Self-perceived natural history of pelvic organ prolapse described by women presenting for treatment.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to describe the self-perceived natural history of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in women seeking care.


METHODS
Women presenting to a university-based urogynecology clinic for POP (n = 107) completed a questionnaire including questions about how and when their prolapse was discovered. A urogynecologic examination including the pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q) was also performed.


RESULTS
Forty-eight percent of these women sought medical attention "immediately" after discovering a bulge. The median time to seek care was 4 months (range from 1 month to 45 years). Twenty-six percent associated their prolapse with a specific event (e.g., moving furniture or pushing a car). POP was self-discovered by 76% (81/107) of women. Self-discovered prolapses were larger than those diagnosed by physicians (Ba +1.3 vs 0.1 cm, P = .03, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Women seek medical advice within months of discovering their prolapse. Self-discovery is associated with higher stage prolapse than prolapse diagnosed by health care providers.
Lewicky-Gaupp
Christina
C
Pelvic Floor Research Group, Division of Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. clewicky@med.umich.edu
Margulies
Rebecca U
RU
Larson
Kindra
K
Fenner
Dee E
DE
Morgan
Daniel M
DM
DeLancey
John O L
JO
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D014596:Uterine Prolapse / Q000175:diagnosis*