The IUGA Board is excited to announce the launch of a new IUGA program called “International Urogynecological Consultation”, IUC in short. The purpose of the IUC is to develop a series of IUGA Consensus Statements on Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP). To produce these consensus statements, the IUGA is bringing the world's most renowned experts together in a select number of IUC committees, who will each follow a rigorous consultation process with multiple reviews to ensure that the most up-to-date scientific evidence concerning POP is included.
Part of the development process is that IUGA will hold in-person 'consultation' sessions that are open to all IUGA Annual Meeting attendees at IUGA's Annual Meetings, which allows all attendees to discuss the committee's findings and provide input/feedback. The IUC committees will then work on a final manuscript that will be published in the International Urogynecology Journal (IUJ) and will form an invaluable resource to the urogynecological field.
This project has been designed to complement and not compete with the work that has been completed through existing programs or consultations including related publications, consensus statements, and guidelines on POP. To clarify our goals, IUC’s first stage will focus on defining the condition of POP and will include topics on the epidemiology/ pathophysiology of POP (including genetics to risk factors), clinical definition of the disease state and patients’ perceptions of disease burden and therapeutic success. In the following stages the IUC will cover POP treatment options and the evaluation of patients. The IUC aims to have the complete set of POP consensus statements ready by 2022.
A dedicated IUC steering committee is currently selecting the chairs of the IUC committees. Membership in the IUC committees will be open to all healthcare professionals and other experts in the field of Urogynecology and more specifically in POP through a call for applications that will be announced in October.
With this project, the IUGA aims to help transform evolving new data into knowledge, knowledge into recommendations, and recommendations into improved patient care for women with Pelvic Organ Prolapse, which is completely in line with our mission and vision to improve the lives of all women with pelvic floor disorders.