1. Can ultrasound 10 days after obstetric anal sphincter injury predict anal incontinence at long-term follow-up?
- Author
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Marianne Glavind-Kristensen, Malou Barbosa, Karl Møller-Bek, Lise Brogaard, and Peter Christensen
- Subjects
Anal incontinence ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Obstetric sphincter injury ,Long term follow up ,Urology ,030232 urology & nephrology ,Anal Canal ,Anal ultrasound ,Lacerations ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Anal sphincter ,Pregnancy ,Endoanal ultrasound ,medicine ,Humans ,Prospective Studies ,Prospective cohort study ,030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine ,OASIS ,business.industry ,Ultrasound ,Obstetrics and Gynecology ,University hospital ,Delivery, Obstetric ,Surgery ,Obstetric Labor Complications ,EAUS ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Sphincter ,Female ,business ,Fecal Incontinence ,Follow-Up Studies - Abstract
Introduction and hypothesis: The objective was to investigate whether endoanal ultrasound (EAUS) performed 10 days after a primary repaired obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASIS) can predict the severity of anal incontinence (AI) in the long term. Methods: This prospective cohort study included women with a primary repaired 3b-degree tear, 3c-degree tear or fourth-degree tear at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, from 1 September 2010 to 31 May 2011. Clinical assessment and EAUS were performed on day 2, day 10, and day 20 after delivery. Functional outcomes were assessed using a questionnaire at the time of all clinical visits and at the long-term follow-up, 7 years after delivery. AI was graded according to the Wexner score and EAUS defects were graded according to the Starck score. Results: Ninety-six out of 99 women consented to participate. Five women had a secondary sphincter repair and were subsequently excluded from follow-up. Fifty-seven women underwent both EAUS 10 days after delivery and answered the long-term follow-up questionnaire. Median follow-up time was 7.7 years (IQR 7.4–7.8). Mean Wexner score was 4.4 ± 4.8 10 days after delivery and 2.5 ± 2.8 at follow-up; thus, the Wexner score improved over time (p = 0.01). Ultrasound sphincter defects were found in 82.6% of the women. Mean Starck score was 3.0 ± 1.8. The risk of AI was 0% (95% CI 0.0–30.8) if the Starck score was 0. No correlation was found between the Starck score and the Wexner score at follow-up. Conclusions: We found that performing EAUS in the puerperium following OASIS has limited value in predicting long-term AI.
- Published
- 2020