Assessment of Pre-Procedural Anxiety and Its Impact on Pain and Difficulty of Office Hysteroscopy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Ain Shams, Egypt

2 Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Ain Shams, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Prior medical interventions, anxiety is virtually constant presence and may affect how patients perceive pain. The aim of this work was to evaluate the correlation between pre-procedural anxiety level measured by Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMAS) and pain score during office hysteroscopy and Assessment of difficulty of office hysteroscopy. 
Methods: This Observational cross-sectional work was performed on 75 female patients with clinical criteria of Women undergo office hysteroscopy for various gynecological indications (infertility assessment, abnormal uterine bleeding, recurrent pregnancy loss, suspect uterine anomaly, suspect of endometrial pathology). Patients were subdivided into four groups according to TMAS (normal, mild, moderate and sever), three groups according to EPQ (significant, Normal and Anxiety) and also into three groups according to VAS levels (mild, moderate and sever).  
Result: a statistically substantial positive correlation was existed among VAS score with difficulty of hysteroscopic procedure, with p-value (p=0.034 & p<0.001), correspondingly. There was a statistically substantial association between TAMS with main complain among all studied patients, with p-value (p<0.05). There is no statistically substantial association between EPQ with main complain, with p-value (p>0.05). There was a statistically substantial variation among main complain according to VAS level with p-value (p<0.05). There was a highly statistically substantial positive correlation among TAMS with EPQ and VAS score. EPQ and VAS score have insignificant correlation.
Conclusions: Pain during office hysteroscopy affected by main complaints and the difficulty of hysteroscopic procedure in terms of duration and scope introduction also pain increased by increasing anxiety score. However, no correlation was found between pain and age, or parity. 

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