Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug with a local anesthetic compared to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug alone significantly reduce the pain associated with vaginoscopic office hysteroscopy.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Pain is the most common cause of office hysteroscopy (OH) failure. There is no consensus on alleviation of pain during OH. The aim was to compare the effectiveness of pain-relieving methods during OH.

STUDY DESIGN

A prospective randomized open-label trial included women subjected to OH. All women received 100 mg of ketoprofen intravenously pre-procedure. Women were randomly assigned to 3 arms: A) no local anesthesia, B) infiltration anesthesia with 20 ml of 1% lidocaine solution, C) paracervical block with 20 ml of 1% lidocaine solution. Karl Storz Bettocchi® rigid hysteroscope with a 5 mm operative sheath was used. Intensity of pain in numeric rating scale (NRS), intensity of cervical bleeding, frequency of vasovagal episodes, and failure rate were compared.

RESULTS

The study involved 201 women, 67 in each arm. NRS value during OH was higher in arm A than in B and C (6.3 vs. 5.1 vs. 5.0; p = 0.01). NRS value after OH did not differ and in all arms pain was imperceptible (p = 0.007). Cervical bleeding was more frequent in arm B than in A and C (76.1% vs. 33.4% vs. 35.9%; p < 0.0001), but its intensity did not differ from the other arms (p = 0.3). Vasovagal episode was most common in arm B (p = 0.048). There was no difference in the failure rate between the arms (p = 0.08).

CONCLUSIONS

The paracervical block, albeit technically the most laborious, has proven to be the most beneficial for the patient in terms of overall comfort and for the surgeon regarding feasibility.

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