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Test–retest reliability of internal pudendal artery blood flow using color Doppler ultrasound in healthy women

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Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

The internal pudendal artery (IPA) is one of the main arteries supplying the pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) and vulvo-vaginal tissues. Its assessment with color Doppler ultrasound has been documented previously, but the reliability of IPA measurements has never been assessed. This study evaluates the test–retest reliability of IPA blood flow parameters measured by color Doppler ultrasound under two conditions: at rest and after a PFM contraction task.

Methods

Twenty healthy women participated in this study. One observer performed two measurement sessions using a clinical ultrasound system with a curved-array probe on the participant’s gluteal area. IPA measurements were repeated: at rest and after a PFM contraction task. Peak systolic velocity (PSV), time-averaged maximum velocity (TAMX), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), pulsatility index (PI), and resistance index (RI) were measured. Test–retest reliability was assessed using a paired t test, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Bland and Altman plots.

Results

There was no significant difference for all IPA blood flow measurements between the two repeated sessions. At rest, reliability was excellent for PSV and TAMX and the variability between measurements, as per Bland and Altman plots, was small. After PFM contractions, reliability was excellent for PSV and TAMX and fair to good for PI. The variability between measurements was small for PSV and acceptable for TAMX and PI. EDV and RI parameters did not perform as well.

Conclusion

The assessment of IPA blood flow with color Doppler ultrasound to evaluate vascular change in women is reliable.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the women who participated in the present study. Joanie Mercier was supported by a scholarship from the Quebec Network for Research on Aging, An Tang was supported by a research scholarship from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé and Fondation de l’association des radiologistes du Québec (FRQS-ARQ #26993), and Mélanie Morin was supported by a research scholarship from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé.

Funding

This study was funded by the Quebec Network for Research on Aging.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, 4565, Chemin Queen-Mary, Montréal, Québec, H3W 1W5, Canada

    Joanie Mercier

  2. Department of Radiology, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

    An Tang

  3. Faculty of Medicine, School of Rehabilitation, University of Sherbrooke, Research Centre of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada

    Mélanie Morin

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Canada

    Marie-Claude Lemieux

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Samir Khalifé

  6. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

    Barbara Reichetzer

  7. School of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

    Chantale Dumoulin

Authors
  1. Joanie Mercier
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  2. An Tang
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  3. Mélanie Morin
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  4. Marie-Claude Lemieux
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  5. Samir Khalifé
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  6. Barbara Reichetzer
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  7. Chantale Dumoulin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanie Mercier.

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Mercier, J., Tang, A., Morin, M. et al. Test–retest reliability of internal pudendal artery blood flow using color Doppler ultrasound in healthy women. Int Urogynecol J 29, 1817–1824 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-018-3615-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-018-3615-5

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