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“Modified Schirmer Test” as an Objective Measurement for Vaginal Dryness: A Prospective Cohort Study

None of the currently available parameters allow for a direct and objective measurement of vaginal moisture. We used a calibrated filter paper strip as a measurement tool for the quantification of vaginal fluid, in a similar manner as the ophthalmic “Schirmer test” (used for eye moisture measurement...

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Autores principales: Gabrieli, Dana, Suissa-Cohen, Yael, Jaber, Sireen, Lev-Sagie, Ahinoam
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8946893/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35328126
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12030574
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author Gabrieli, Dana
Suissa-Cohen, Yael
Jaber, Sireen
Lev-Sagie, Ahinoam
author_facet Gabrieli, Dana
Suissa-Cohen, Yael
Jaber, Sireen
Lev-Sagie, Ahinoam
author_sort Gabrieli, Dana
collection PubMed
description None of the currently available parameters allow for a direct and objective measurement of vaginal moisture. We used a calibrated filter paper strip as a measurement tool for the quantification of vaginal fluid, in a similar manner as the ophthalmic “Schirmer test” (used for eye moisture measurement). The study aimed to evaluate the validity of this new, objective tool, to measure vaginal moisture. We compared vaginal moisture measurements using the “modified Schirmer test” in symptomatic women with genitourinary syndrome of menopause to those of women without vaginal dryness. The mean “modified Schirmer test” measurement in the control group was 21.7 mm compared to 3.3 mm in the study group, yielding a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). Strong correlations were found between “modified Schirmer test” measurements and pH (correlation coefficient −0.714), Vaginal Health Index [VHI (0.775)], and Visual Analogue Score (VAS) of dryness during intercourse (−0.821). Our findings suggest that the “modified Schirmer test” can be used as an objective measurement for the assessment of vaginal fluid level. This test may also prove useful for evaluation of non-hormonal treatments aimed to treat vaginal dryness.
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spelling pubmed-89468932022-03-25 “Modified Schirmer Test” as an Objective Measurement for Vaginal Dryness: A Prospective Cohort Study Gabrieli, Dana Suissa-Cohen, Yael Jaber, Sireen Lev-Sagie, Ahinoam Diagnostics (Basel) Article None of the currently available parameters allow for a direct and objective measurement of vaginal moisture. We used a calibrated filter paper strip as a measurement tool for the quantification of vaginal fluid, in a similar manner as the ophthalmic “Schirmer test” (used for eye moisture measurement). The study aimed to evaluate the validity of this new, objective tool, to measure vaginal moisture. We compared vaginal moisture measurements using the “modified Schirmer test” in symptomatic women with genitourinary syndrome of menopause to those of women without vaginal dryness. The mean “modified Schirmer test” measurement in the control group was 21.7 mm compared to 3.3 mm in the study group, yielding a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). Strong correlations were found between “modified Schirmer test” measurements and pH (correlation coefficient −0.714), Vaginal Health Index [VHI (0.775)], and Visual Analogue Score (VAS) of dryness during intercourse (−0.821). Our findings suggest that the “modified Schirmer test” can be used as an objective measurement for the assessment of vaginal fluid level. This test may also prove useful for evaluation of non-hormonal treatments aimed to treat vaginal dryness. MDPI 2022-02-23 /pmc/articles/PMC8946893/ /pubmed/35328126 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12030574 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Gabrieli, Dana
Suissa-Cohen, Yael
Jaber, Sireen
Lev-Sagie, Ahinoam
“Modified Schirmer Test” as an Objective Measurement for Vaginal Dryness: A Prospective Cohort Study
title “Modified Schirmer Test” as an Objective Measurement for Vaginal Dryness: A Prospective Cohort Study
title_full “Modified Schirmer Test” as an Objective Measurement for Vaginal Dryness: A Prospective Cohort Study
title_fullStr “Modified Schirmer Test” as an Objective Measurement for Vaginal Dryness: A Prospective Cohort Study
title_full_unstemmed “Modified Schirmer Test” as an Objective Measurement for Vaginal Dryness: A Prospective Cohort Study
title_short “Modified Schirmer Test” as an Objective Measurement for Vaginal Dryness: A Prospective Cohort Study
title_sort “modified schirmer test” as an objective measurement for vaginal dryness: a prospective cohort study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8946893/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35328126
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12030574
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