The urine stream interruption test and pelvic muscle function in the puerperium.
OBJECTIVE
This study assesses the role of the uroflowmetric urine stream interruption test (UST) in the evaluation of postpartum pelvic floor muscle function.


METHODS
Two months after vaginal delivery, 492 women who underwent a digital test, vaginal manometry, and a UST were divided into two groups: continent and incontinent. Variables were subjected to the Student's t-test and to Fisher's exact test to verify the difference between the two groups.


RESULTS
Digital test and vaginal manometry results were higher in the continent group, but only the UST showed significantly different values (P=0.001). All test results of incontinent puerperae who underwent rehabilitation were significantly improved after treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
UST is low cost, non-invasive, and can give objective information about pelvic floor performance after a vaginal delivery. It can be used for both routine clinical use and an outcome measure for women who undergo rehabilitation treatment.
Sartore
A
A
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Trieste, I.R.C.C.S. Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy. sartore@burlo.trieste.it
Pregazzi
R
R
Bortoli
P
P
Grimaldi
E
E
Ricci
G
G
Guaschino
S
S
D000328:Adult; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003950:Diagnostic Techniques, Urological; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008365:Manometry; D010173:Palpation; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000503:physiopathology*; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014554:Urination / Q000502:physiology*; D014563:Urodynamics / Q000502:physiology