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Updated: Apr 28, 2026
Anogenital Distance and Perineal Measurements of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse POP Quantification System
Published on: September 20, 2018
Complications in Pelvic Organ Prolapse With 3-Month Versus 6-Month Pessary Care: Pilot Study
Geovana Volta Giorgenon1, Letícia Martineli Galhardo, Camila Carvalho de Araujo
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Importance:
Despite evidence emphasizing the necessity of routine care for women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) using pessaries, the frequency of follow-up is unclear.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to compare the presence of complications in women with POP using vaginal pessaries with cleaning and gynecological examination every 3 or 6 months.
Study Design:
This pilot study was a randomized clinical trial of women with advanced POP using a ring pessary. The women were randomized into 2 groups ("3-month group" and a "6-month group") that returned for evaluation by a health care professional that monitored the vagina, removed the pessary, cleaned it, and reinserted it. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected. During their follow-up, the women answered a questionnaire regarding the presence of vaginal symptoms and had a physical examination and vaginal sampling for microbiological analysis.
Results:
A total of 38 women were randomized into 2 groups: the 3-month group (n = 18) and the 6-month group (n = 20). Baseline characteristics of the groups were similar except for age, which was 70.7 (±7.4) years in the 3-month group and 74.7 (±6.6) years in the 6-month group ( P = 0.022). Regarding physical examination, after 12 months of follow-up, 4 women in each group presented erosions or ulcers in each group, but without difference ( P = 1). The presence of bacterial vaginosis was more frequent in the group with cleaning every 6 months ( P = 0.026).
Conclusions:
The prevalence of ulcerations was similar in both groups with cleaning every 3 or 6 months, but the group with cleaning every 6 months showed a higher prevalence of bacterial vaginosis.
