Is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation of any value during cervical laser treatment?

Abstract

Objective To assess the value of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) during cervical laser therapy. Design Randomized three arm controlled clinical trial comparing (i) TENS, (ii) local anaesthetic and (iii) TENS plus local anaesthetic (direct infiltration of 2% lignocaine and 0.03 iu/ml octopressin). Setting Colposcopy Unit adapted to run randomized trials. Subjects 100 women with CIN and no previous experience of cervical surgery. Main outcome measure Visual linear analogue pain scores. Results The median pain score associated with TENS was greater than the score associated with local anaesthesia (23% compared with 17%; P= 0.1). Combining TENS with local anaesthesia did not further reduce pain scores. Conclusion Although there was considerable consumer satisfaction with TENS it provided no additional pain relieving effect in addition to direct infiltration of lignocaine and it is inferior to lignocaine alone. We are unable to advocate the use of TENS for laser treatment of the cervix.

A Comparative Study between Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation and Fentanyl to Relieve Shoulder Pain during Laparoscopic Gynecologic Surgery under Spinal Anesthesia: A Randomized Clinical Trail

“…In contrast, two trials found no significant differences between TENS and a group without treatment on pain intensity during flexible cystoscopy and during screening flexible sigmoidoscopy [ 37 , 38 ]. Three out of four studies reported an improvement, at least one outcome measure in favor of TENS when comparing it with a nonopioid pharmacological treatment [ 35 , 39 – 41 ]. To this end, one might conclude that TENS was effective in pain relief compared to placebo, no treatment, and nonopioid pharmacological treatment.…”