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Is vaginal flatus related to pelvic floor functional anatomy?

International Urogynecology Journal volume 31, pages 2551–2555 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

Vaginal flatus is an embarrassing condition that can impair women’s quality of life. The underlying pathophysiology is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the association between vaginal flatus and pelvic floor anatomy.

Methods

Retrospective observational study on women seen in a tertiary urogynaecological service. All had undergone a standardised interview, clinical examination and four-dimensional transperineal ultrasound. Offline analysis of volume data was performed blinded against clinical data.

Results

Datasets of 570 women were analysed. Five hundred twelve (90%) were vaginally parous. Vaginal flatus was reported by 190 (33%). Mean bother score was 4.2 (SD 3.4, range 0–10). One hundred eighty-five reported frequency of vaginal flatus: it occurred < once a month in 25 (14%), once a month in 70 (38%), once a week in 47 (25%), once daily in 28 (15%) and > once daily in 15 (8%). One hundred two women identified the following precipitating factors: intercourse in 72 (71%), postural change in 22 (22%) and physical activities in 9 (9%). Vaginal birth, central and posterior compartment prolapse, anal incontinence, higher levator resting tone and younger age were associated with vaginal flatus. The latter was moderately correlated with symptom bother (correlation coefficient − 0.21).

Conclusions

Vaginal flatus is a prevalent and bothersome condition affecting one-third of our study population. The condition is associated with pelvic floor functional anatomy. A higher resting tone may confer a higher resistance against which trapped air is expelled during physical activities. Younger age was moderately correlated with symptom bother.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, MOVANT, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken-Lokaal R3.10-Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium

    Hedwig Neels

  2. Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium

    Hedwig Neels

  3. Sydney Medical School Nepean, University of Sydney, Penrith, Australia

    Stefaan Pacquée, Ka-Lai Shek, Moshe Gillor, Jessica Caudwell-Hall & Hans Peter Dietz

  4. Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia

    Ka-Lai Shek

Authors
  1. Hedwig Neels
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  2. Stefaan Pacquée
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  3. Ka-Lai Shek
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  4. Moshe Gillor
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  5. Jessica Caudwell-Hall
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  6. Hans Peter Dietz
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Contributions

H Neels: Project development, data collection, data management, manuscript writing/editing.

S Pacquée: Project development, data management, manuscript writing/editing.

KL Shek: Project development, data collection and management, statistical analysis, manuscript writing/editing.

M Gillor: Project development, data management, statistical analysis, manuscript writing/editing.

J Caudwell-Hall: Project development, manuscript writing/editing.

HP Dietz: Project development, data management, statistical analysis, manuscript writing/editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hedwig Neels.

Ethics declarations

Financial disclaimers/conflicts of interest

Neels: Received the IUGA observership grant for allied health professionals 2019.

Pacquée: No conflicts of interest to declare.

Shek: Received lecture honoraria and travel assistance from GE Medical.

Gillor: No conflicts of interest to declare.

Caudwell-Hall: No conflicts of interest to declare.

Dietz: Received lecture honoraria and travel assistance from GE Medical.

Presentation: AUGS/IUGA Joint Meeting, September 24–28, 2019, Nashville, TN.

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Neels, H., Pacquée, S., Shek, KL. et al. Is vaginal flatus related to pelvic floor functional anatomy?. Int Urogynecol J 31, 2551–2555 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-020-04371-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-020-04371-9

Keywords

  • Vaginal flatus
  • Pelvic floor anatomy
  • Levator ani
  • Vaginal wind
  • Transperineal ultrasound
  • Pelvic organ prolapse