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How painful are amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling?
Author(s) -
Csaba Akos,
Bush Melissa C.,
Saphier Carl
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/pd.1323
Subject(s) - chorionic villus sampling , amniocentesis , medicine , anxiety , obstetrics , chorionic villi , pregnancy , prenatal diagnosis , anesthesia , fetus , psychiatry , biology , genetics
Objectives To compare the levels of pain and anxiety associated with amniocentesis (AC), transabdominal chorionic villus sampling (TA‐CVS), and transcervical chorionic villus sampling (TC‐CVS). Methods We prospectively administered a questionnaire about pain and anxiety to 124 women undergoing AC, 40 undergoing TA‐CVS, and 24 undergoing TC‐CVS for singleton pregnancies. The level of pain was quantified with numerical and pictorial scales and the degree of anxiety was quantified with a numerical scale (0–100 in increments of 10). Results The mean pain score for TA‐CVS, 41.4 ± 18.1, was significantly higher than that for TC‐CVS, 26.4 ± 25.3, p = 0.008. The mean pain score for AC, 35.1 ± 27.6, was intermediate. A higher degree of anxiety was associated with younger maternal age and nulliparity. A higher degree of anxiety was associated with a higher level of pain. Conclusion In general, each procedure is associated with a tolerable amount of pain. TA‐CVS appears to be the most painful procedure while TC‐CVS appears to be the least painful procedure. In certain groups of patients, the procedures may be associated with higher levels of pain and/or anxiety. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.