ABSTRACT
Purpose
In adolescents, concrete thinking may present as avoidance of an immediate, painful
or uncomfortable experience despite long-term benefits, which may affect contraceptive
choice. In this pilot study, we sought to better understand the pain that adolescents
and young adults experience during contraceptive implant insertion.
Materials and Methods
In this cohort study, we surveyed 30 adolescents and young adults at their implant
insertion visit about pre-procedure anxiety and pain experienced during lidocaine
injection and Nexplanon™ placement.
Results
The average pre-procedure anxiety (Visual Analog Scale−Anxiety) score was 40 ± 29
mm. The average pain reported during lidocaine injection was 19 ± 21 mm and 6 ± 11
mm for implant insertion. Pre-procedure anxiety was not associated with pain during
lidocaine injection (P = .61) or implant placement (P = .85).
Conclusion
Pain scores were low with both lidocaine injection and implant placement. Pre-procedure
anxiety did not predict pain during lidocaine or implant placement. Patients considering
an implant should be reassured by these data.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 27, 2021
Accepted:
January 18,
2021
Received in revised form:
December 2,
2020
Received:
September 23,
2020
Footnotes
The authors of this paper have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
