Pain scores reduction with the use of ultrasound-guided paracervical nerve block in patients with cervical cancer undergoing intracavitary brachytherapy: A randomized controlled trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To determine the safety and effectiveness of ultrasound-guided paracervical nerve blocks for the painless treatment of patients with cervical cancer post-implantation.

DESIGN

Single-center randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University (July 2023 to October 2023).

TRIAL NUMBER

ChiCTR2300071580 [https://clin.larvol.com/trial-detail/ChiCTR2300071580].

PATIENTS

Eighty patients with cervical cancer underwent post-implantation treatment.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients receiving and not receiving paracervical nerve blocks (Groups T and C, respectively) were randomly allocated.

MEASUREMENTS

Primary measures included visual analog scale (VAS) scores and patient body movement scores at various stages, including vaginal speculum placement (T1), applicator/needle insertion (T2), treatment administration following connection of the treatment tube (T3), needle withdrawal and hemostasis (T4), and willingness to receive further treatment. The secondary observation indices in this study included the operation time, incidence of hypoxemia, occurrence of nausea and vomiting, adverse events related to the circulatory system, patient satisfaction score, operator satisfaction score, and operation duration required by patients with an Alderte score of ≥ 9.

MAIN RESULTS

Forty patients each were randomly allocated into Groups T and C. The VAS scores did not differ significantly between the two groups at T1. However, at T3 and T4, the VAS scores of Group T was significantly lower than that of Group C. No significant difference was observed in the body movement scores between the two groups at T1 and T3. However, the body movement score of Group T was significantly lower than that of Group C (P < 0.001) at T2 and T4. Group T showed higher postoperative satisfaction and willingness to receive further treatment compared to that of Group C.

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrasound-guided paracervical nerve block effectively reduced the pain scores in patients with cervical cancer undergoing post-implantation treatment and enhanced their inclination to undergo further treatment.