Table 9.
Frequency of the 6 main perineological symptoms and of the 3 signs of pudendal neuropathy according to the perineal descent measured with a Perineocaliper® [19,24].
| Perineal descent | Number of cases | Urinary incontinence | Faecal incontinence | Prolapse 2–3 | Dysuria | Dyschesia | Dyspareunia | 3 signs |
| (n = 991) | (n = 566) | (n = 41) | (n = 256) | (n = 93) | (n = 261) | (n = 234) | (n = 152/820) | |
| -1 | 5 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| -0,5 | 7 | 42,85 | 0 | 42,85 | 0 | 14,28 | 14,28 | 0 |
| 0 | 227 | 51,54 | 1,32 | 21,58 | 10,13 | 24,22 | 14,53 | 13,87 |
| 0,5 | 257 | 50,19 (NS) |
3,50 (NS) |
20,62 (NS) |
6,22 (NS) |
15,95 (NS) |
17,89 (NS) |
17,28 (NS) |
| 1 | 308 | 60,06 (p<0.05) |
4,54 (p<0.05) |
25 (NS) |
8,76 (NS) |
25,97 (NS) |
27,59 (p<0.001) |
18,41 (NS) |
| 1,5 | 76 | 60,52 (NS) |
3,94 (NS) |
34,21 (p<0.05) |
9,21 (NS) |
35,52 (NS) |
32,89 (p<0.001) |
23,33 (NS) |
| 2 | 82 | 75,60 (p<0.001) |
12,19 (p<0.001) |
43,90 (p<0.001) |
13,41 (NS) |
48,78 (p<0.001) |
36,58 (p<0.001) |
27,94 (p<0.01) |
| 2,5 | 15 | 66,66 | 6,66 | 33,33 | 20 | 53,33 | 46,66 | 55,55 |
| 3 | 11 | 81,81 | 9,09 | 54,54 | 27,27 | 72,72 | 54,54 | 44,44 |
| 3,5 | 2 | 50 | 0 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
The p values were obtained using chi-squared tests; comparison with descent = 0. A perineal descent of 2 cm (compared to a 0 cm descent) leads to a significant increase in the frequency of urinary incontinence, faecal incontinence (solid stools), genital prolapse (grade 2 and more) and dyschesia. The same threshold exists for the 3 clinical signs of pudendal neuropathy (820 cases). For dyspareunia the threshold seems to be at 1 cm and in case of dysuria, the difference is significant between 0.5 cm and 2 cm of descent (p < 0.05).