Psychosocial and Clinical Characteristics Predicting Women's Acceptance of Office Hysteroscopy

Authors tend to compare pain in hysteroscopy in groups by scope size and variation in technique (e.g. 3mm versus 5mm scopes; vaginoscopic versus traditional speculum insertion approach), so score results reflect relative improvement in tolerability between groups, and they do not have as control an examination expected to be free of suffering.

To the investigators' knowledge there has to date never been an adequate judgement of the proportion of women in the group where pain is felt and should therefore be expected. Focus has always been put on the group of patients who are pain free (or where it is deemed acceptable).

Stating office hysteroscopy is painless because VAS score is halved by miniaturization seems an arbitrary statement for a small, but never the less important group of women.

It should be interesting to investigate factors which might contribute to pain in office hysteroscopy despite the fact the majority of the group will bear mild or no pain. The investigator believes that although reduction of scope size has brought about significant reduction in distress, it remains a painful procedure for some patients and therefore subjecting them to this ordeal may be regarded as an aggression; pain control interventions to reduce suffering might be considered (anxiolytic drugs, local, para-cervical or even general anaesthesia could be of interest in selected cases).

Inclusion criteria

• women scheduled for office hysteroscopy Written informed consent; diagnosis of uterine abnormal bleeding, sonographic evidence of thickened endometrium, sterility workup, endometrial polyps or sub mucous myoma, foreign body extraction or insertion (i.e. sterilization) or other condition with indication for procedure and who meet study eligibility criteria; ability to fill in the study questionnaires.

Exclusion criteria

• refusal to participate in study innability to fill in the study questionnaires