Does local anesthesia decrease pain perception in women undergoing amniocentesis?
OBJECTIVE
The null hypothesis is that local anesthesia does not decrease pain perception during amniocentesis.


METHODS
We performed a prospective randomized study comparing local anesthesia (1% lidocaine) with no anesthesia before amniocentesis in a racially diverse population. Immediately after the procedure, subjects were asked to assess their pain using both a Visual Analogue Scale and a 101-point Numerical Rating Scale.


RESULTS
Two hundred four women were enrolled; 101 women received local, 102 women received no local, and 1 woman declined the amniocentesis after randomization. There was no difference in pain perception between the 2 groups as measured by either the visual analogue scale or the numeric rating scale (P = .28 and .18 respectively). The correlation coefficient between the 2 pain scales was strong with 0.86 for the local group and 0.92 for the no local group, (P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Administration of local anesthesia before amniocentesis does not decrease maternal pain perception.
Gordon
Michael C
MC
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wilford Hall United Stated Air Force Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, TX, USA.
Ventura-Braswell
Ada
A
Higby
Kenneth
K
Ward
John A
JA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000649:Amniocentesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000772:Anesthesia, Local; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010465:Perception; D011446:Prospective Studies