Mussawar Minhal, Khademioore Sahar, Chandra Astha, Hanafimosalman Mehrshad, Chan Garson
College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
BMC Urol. 2024 Dec 23;24(1):278. doi: 10.1186/s12894-024-01614-5.
Vaginal pessaries are a common method of managing pelvic organ prolapse (POP), as well as different types of urinary incontinence, allowing patients to successfully improve overall quality of life. Yet despite their positive attributes, there are several reasons why patients may choose to discontinue using pessaries and proceed with surgery to treat their condition instead. This study aimed to explore patients' experiences of pessary use in treating POP.
Participants completed an online survey regarding pessary use and ideal characteristics of a pessary. Participants were recruited from social media advertisements, online support groups for women's health-related conditions, and pelvic floor clinics.
A total of 100 participants were recruited, of which 77 fully completed the survey. The biggest age group of participants was above 65 years, with 48.1% of participants falling into this category, followed by 35-44 years accounting for 20.8% of respondents. Respondents cited pelvic pain (35.2%), excess vaginal discharge and odor (32.4%), as well as difficulty with pessary placement as the most common issues related to pessary use (41.9%). Easy insertion, removal (81.8%), and relief from side effects (81.8%) were the most commonly reported ideal characteristics for pessary use.
Patients had important concerns with pessary use and a high number either stopped or were considering stopping even when it improved their POP. Whilst pessaries can help in the management of POP, further improvement is warranted to increase pessary use, such as through the development of user-friendly designs, or applicators to aid with fitting.
阴道子宫托是治疗盆腔器官脱垂（POP）以及不同类型尿失禁的常用方法，能使患者成功改善整体生活质量。然而，尽管其具有积极特性，但患者可能出于多种原因选择停止使用子宫托，转而进行手术治疗。本研究旨在探讨患者使用子宫托治疗POP的经历。
参与者完成了一项关于子宫托使用及子宫托理想特性的在线调查。参与者通过社交媒体广告、女性健康相关病症的在线支持小组以及盆底诊所招募。
共招募了100名参与者，其中77人完整完成了调查。参与者中年龄最大的群体是65岁以上，占48.1%，其次是35 - 44岁，占受访者的20.8%。受访者提到盆腔疼痛（35.2%）、阴道分泌物过多及异味（32.4%）以及子宫托放置困难是与使用子宫托最常见的问题（41.9%）。易于插入、取出（81.8%）以及缓解副作用（81.8%）是使用子宫托最常被提及的理想特性。
患者对使用子宫托存在重要担忧，即使子宫托改善了他们的POP，仍有大量患者停止使用或考虑停止使用。虽然子宫托有助于POP的管理，但仍需进一步改进以增加子宫托的使用，比如开发用户友好的设计或辅助适配的 applicator。
