An International Urogynecological Association (IUGA)/International Continence Society (ICS) joint report on the terminology for reporting outcomes of surgical procedures for pelvic organ prolapse.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

Standardized terminology has yet to be developed for reporting the outcomes for surgery for pelvic organ prolapse (POP).

METHODS

This report combines the input of the Terminology and Standardization Committees of the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) and the International Continence Society (ICS) and a joint Working Group on this topic, as well as expert external referees. The aim was to present a standardized terminology for the definitions of surgery and propose a structure for reporting the outcomes of surgical procedures for POP. An extensive drafting and review process was undertaken, as well as open review on both IUGA and ICS websites.

RESULTS

A terminology report was developed outlining the recommended structure for reporting outcomes of surgical trials involving POP. This document does not define success and failure. The report includes patient-reported, subjective and objective outcomes to enable researchers to report on their results and compare them with other studies.

CONCLUSIONS

A consensus-based method for standardizing terminology for reporting outcome measures of POP surgery was developed to aid clinicians working in this area of research.