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

Abstract

Background: To assess current use of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system in clinical practice among Korean obstetrician-gynecologists.

Methods: A 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.

Results: One 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.

Conclusions: Less 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.

Keywords: Evaluation; Pelvic organ prolapse; Pelvic organ prolapse quantification system; Surgical decision-making.