Diagnosing pelvic organ prolapse: what must a clinicist remember?

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a widespread disease and a frequent indication for surgical treatment. The risk of surgery for POP during life can reach 20%. In the coming years, the burden of POP on healthcare systems will only grow. In 50% of patients, a recurrence of the disease develops after the correction of POP, and 30% require a repeat operation. Specialists face the task of improving the medium- and long-term results of surgical intervention. Timely treatment and accurate preoperative assessment are crucial for improving the results of POP surgical correction. The purpose is to analyze the scientific data accumulated to date on the possibilities of various methods of POP diagnosis. Material and methods. We analyzed approaches to POP diagnosis developed by professional associations, as well as evidence-based data on the various techniques of POP diagnosis published in PubMed, CochraneLibrary, Science Direct, Google Scholar, eLibrary, and CyberLeninka databases. To search for 2010–2024 publications, we used the keywords «pelvic organ prolapse», «diagnosis», and «visualization». Results. Based on the analysis, we conclude that the currently used ICS POP-Q quantification system has a number of limitations, and imaging methods (sonography, MRI) are currently not standardized or validated, and therefore their diagnostic capabilities are not fully utilized. Conclusions. All of the above explains the importance of conducting qualitative research to improve the POP quantitative assessment and to explore the diagnostic capabilities of imaging techniques. Accurate preoperative assessment is crucial to improve the results of surgical intervention.