How to repair an anal sphincter injury after vaginal delivery: results of a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To compare two surgical techniques and two types of suture material for anal sphincter repair after childbirth-related injury.

Design: Factorial randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Tertiary referral maternity unit.

Risk scoring system for prediction of obstetric anal sphincter injury.

Objective: The objective was to begin the process of developing an antenatal risk scoring system, as a first step towards examining whether elective Caesarean section for women at high risk of injury could be an effective and acceptable intervention.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary maternity unit in the UK.

Absence of bacterial and viral DNA in bladder biopsies from patients with interstitial cystitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Purpose: We examined bladder biopsies from women with interstitial cystitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (IC/CPPS) for the presence of bacterial and viral DNA sequences using polymerase chain reaction.

Materials And Methods: Bladder biopsies were taken during cystoscopy from patients under investigation for IC/CPPS, or controls undergoing colposuspension for stress incontinence. Biopsies were snap frozen to -70C.

Women's experiences after a third-degree obstetric anal sphincter tear: a qualitative study.

Background: Little qualitative data are available that address the experiences of women who sustain a third-degree obstetric anal sphincter tear during childbirth. The objective of this study was to explore the views and experiences of women in the postpartum period after sustaining a third-degree obstetric anal sphincter tear.

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using focus groups in a large maternity hospital in the United Kingdom.

Effect of a new guideline on outcome following third-degree perineal tears: results of a 3-year audit.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a new guideline on the outcome of repair of obstetric anal sphincter tears by examining adherence to the guideline and the effect upon the incidence of symptoms of anal incontinence. An audit of third-degree perineal tears was conducted in 1997. A reaudit was completed in 1998 and 1999 after the introduction of a new guideline.

Differences in episiotomy technique between midwives and doctors.

Objectives: To examine the practice of making an episiotomy and to determine any differences in practice between professional groups.

Design: A prospective survey.

Setting: A large tertiary referral obstetric hospital and the obstetric department of a district general hospital.

Leukocyte populations in interstitial cystitis and idiopathic reduced bladder storage.

Objectives: Mast cells and leukocyte populations in bladder biopsies from women with interstitial cystitis (IC) or idiopathic reduced bladder storage (sensory urgency [SU]) were compared to determine whether any evidence of a common etiology between these conditions could be found.

Methods: Biopsies from 40 patients (9 meeting the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases criteria [IC] and 31 who did not [SU]) and 20 controls (having colposuspension for stress incontinence) were stained with monoclonal antibodies against leukocyte antigens and mast cell tryptase. The median cell counts from 10 high power fields were calculated and compared between cases and controls.

Antenatal screening for postpartum urinary incontinence in nulliparous women: a pilot study.

Unlabelled: Antenatal screening for postpartum urinary incontinence in nulliparous women: a pilot study.

Objective: To examine the utility of joint mobility scoring (JMS) as a screening test for postpartum urinary incontinence.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study in a teaching hospital involving 150 nulliparous women.