigh R, Ferguson D, D'Agostino R Jr. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI): a multidimensional self-report instrument for the assessment of female sexual function. J Sex Marital Ther. 2000 Apr-Jun;26(2):191-208. — View Citation

Rostaminia G, Javadian P, Awad C, Shobeiri SA. Ultrasound Indicators of Rectal Support Defect in Women With Obstructive Defecatory Symptoms. Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2019 May/Jun;25(3):222-225. doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000511. — View Citation

Solans-Domènech M, Sánchez E, Espuña-Pons M; Pelvic Floor Research Group (Grup de Recerca del Sòl Pelvià; GRESP). Urinary and anal incontinence during pregnancy and postpartum: incidence, severity, and risk factors. Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Mar;115(3):618-628. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181d04dff. — View Citation

ter Kuile MM, Brauer M, Laan E. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS): psychometric properties within a Dutch population. J Sex Marital Ther. 2006 Jul-Sep;32(4):289-304. — View Citation

Thom DH, Rortveit G. Prevalence of postpartum urinary incontinence: a systematic review. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2010 Dec;89(12):1511-22. doi: 10.3109/00016349.2010.526188. Epub 2010 Nov 5. Review. — View Citation

Thomas V, Shek KL, Guzmán Rojas R, Dietz HP. Temporal latency between pelvic floor trauma and presentation for prolapse surgery: a retrospective observational study. Int Urogynecol J. 2015 Aug;26(8):1185-9. doi: 10.1007/s00192-015-2677-x. Epub 2015 Apr 3. — View Citation

Urbankova I, Grohregin K, Hanacek J, Krcmar M, Feyereisl J, Deprest J, Krofta L. The effect of the first vaginal birth on pelvic floor anatomy and dysfunction. Int Urogynecol J. 2019 Oct;30(10):1689-1696. doi: 10.1007/s00192-019-04044-2. Epub 2019 Jul 20. — View Citation

Utomo E, Blok BF, Steensma AB, Korfage IJ. Validation of the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI-20) and Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ-7) in a Dutch population. Int Urogynecol J. 2014 Apr;25(4):531-44. doi: 10.1007/s00192-013-2263-z. Epub 2014 Jan 21. — View Citation

Vaizey CJ, Carapeti E, Cahill JA, Kamm MA. Prospective comparison of faecal incontinence grading systems. Gut. 1999 Jan;44(1):77-80. — View Citation

van Delft KW, Thakar R, Sultan AH, IntHout J, Kluivers KB. The natural history of levator avulsion one year following childbirth: a prospective study. BJOG. 2015 Aug;122(9):1266-73. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.13223. Epub 2014 Dec 17. — View Citation

Wang X, Ji X. Sample Size Estimation in Clinical Research: From Randomized Controlled Trials to Observational Studies. Chest. 2020 Jul;158(1S):S12-S20. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.03.010. Review. — View Citation

* Note: There are 33 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Urinary incontinence	International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-SF) score of =1 (score range 0-21, higher scores mean worse urinary incontinence)	one year postpartum
Primary	Anal Incontinence	St Mark's Incontinence Score (SMIS) =1 (score range 0-24, higher scores mean worse anal incontinence)	one year postpartum
Primary	Sexual dysfunction	Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) score = 26.55 (score range 2 to 36, worse scores mean worse sexual function) OR FSDS-R score =11 (score range 0 to 52, with higher scores indicating more sexually related distress)	one year postpartum
Primary	Constipation according to the Rome IV criteria	Must include two or more of the following:** Straining during more than ¼ (25%) of defecations Lumpy or hard stools (Bristol Stool Form Scale 1-2) more than ¼ (25%) of defecations Sensation of incomplete evacuation more than ¼ (25%) of defecations Sensation of anorectal obstruction/blockage more than ¼ (25%) of defecations Manual maneuvers to facilitate more than ¼ (25%) of defecations (e.g., digital evacuation, support of the pelvic floor) Fewer than three SBM per week Loose stools are rarely present without the use of laxatives Insufficient criteria for irritable bowel syndrome	one year postpartum
Secondary	levator avulsion	complete avulsion is defined as complete detachment of the puborectalis part of the levator ani muscle from the inferior pubic ramus on 3 out of 8 tomographic ultrasound imaging slices of the pelvic floor during contraction	1 year
Secondary	levator hiatus antero-posterior diameter (cm)		1 year
Secondary	levator hiatus latero-lateral diameter (cm)		1 year
Secondary	levator hiatus surface (cm2)		1 year
Secondary	anal sphincter injury	residual defect of at least 30 degrees on Tomographic Ultrasound Imaging	1 year
Secondary	co-contraction	approximation of the dorsal puborectalis to the symphysis pubis during Valsalva manoeuvre	1 year
Secondary	pelvic organ descent	descent of bladder/cervix/ampulla rectalis under the level of the symphysis pubis	1 year
Secondary	bladder neck mobility	axial descent of the bladder neck during Valsalva manoeuvre	1 year