# POP-Q Versus Upright MRI Distance Measurements: A Prospective Study in Patients with POP

## TL;DR

This study compares two methods for measuring pelvic organ prolapse and finds that upright MRI often shows more severe prolapse than the standard POP-Q method.

## Contribution

The study introduces upright MRI as a potentially more accurate method for assessing pelvic organ prolapse compared to POP-Q.

## Key findings

- Upright MRI showed a larger prolapse extent than POP-Q in 71.4% of patients.
- There was a moderate positive correlation between POP-Q and MRI measurements for the bladder and uterus.
- MRI measurements varied significantly among patients with similar POP-Q results.

## Abstract

The gold standard for quantifying pelvic organ prolapse is the pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q) system; however, upright magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising new method. The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between POP-Q and MRI measurements of the bladder and cervix.

This prospective study included patients with prolapse in whom POP-Q points Aa or Ba and C were measured as standard care. MRI scans were performed in an upright position, and the distances of the lowest points of the bladder and cervix to the Pelvic Inclination Correction System (PICS) were calculated. Correlations between POP-Q and MRI-PICS measurements were determined using the Pearson correlation coefficient for normally distributed data and the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient for non-normally distributed data.

A total of 63 patients were suitable for analysis. There was a moderate positive correlation between the POP-Q and MRI-PICS measurements for bladder (r(61) = 0.480, r < 0.001) and uterus (r(61) = 0.527, p < 0.001). Measurement differences between POP-Q and MRI-PICS of the bladder and uterus vary from −3.2 cm to 7.1 cm, and from −2.1 cm to 8.5 cm respectively. In 71.4% of patients more descent was seen on upright MRI than with POP-Q measurement for both bladder and uterus. For patients with similar POP-Q measurements, a high variation in MRI measurements of the bladder and uterus was found.

Despite a moderate positive correlation, upright MRI shows a larger POP extent in 71.4% of the patients than POP-Q. A high variation in MRI measurements for patients with the same POP-Q measurement was seen.