Terminology in Pelvic Floor Disorders
185
(
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wright Patterson Air
population of women with pelvic floor disorders, we
recommend that further research be performed before
developing such a definition.
Force Base, OH); Elizabeth Ann Gormley (Department of Surgery,
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH); Tracy Hull (Department of
Colorectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH);
Carl Klutke (Department of Urology, Washington University at St
Louis, St Louis, MO); Gary Lemack (Department of Urology,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX);
Deborah J. Lightner (Department of Urology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester,
MN); Kirk Ludwig (Department of Colorectal Surgery, Duke
University, Durham, NC); Anders Mattiasson (Urological Clinic,
University Hospital, Lund, Sweden); Evan Myers (Department of
Fecal Urgency
Fecal urgency is a symptom rather than a condition. The
Rome diagnostic criteria for functional bowel disorders
considers fecal urgency to be a supportive symptom for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University, Durham, NC); Joseph
M. Montella (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Thomas
Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA); Diane Newman (DKN &
Associates, Philadelphia, PA); Victor Nitti (Urology Associates, New
York University, New York, NY); Peggy Norton (Department of
the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome, defined as
‘having to rush to have a bowel movement’ [21]. In
parallel to wording related to urinary urgency, we
suggest the definition of fecal urgency be ‘the patient’s Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT);
statement of overwhelming desire to defecate accom- Ingrid Nygaard (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Uni-
versity of Iowa, Iowa City, IA); Ron Place (Department of Colorectal
Surgery, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA); Eric Rovner
panied by fear of leakage of bowel contents’. However,
further research is required to test this or other
definitions before recommendations can be made.
(
Department of Urology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
PA); Henry Ruiz (Department of Urology, Madigan Army Medical
Center, Tacoma, WA); Bernard Schuessler (Frauenklinik, Kantons-
spital, Luzern, Switzerland); Bob Shull (Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, Scott White Hospital and Clinic, Temple, TX); Robert
Summitt (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of
Tennessee, Memphis, TN); Philip van Kerrebroeck, (Department of
Urology, University Hospital, Maastricht, The Netherlands); Eboo
Minimum Dataset
In addition to the recommendations for minimum data
collection for all subjects with pelvic floor disorders, we Versi (Pharmacia & Upjohn, Peapack, NJ); Alison C. Weidner
recommend that studies of posterior pelvic floor (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University,
Durham, NC); Jean Wyman (School of Nursing, University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN).
In addition, we appreciate the sponsorship of the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the Office of
dysfunction include physical examination with (1)
screening for pelvic organ prolapse (in some studies,
such as surgical studies of fecal incontinence, the
standardized quantification system for staging of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), the National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the
American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS).
This manuscript represents proceedings from the NIH Terminology
Workshop for Researchers in Female Pelvic Floor Disorders, held on
prolapse [12] should be used); (2) rectal examination;
(3) assessment of the presence or absence of pelvic
muscle contraction; and (4) a screening pelvic neurolo-
gic examination (which could include one of a variety of December 13–14, 1999.
methods, such as bulbocavernosus reflex, anal wink
response, anal sphincter tone or anal sphincter contrac-
tion). At present there are insufficient data to make
recommendations for minimum testing. Particularly for
surgical studies of fecal incontinence, researchers are
References
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Acknowledgements. We would like to thank all the individuals who
attended the Terminology Workshop for Researchers in Female Pelvic
Floor Disorders: Paul Abrams (Bristol Urological Institute, South-
mead Hospital, Bristol, UK); Deidre Bland (Department of Obstetrics
and Gynecology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC);
Linda Brubaker (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rush
Medical College, Chicago, IL); Richard Bump (Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University, Durham, NC);
Amanda L. Clark (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR); Ray Costabile
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(
Department of Urology, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma,
WA); Geoff Cundiff (Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD); Gary Davis (Department
of Obstretics and Gynecology, Madigan Army Medical Center,
Tacoma, WA); Roger R. Dmochowski (Medical Director, North
Texas Center for Urinary Control; Clinical Assistant Professor,
Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health
Sciences, Bethesda, MD); Dee Fenner (Department of Obstetrics and
J Am Geriatr Soc
Gynecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA); John Fischer 10. Lose G, Fantl A, Arne V et al. Outcome measures for research in