Definition of apical descent in women with and without previous hysterectomy: A retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: While normal pelvic organ support has been defined for women with intact uterus, this is not the case for post- hysterectomy vault descent. A recent systematic review found that definitions of apical prolapse are highly variable. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between prolapse symptoms and apical POP-Q measurements and establish cutoffs for ‘significant apical descent using receiver–operator characteristics (ROC) statistics. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of patients seen at a tertiary urogynecological unit. Evaluation included a standardized interview and clinical assessment using the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system. ROC curves were prepared for the relationship between prolapse symptoms and POP-Q measure “C”. RESULTS: The records of 3010 women were available for analysis. Prolapse symptoms were reported by 52.3% (n = 1573), with a mean bother of 5.9 (SD 3.0, range 0–10). POP-Q point “C” was associated with symptoms of prolapse (p <0.0001) and prolapse bother (p <0.0001) on both univariate and multivariate analysis. ROC curves for women with and without uterus were similar, although the relationship between apical descent and symptoms of prolapse was stronger for women with uterus (AUC 0.728 versus 0.678). After controlling for multi-compartment prolapse, the models improved, resulting in AUCs of 0.782 and 0.720. For prediction of prolapse symptoms, cutoffs were set at C = -5 (sensitivity 0.73, specificity 0.67 with uterus in situ, sensitivity 0.59, specificity, 0.73 after hysterectomy). CONCLUSION: A cut- off for ‘significant central compartment descent’ of 5 cm above the hymen on Valsalva seems valid regardless of previous hysterectomy.