The urine stream interruption test and pelvic muscle function in the puerperium.

OBJECTIVES: This study assesses the role of the uroflowmetric urine stream interruption test (UST) in the evaluation of postpartum pelvic floor muscle function. METHOD: Two months after vaginal delivery, 492 women who underwent a digital test, vaginal manometry, and a UST were divided into two groups: continent and incontinent. Variables were subjected to the Student's t-test and to Fisher's exact test to verify the difference between the two groups. RESULTS: Digital test and vaginal manometry results were higher in the continent group, but only the UST showed significantly different values (P=0.001). All test results of incontinent puerperae who underwent rehabilitation were significantly improved after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: UST is low cost, non-invasive, and can give objective information about pelvic floor performance after a vaginal delivery. It can be used for both routine clinical use and an outcome measure for women who undergo rehabilitation treatment.