Double Blinded Randomized Trial Between Lidocaine And Plain Gel For Urethral Straight Catheterization And The Q-Tip Test

This study was approved by the institutional review board at Baystate Medical Center. The study pool consists of all women who present to a single urogynecologist's office for an initial consultation with a complaint of urinary incontinence and/or pelvic organ prolapse. Those patients who consent for the research will be then randomized either to 2% Lidocaine Hydrochloride jelly (Akorn, Buffalo Grove, IL) or Surgilube (Fougera, Melville, NY) using computer generated blocks of 10. The latter is a commonly used, commercially available aqueous lubricant gel. Both the urogynecologist who perform the examinations and the patient will be blinded to the randomization. The appearances of the study gels are indistinguishable. Based on our power analysis targeting a power of 0.80, an α value of 0.05, and 20% difference in pain perception between the groups, we are aiming to recruit a sample of minimum132 subjects.

First, demographic information including the age, parity, previous vaginal births, body mass index (BMI), race, diabetes, vaginal atrophy, neurological impairment, current estrogen use, indication for visit and exam anxiety will be collected as a part of patient history. Immediately after voiding, each patient will be placed in a lithotomy position. An independent nurse who is not involved in patient's care will prepare the study gels according to the randomization. After cleansing external urethral meatus with povidone iodine solution, a lubricated a sterile 14-French polyvinyl chloride Mentor Self-Cath catheter (Coloplast, Minneapolis, MN) will be placed transurethrally into the bladder to measure the postvoid residual volume. Following removal of the catheter, a cotton swab, lubricated with the same allocated gel, will be advanced to the urethrovesical junction until resistance was felt. The angle of the Q-tip with the horizontal plane will be measured at rest and with Valsalva maneuver. All the examinations will be performed by the same urogynecologist in the same order. Immediately following the Q-tip test, patient's perception of pain level will be measured using a validated pain scoring system, the Wong-Baker FACES visual scale where 0 represented no pain and 5 represented worst imaginable pain. The rest of the physical examination will be completed after this pain assessment.

We will evaluate patient characteristics and pain score variables by exposure to either Lidocaine or Surgilube using SPSS Version 11.01 software (Chicago, Illinois). For continuous variables, we will calculate the mean and standard deviation and then evaluate significant differences using the Mann Whitney U test. For categorical variables, we will calculate the number and percent and then evaluate significant differences using Pearson's chi-square test. Significance for all results was set at an alpha of <0.05.

Inclusion criteria

• All women who presented to a single urogynecologist's office for an initial consultation with a complaint of urinary incontinence and/or pelvic organ prolapse

Exclusion criteria

• Being a minor
• Pregnancy
• Allergy to Lidocaine or aqueous lubricant gel
• Any current use of analgesia
• Structural abnormalities of the urethra
• Active genital Herpes or other vulvovaginal infections or inability to cooperate with pain assessment due to mental disorders.