Vaginal Birth After Caesarean Section and Levator Ani Avulsion

August 2, 2021 updated by: Zdenek Rusavy, Charles University, Czech Republic

Do Women With Vaginal Birth After Caesarean Section Have an Increased Risk of Levator Avulsion?

There is no data regarding the risk of levator ani avulsion in women after a vaginal birth after caesarean although a possible increased risk has been suggested. The aim of the study is to describe the incidence of levator ani avulsion and compare it to primiparous women. In addition, health related quality of life will be evaluated and compared

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Levator ani muscle avulsion is a frequent postpartum trauma imposing a considerable risk of pelvic organ prolapse on women in later life. Furthermore, the trauma reduces the effectiveness of pelvic reconstructive surgery and has a detrimental effect of the sexuality of the affected women. The trauma occurs most frequently in the first vaginal delivery with an incidence of 10-30%. However, the risk of levator avulsion in women after vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) is unknown although possible increased risk has been suggested.

The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of levator ani avulsion among women who delivered vaginally after a caesarean section and make a comparison with a primiparous cohort. The secondary aim is to evaluate and compare the health related quality of life regarding pelvic floor disorders and sexuality.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

469

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

      • Pilsen, Czechia, 30460
        • Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Faculty in Pilsen, Charles University Hospital
      • Prague, Czechia, 12808
        • Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1st Medical Faculty, Charles University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Women at least 6 months after the first vaginal delivery with or without a caesarean section in their history.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • one term vaginal delivery in obstetric history
  • agreement with the enrollment

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Women with a history of repeat VBAC or a vaginal delivery prior to the index caesarean section
  • women with preterm labor
  • epidural analgesia
  • multiple pregnancy
  • dead or malformed fetus

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Case-Control
  • Time Perspectives: Retrospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
VBAC
secundiparous women after one vaginal birth after caesarean section
controls
women after one vaginal delivery

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Levator ani avulsion
Time Frame: at least 6 months after the delivery
Presence of levator ani avulsion diagnosed by offline tomographic ultrasound imaging of an ultrasound volume of the pelvic floor
at least 6 months after the delivery
Genital hiatus ballooning
Time Frame: at least 6 months after the delivery
Area of the urogenital hiatus over 25cm2 during maximal Valsalva
at least 6 months after the delivery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pelvic floor dysfunction
Time Frame: at time of the ultrasound examination
Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory - PFDI-20 - shortened form of a validated questionnaire evaluating quality of life with pelvic floor disorders (pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, anal incontinence) evaluation of subscales POPDI-6, UDI-6, CRADI-8 (scale 0-100 in all subscales, the higher the number the higher the impact)
at time of the ultrasound examination
Anal incontinence
Time Frame: at time of the ultrasound examination
Scoring of the severity of anal incontinence using the St. Mark's score - scoring system (0 - perfect continence, maximum score 24 - totally incontienent.
at time of the ultrasound examination
Sexuality
Time Frame: at time of the ultrasound examination
Evaluation of sexuality using validated Czech translation of the Pelvic Organ Prolapseand incontinence sexual questionnaire - internationally revised (PISQ-IR) - analysis of individual domains via subscores (NSA-CS, NSA-PR, NSA-GQ, NSA-CI or SA-AO, SA-PR, SA-CS, SA-GQ, SA-D, SA-CI. Transformed score 0-100 for each subscore.
at time of the ultrasound examination

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 2, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 30, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

December 10, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 27, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

February 5, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 9, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 2, 2021

Last Verified

August 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 10101010

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Birth Injuries

Search Similar Trials