Ring and Gellhorn pessaries used in patients with pelvic organ prolapse: a retrospective study of 8 years.
AIM
The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with pessary fitting, continued use of pessary and satisfaction of patients with pelvic organ prolapse.


METHODS
A retrospective study was conducted in patients who received an initial pessary fitting. The clinical characteristics of these patients were recorded. The Pelvic Floor Disability Index PFDI-20 and PFIQ-7 were used to assess pelvic floor dysfunction and quality of life. Complications, satisfaction degree, and reasons for abandonment were recorded during the follow-up. T test and Chi square test in SPSS version 20 were used to analyze the data.


RESULTS
Three hundred women with symptomatic prolapse were selected for pessary fitting, whose average age was 67.8 ± 10.7 years. For two hundred and forty-nine (83%) women, the fitting was successful, of whom 162 used ring pessaries and 87 used Gellhorn pessaries. Forty-seven patients abandoned using a pessary at the end of our study. Most clinical characteristics were not significantly different between the successful and unsuccessful fitting groups (P > 0.05). The average score of CRADI-8 was lower in successful fitting group (11.9 ± 15.9) than that in unsuccessful fitting group (18.8 ± 19.9) (P < 0.05). 162 patients with successful pessary fitting completed the satisfaction survey, 79% of whom were satisfied or very satisfied. Erosions (24.4%) were the most common complication. Difficulty in inserting or removing (30.4%) and erosions (22.8%) were the main factors, which affected the satisfaction degree.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with obvious symptoms of posterior pelvic prolapse are more likely to fit failure. Difficulty in inserting or removing and erosions are the main factors, which lead to the discontinuation of pessary use and decrease in the satisfaction degree.
['Yang|Junfang|J|', 'Han|Jinsong|J|0000-0002-6268-2225', 'Zhu|Fuli|F|', 'Wang|Yu|Y|']
D000368:Aged D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008875:Middle Aged D017060:Patient Satisfaction D017773:Pelvic Floor D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse D010570:Pessaries D011788:Quality of Life D012189:Retrospective Studies D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D014621:Vagina
Pelvic organ prolapse Pessary fitting Satisfaction Complication