title: Paracervical anesthesia for outpatient hysteroscopy.
abstract: One hundred seventy-seven women aged 41 +/- 8 (mean +/- SD) years, referred for evaluation of excessive uterine bleeding, were enrolled in an open-label randomized trial to evaluate the efficacy of local anesthesia before hysteroscopy in an outpatient population. The patients underwent hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsy with paracervical block by 10 mL of 1% mepivacaine hydrochloride solution (n = 87) or no local anesthesia (n = 90) and assessed lower abdominal and pelvic pain according to a 10-point linear analog scale. The mean +/- SD pain score was 4.5 +/- 2.0 at hysteroscopy and 5.2 +/- 2.1 at endometrial biopsy in the 87 subjects given a paracervical block versus 4.9 +/- 2.2 and 5.7 +/- 2.4 in the 90 women not given local anesthesia, without statistically significant differences. Paracervical anesthesia for routine outpatient hysteroscopy in premenopausal women may be superfluous.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica L. Mangiagalli, University of Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vercellini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mauro
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oldani
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bramante
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Crosignani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000698:Analgesia; D000758:Anesthesia; D001706:Biopsy; D002584:Cervix Uteri; D004717:Endometrium / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015907:Hysteroscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain; D014592:Uterine Hemorrhage / Q000473:pathology*