FRIDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who view their flexible cystoscopies on a video monitor report less pain than those who do not, according to research published in the January issue of Urology.
Kashifuddin Q. Soomro, of the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, and colleagues conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled study of 76 patients with different clinical indications for flexible cystoscopy. Half of the patients viewed their procedure on a video screen, and half did not. The researchers quantified pain from none to severe using a visual analog scale ranging from zero to 10 and documented vital signs pre- and post-procedure.
The researchers found that patients who viewed their procedure on a screen reported suffering less pain than did the non-viewing group. Ten of the 38 patients who viewed their procedure reported no pain at all, versus one patient in the non-viewing group. Mild pain was reported in 26 of the viewers and 17 of the non-viewers and moderate pain in two viewers versus 15 non-viewers. No one in the viewing group experienced severe pain, compared with five non-viewing patients. The viewing group had a statistically significant lower pulse rate post-procedure, but there was no statistically significant difference in systolic blood pressure.
"This study suggests that patient viewing of the procedure is a useful tool for reducing the discomfort experienced during cystoscopy. We recommend that it be used as part of standard outpatient flexible cystoscopy practice," the authors write.
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