Analgesia for Office Hysteroscopy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Authors’ reply re: Virtual Reality for Acute Pain in Outpatient Hysteroscopy: A Randomised Controlled Trial. (Response to BJOG-20-1488)

“…We acknowledge that standardisation of analgesics intake would have helped in understanding the actual impact of VR in pain relief. 1,2 We agree with these suggestions for future directions of research in this area and the suggested improvements to methodology.…”

Virtual reality for acute pain in outpatient hysteroscopy: a randomised controlled trial

“…There is a lack of consensus on the choice of analgesia for outpatient hysteroscopy, 9 with a recent meta‐analysis and systematic review suggesting oral nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain relief 34 . Despite this, there has been limited research on the role of distraction techniques in the management of pain and anxiety in ambulatory gynaecological procedures and no published studies on virtual reality as a pain relief modality 26 .…”

“…There is a lack of consensus on the choice of analgesia for outpatient hysteroscopy, 9 with a recent meta-analysis and systematic review suggesting oral nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain relief. 34 Despite this, there has been limited research on the role of distraction techniques in the management of pain and anxiety in ambulatory gynaecological procedures and no published studies on virtual reality as a pain relief modality. 26 Non-pharmacological options of pain relief at outpatient hysteroscopy include music, 35,36 hypnosis, vaginoscopic methods of hysteroscopy, 37 adjusting the temperature and pressure of distension medium, stretching of the uterus with a full bladder and electricity via TENS 26 watching the screen, 38 conversation with positive suggestion and guided imagery.…”

Authors' reply re: Virtual reality for acute pain in outpatient hysteroscopy: a randomised controlled trial

“…However, we do not have data on dosages and how long before the procedure the analgesics were taken. We acknowledge that standardisation of analgesics intake would have helped in understanding the actual impact of VR in pain relief 3,4 . We agree with these suggestions for future directions of research in this area and the suggested improvements to methodology.…”