Is only perianal anesthesia with lidocaine-prilocaine cream sufficient to decrease the pain during transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy? A prospective randomized study.

AIMS

To determine the optimal place to apply the local anesthetic agent and to investigate the efficacy of lidocaine-prilocaine cream on the perianal and intrarectal region during prostate biopsy.

METHODS

The study included 80 patients. Patients were randomized into four groups: group 1 served as the control group and was administered no anesthesia; group 2 received 5 ml lidocaine-prilocaine cream perianally; group 3 received 5 ml lidocaine-prilocaine cream intrarectally, and group 4 received lidocaine-prilocaine cream perianally and intrarectally. Pain scores during probe insertion, biopsy procedure, and the overall pain score were assessed. Mean pain scores in each group were compared statistically.

RESULTS

In group 1, the mean pain score was significantly higher during probe insertion than that during biopsy (p < 0.001). For the mean overall pain scores, there was no significant difference between groups 1 and 3 (p = 0.942), but the results of group 1 were statistically different from groups 2 (p = 0.001) and 4 (p < 0.001). When we compared the biopsy pain scores, there was no significant difference among the groups (p > 0.05). During probe insertion, subjects in groups 2 and 4 reported significantly lower pain scores than the control group (p = 0.002, p = 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Perianal anesthesia with lidocaine-prilocaine cream may solely be sufficient to decrease the pain during prostate biopsy.