Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37740863›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical ultrasonics (2001)2024

Evaluation of levator ani muscle elasticity after vaginal delivery and cesarean section using shear wave elastography.

Yoshiyuki Okada, Chie Nakagawa, Miwa Shigeta, Yukiko Nomura, Eisuke Inoue, Kiyotake Ichizuka, Yasukuni Yoshimura

Erratum issuedOpen access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical ultrasonics (2001), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Chapter 4.5: New Proposed Treatments for Pelvic Organ Prolapse.International urogynecology journal · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Yoshiyuki OkadaDepartment of Female Pelvic Health Center, Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital, 35-1 Chigasaki-Chuo, Tsuzuki-Ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, 224-8503, Japan. yokada@med.showa-u.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4931-4399
Chie NakagawaDepartment of Female Pelvic Health Center, Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital, 35-1 Chigasaki-Chuo, Tsuzuki-Ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, 224-8503, Japan.
Miwa ShigetaDepartment of Female Pelvic Health Center, Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital, 35-1 Chigasaki-Chuo, Tsuzuki-Ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, 224-8503, Japan.
Yukiko NomuraDepartment of Female Pelvic Health Center, Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital, 35-1 Chigasaki-Chuo, Tsuzuki-Ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, 224-8503, Japan.
Eisuke InoueShowa University Research Administration Center, Tokyo, Japan.
Kiyotake IchizukaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan.
Yasukuni YoshimuraDepartment of Female Pelvic Health Center, Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital, 35-1 Chigasaki-Chuo, Tsuzuki-Ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, 224-8503, Japan.
Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital · JPShowa University Hospital · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe risk of pelvic floor muscle injury is commonly considered to be higher in vaginal than in cesarean delivery. This study aimed to compare levator ani muscle (LAM) elasticity after vaginal and cesarean delivery using shear wave elastography (SWE).

methodsPostpartum women who underwent a single SWE evaluation 1 month after their first delivery were divided into vaginal and cesarean delivery groups. The elastic moduli of both sides of the LAM were measured in a horizontal section and compared between the groups. In addition, a subgroup analysis was performed to compare LAM elasticity according to the delivery method within the vaginal delivery group-normal vaginal delivery, episiotomy, and operative vaginal delivery.

resultsSixty-two women were included (vaginal delivery, n = 47; elective cesarean section, n = 15). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the LAM elastic modulus was significantly lower in the vaginal delivery group than in the cesarean delivery group (right LAM: 44.2 vs. 72.7 kPa, p = 0.0036; left LAM 40.4 vs. 82.7 kPa, p < 0.0001). In the subgroup analysis, the right LAM elastic modulus was significantly lower in the operative vaginal delivery subgroup than in the normal vaginal delivery subgroup (p = 0.0131). However, there was no significant difference in the left LAM elastic modulus between the three subgroups.

conclusionLAM elasticity was significantly lower after vaginal delivery than after cesarean delivery. Furthermore, the elasticity of the right LAM was lower after operative vaginal delivery than after normal vaginal delivery. SWE has the potential to provide an objective quantitative assessment of postpartum pelvic floor muscle recovery.

Indexed as

Cesarean SectionElasticity Imaging TechniquesDelivery, ObstetricElasticityFemaleHumansPelvic FloorPregnancyUltrasonographyElasticityLevator ani musclePostpartumShear wave elastography

Identifiers

PMID37740863
PMCPMC10904486
OpenAlexW4386988572

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.