Interventions to decrease pain and anxiety in patients undergoing urodynamic testing: A randomized controlled trial

To determine if music (at 60 beats/min) or watching a pre-procedure educational video decreases pain and anxiety in women undergoing multichannel urodynamic testing compared to usual care.

Women undergoing multichannel urodynamic testing at a tertiary care center were randomized to one of three groups: usual care (UC), music (M), in which music was played throughout the urodynamic test, or video (V), in which subjects watched an informational video on the procedure prior to undergoing the test. Visual analog scales (VAS) were used to measure patient's pain and anxiety before and after the test. Demographic information was obtained and five-item Likert questionnaires were given to assess information seeking behavior, preparedness, embarrassment, and privacy.

98 subjects were included in this analysis. In the overall group, mean perceived pain on the pre-test VAS was significantly higher than the post-test VAS with pre-test mean (SD) 47(±30) and post-test mean (SD) 26(±23), P = 0.0001. Overall the anxiety pre-test VAS was significantly greater than post-test VAS with pre-test mean (SD) 46.9(±29) and post-test mean 17.9(±18), P = 0.0001. There were no differences in pain and anxiety scores between the two intervention groups and usual care. Patients who were randomized to usual care or the video arm felt more prepared for the test compared to patients who were randomized to the music arm, with (mean ± SD): usual care (42 ± 8), video (43 ± 9), music (37 ± 11), P = 0.002.

Music and an educational video do not decrease pain or anxiety in subjects undergoing multichannel urodynamics compared to usual care. Neurourol. Urodynam. 35:975-979, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.