Evaluation of Stress Hormone Levels, Preoperative Anxiety, and Information Needs before and after Hysteroscopy under Local Anesthesia in Relation to Transvaginal Procedures under General, Short-Term Anesthesia

Background: Hysteroscopy is currently the gold-standard procedure in the evaluation of the uterine cavity and treatment of intrauterine lesions as it is minimally invasive and has high diagnostic efficiency. According to previous observations, many patients are afraid of minimally invasive procedures performed under general anesthesia. They are also afraid of procedures that, according to them, may be associated with pain. To address this issue, in this study, the levels of stress and anxiety, and biochemical parameters indicating the hormonal response in terms of the stress response in hysteroscopic procedures under local anesthesia were compared with those of traditional surgical procedures and uterine cavity curettage procedures under general, short-term anesthesia. Methods: This study included 184 participants: 153 women undergoing diagnostic or operative mini-hysteroscopy procedures with the use of a hysteroscope of a reduced diameter under local, paracervical anesthesia without the participation of an anesthesiologist, and 31 women undergoing hysteroscopy or uterine cavity curettage under general, intravenous, short-term anesthesia with the participation of an anesthesiologist. To determine cortisol and prolactin levels using electrochemiluminescence, blood was collected from the patients on the day of admission to the hospital, i.e., the day of surgery, in the morning, while fasting. An original survey questionnaire, the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were used as research tools. The questionnaires were completed by the patients themselves 60 min before the surgery. Results: APAIS: no significant differences in anxiety and information demand scores were observed between the study groups. Anxiety before surgery was significantly higher than that before anesthesia in both groups. Similarly, information demand for surgery was significantly higher than that for anesthesia in both groups. VAS: no significant differences in anxiety and stress scores were observed between the groups. No significant differences in prolactin and cortisol levels were observed between the groups. Conclusions: It can be concluded that it is necessary to apply the interventions that reduce the anxiety of the patients and inform patients about the planned course of the procedure, since higher levels of anxiety before the procedure result in a significant increase in procedure duration, which in turn can increase the pain experienced by the patients