Associated Clinical Parameters of Pain in Patients Undergoing Trans Rectal Ultrasonography of the Prostate

The study objective was to determine the way in which patients encounter pain, and to distinguish the clinical parameters impacting pain by transrectal ultrasonography (TRU) of the prostate.
Patients and Medical records for men receiving prostate TRU from November 2015 to April 2016 were acquired from the database. Patients underwent a detail review of medical history as well as physical evaluation. All the relevant variables were associated to visual analog scale (VAS) by using multivariate regression analysis.
Independent factors for TRU associated pain were identified using multivariate regression analysis. The analysis demonstrated that sagittal length of the prostate was the continuous variable impacting pain level. Patients who received explanation for the process of the test in detail promptly before the examination and had prior TRU experience were found to be in negative association with the pain score; while, hemorrhoids (external), prior anal surgery, and stool artifact were in positive association with the pain score.
Despite the fact that TRU of the prostate is uncomfortable for patients, after identification of pain affecting factors, healthcare providers could help reduce the patients’ pain through the procedure, thereby providing better quality exams.