Survey of the characteristics and satisfaction degree of the patients using a pessary

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate characteristics, satisfaction degree, and problems of patients using a pessary for pelvic organ prolapse. A total of 104 patients who had been fitted with a pessary and available for follow-up for pelvic organ prolapse management were enrolled. The patients answered questions on general characteristics, indications for pessary use, complications from pessary use, satisfaction degree, and frequency of removal. The results indicated that 76 (73.0%) patients had at least more than one medical illness and 86 (82.7%) patients complained of lower urinary symptoms such as incontinence, urgency, frequency, or nocturia. Eighty-four (80.7%) patients used pessaries as they were not surgical candidates due to poor medical status or old age. After using a pessary, 76 (73.1%) patients had symptoms such as bleeding, erosion, or foul odor; 70.2% of the women answered that they were satisfied or more than satisfied and 19.1% of the patients removed their pessaries, of whom 80.0% were unable to continue use due to repeated expulsion of the pessary and uncomfortable fitting. These data suggest that the pessary tends to be used for high-risk patients due to medical problems or old age. Despite the high frequency of complications from pessary use, it was seen that the frequency of removing the pessary was low and the satisfaction degree was high. Most of the complications were not thought to be serious. To decrease the frequency of complications, the regular follow-up visit and proper management of pessary use were thought to be needed. Further studies are warranted on tailor-fitting the pessary by variable use and relieving the symptoms associated with the lower urinary tract.

Ring and Gellhorn pessaries used in patients with pelvic organ prolapse: a retrospective study of 8 years

“…Complications were related to pessary shape and material, and duration in situ [21]. Sang et al reported that 76 (73.1%) patients had complications such as bleeding, erosion, or foul odor [11]. Erosions and abnormal vaginal bleeding were the most common complications in our patients, which was consistent with the results reported in previous literature.…”

“…Bai et al investigated 104 patients fitted with pessaries, of whom 19.1% removed their pessaries. Most patients (80.0%) were unable to continue use due to the repeated expulsion of the pessary and uncomfortable fitting [11]. We found difficulty in inserting or removing (19.1%).…”

Impact on quality of life after ring pessary use for pelvic organ prolapse

“…Vaginal pessaries are well tolerated and improve the symptoms associated with POP [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. However, few studies used validated questionnaires [11][12][13][14].…”

“…Sample size calculation was based on previous data that 70-92% with a mean value of 81% of patients was satisfied after pessary use due to improvement of symptoms associated with prolapse [7,8]. A sample size of 60 was calculated with 95% significant level and 10% maximum allowable error.…”

A Disposable Intravaginal Device for the Management of Stress Urinary Incontinence

“…The TIPI is a new disposable device which can be self-inserted into the vagina on a daily basis. This disposable device offers a potential advantage over existing incontinence pessaries in that traditional pessaries largely remain in place for much prolonged periods and could have the potential to be associated with vaginal erosion [17], foul odors, infections, and irritation [18]. In contrast, the TIPI device during usage was given a mean comfort score of 3.49 on a five-point scale, with 91.2 % of patients maintaining use.…”