A review of the pelvic organ prolapse quantification system in China.
OBJECTIVE
Unified staging systems for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) have been established. We examined the application of the POP quantification (POP-Q) system in China by examining its use in scientific journal articles.


METHODS
Relevant articles were identified by searching the Sinomed database using the terms: uterus prolapse, cystocele, proctocele, prolapse, and pelvic floor; limited to Chinese core journals in obstetrics and gynecology, from January 2004 to December 2014. We analyzed systems for grading POP severity and the adoption of POP-Q in different article categories and hospitals of different levels. For the last decade, with two 5-year groups (2005-2009; 2010-2014), the χ(2) test was used to evaluate inter-group differences.


RESULTS
In a total of 429 articles, 331 included a staging system, 70.7% of which used POP-Q. The POP-Q system first appeared in 2004 in China, was reported in 50% of articles in 2007, and its highest use occurred in 2012 (89.5%). In 234 POP-Q system-utilizing reports, operative treatment and basic research accounted for 73.1% and 14.0% respectively. POP-Q usage increased from 2005-2009 to 2010-2014 in surgery-related articles (54.2% vs 85.2%; P = 0.000). The proportion of reports using POP-Q in level I, II, and III hospitals was 20.0%, 35.4%, and 77.8% respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The POP-Q system, first used in 2004 in China, is now the most commonly used grading system, with surgery reports and level III hospitals accounting for the largest proportion of POP-Q applications.
Peking University Third Hospital Haidian district, No. 49 North Garden Road, Beijing, 100191, China.
Yi-ting
YT
Wang
Fujian Maternity and Children Health Hospital, No.18 Daoshan Road, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350005, China.
Jun-ying
JY
Jiang
Peking University Third Hospital Haidian district, No. 49 North Garden Road, Beijing, 100191, China. hanjinsong353@sina.com.
Jin-song
JS
Han
D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse / Q000473:pathology*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000639:trends; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
POP-Q; Pelvic organ prolapse; Prolapse