Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Mar 19, 2025; 15(3): 103252
Published online Mar 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i3.103252
Effect of lattice CO2 laser combined with Kegel exercise mild moderate stress urinary incontinence and postpartum depression anxiety
Zhao-Xia Lou, Shu-Ying Huang, Ze-Qiu Wan, Yun Chen, Hua-Ying Shan, Ling-Yan Wang
Zhao-Xia Lou, Yun Chen, Pelvic Floor Disease and Rehabilitation Department, Huzhou Maternity & Child Health Care Hospital, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China
Shu-Ying Huang, Department of Ultrasound, Hangzhou Linping District Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine Hospital, Hangzhou 311100, Zhejiang Province, China
Ze-Qiu Wan, Department of Gynaecology, Huzhou Maternity & Child Health Care Hospital, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China
Hua-Ying Shan, Department of Ultrasound, Huzhou Maternity & Child Health Care Hospital, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China
Ling-Yan Wang, Department of Obstetrical, Huzhou Maternity & Child Health Care Hospital, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Lou ZX and Wang LY research and write a manuscript; Wan ZQ, Shan HY and Chen Y contributed to conceiving the research and analyzing data; Lou ZX and Wang LY conducted the analysis and provided guidance for the research; all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Huzhou Science and Technology Bureau, No. 2023GYB16.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethic Committee of Huzhou Maternity & Child Health Care Hospital.
Informed consent statement: All research subjects provided informed written consent regarding personal and medical data collection prior to enrollment in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ling-Yan Wang, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Obstetrical, Huzhou Maternity & Child Health Care Hospital, No. 2 East Street, Wuxing District, Huzhou 313000, Zhejiang Province, China. wangly5005@163.com
Received: December 5, 2024
Revised: January 6, 2025
Accepted: January 18, 2025
Published online: March 19, 2025
Processing time: 82 Days and 19.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Postpartum stress urinary incontinence (SUI) symptoms affect a patient’s daily activities and quality of life and increase the negative emotions that they experience. At present, there is no research on the effect of fractional CO2 laser treatment combined with Kegel exercise on postpartum SUI and postpartum depression and anxiety.

AIM

To investigate the effect of lattice CO2 laser treatment combined with Kegel exercise on mild to moderate postpartum SUI and its influence on postpartum depression and anxiety.

METHODS

Using a retrospective study, data from 82 cases of mild to moderate postpartum SUI in Huzhou Maternal & Child Health Care Hospital from January to April 2024 were retrospectively collected. The cases were divided into groups according to the different treatment methods, namely Group S (41 cases, only receiving lattice CO2 laser treatment) and Group L (41 cases, receiving lattice CO2 laser combined with Kegel exercise treatment). The baseline data of the two groups were compared. In addition, we analyzed and compared the scores of the international commission on urinary incontinence questionnaire short form (ICI-Q-SF), incontinence quality of life questionnaire (I-QOL), Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS), and postpartum specific anxiety scale (PSAS) before treatment, at the end of treatment, and 3 months after the end of treatment between the two groups. Furthermore, the clinical efficacy and adverse reactions of the two groups were analyzed and compared at the end of treatment and 3 months after the end of treatment.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in the baseline data and the ICI-Q-SF, I-QOL, EPDS, and PSAS scores between the two groups before treatment. However, at the end of treatment, the ICI-Q-SF, I-QOL, EPDS, and PSAS scores between Groups L and S were significantly different. The overall effective rate of treatment in Group L was significantly higher than that in Group S. During the 3-month follow-up after treatment, it was found that the ICI-Q-SF, EPDS, and PSAS scores of Group L were still lower than those of Group S. In comparison, the I-QOL score and total effective rate of treatment were still higher in Group L than those in Group S, and this difference was significant. There was no significant difference in the adverse reactions between Group L and Group S.

CONCLUSION

The combination of dot lattice CO2 laser and Kegel exercise has a significant therapeutic effect on mild to moderate postpartum SUI. It can prolong the duration of therapeutic effects, improve a patient’s quality of life, and alleviate postpartum depression and anxiety.

Keywords: Lattice CO<sub>2</sub> laser; Kegel exercise; Postpartum stress urinary incontinence; Depression; Anxiety

Core Tip: Postpartum stress urinary incontinence (SUI) has a serious impact on women's lives and work, resulting in many women suffering from postpartum depression and anxiety due to the symptoms of postpartum SUI. This study focuses on the increase of Kegel exercise in combination with fractional CO2 laser treatment, which was found to prolong the duration of the treatment effects on postpartum SUI and play a positive role in alleviating postpartum depression and anxiety in patients.