Does the presence of a true radiological rectocele increase the likelihood of symptoms of prolapse?

Posterior compartment prolapse is commonly due to a ‘true’ rectocele, i.e., a diverticulum of the rectal ampulla. This condition is associated with symptoms of obstructed defecation and may contribute to prolapse symptoms. We tested the hypothesis: ‘A true rectocele is an independent predictor of symptoms of prolapse.’ This was a retrospective cohort study of patients presenting to a urogynecology unit for symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction between September 2011 and June 2016. Assessment included a structured interview, POP-Q examination and 4D TLUS. Ultrasound volume data were acquired on Valsalva. Offline measurements were performed by analysis of stored volume data sets at a later date, blinded to all clinical data. One hundred six patients were excluded because of incomplete data. Of the remainder, Bp was the most distal point on POP-Q in 348. Statistical analysis was performed on this cohort. Mean age was 60 (33–86) years and mean BMI 31 (18–55) kg/m². One hundred fifty-three patients (44%) presented with symptoms of prolapse; 272 were diagnosed with a true rectocele on TLUS. Bp on POP-Q and true rectocele on TLUS were both significantly associated with prolapse symptoms; however, on multivariate analysis the latter became nonsignificant (p = 0.059). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis confirmed that the presence of a true rectocele on TLUS did not contribute significantly to symptoms of prolapse (AUC 0.66 for model with rectocele, AUC 0.65 without). The presence of a true rectocele on TLUS does not seem to contribute substantially to the manifestation of clinical symptoms of prolapse.