title: Validation of the pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q) system in left lateral position.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to examine the inter-observer reliability of the pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q) system in left lateral position.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women attending urogynaecology outpatient clinics were examined in the left lateral position using a digital examination and POP-Q. This was repeated separately by a second blinded clinician. The inter-observer agreement was calculated using the Cohen's kappa coefficient. The POP-Q examination was then performed with a woman lying in dorsal lithotomy position. The POP-Q findings in the two positions were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and eighteen women were recruited. The digital examination had a moderate inter-observer reliability with a kappa value of 0.54. The POP-Q showed a high degree of reliability (0.88). There was a high degree of correlation between the POP-Q findings in left lateral and lithotomy position (rho > 0.95, p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The POP-Q in the left lateral position is reliable, easy to perform, acceptable for patients, and is not a time-consuming examination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urogynaecology, St. Mary's Hospital, London, UK. digesualex@hotmail.com
authors.forename: G Alessandro
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Digesu
authors.forename: Stavros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Athanasiou
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cardozo
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Vik
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Khullar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014596:Uterine Prolapse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014636:Valsalva Maneuver