Abstract
PURPOSE OF STUDY: Dilatation and curettage (D&C) and fractional curettage (F/C) are commonly performed gynecological procedures. Randomized controlled trials have concluded that topical anesthesia effectively reduces pain in endometrial sampling and hysteroscopy. Our study was aimed at investigating this modality of pain relief in setting of a developing country where, due to lack of resources, successful completion of these procedures in an outpatient setting is a necessity. METHODS: This study was a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study conducted in 84 patients. All patients received either intrauterine 2 % lignocaine or normal saline along with oral NSAID and paracervical block prior to the procedure. The pain was analyzed at three steps: at the time of curette, immediately post-procedure, and 30 min later using 10-cm visual analog score. RESULTS: The patients in the experimental and control groups were well matched for age, parity, body mass index, menopausal status, and the indications for intervention. At all the three stages, pain perceived in the lignocaine group was significantly less as compared to that in placebo group. As compared to lignocaine group (55 %), significantly higher number of women in placebo group (88 %) perceived severe pain during endometrial curettage (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that two percent intrauterine lignocaine significantly decreases the pain perception during intrauterine gynecological procedures such as D&C and F/C. This is a simple, effective, inexpensive, and low-risk intervention which can potentially increase the patient acceptability and compliance with such procedures.