Effectiveness of a Single Education and Counseling Intervention in Reducing Anxiety in Women Undergoing Hysterosalpingography: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract EN

Hysterosalpingography (HSG) is generally considered a stressful and painful procedure; we aimed to evaluate whether a single education and counseling intervention could reduce women’s distress and pain after undergoing HSG for infertility.

Patients were randomized into control group (n=108) and intervention group (n=109).

All patients filled the following questionnaires before and after HSG: Zung self-rating anxiety scale (Z-SAS), Zung self-rating depression scale (Z-SDS), and an ad hoc questionnaire designed to evaluate HSG procedure knowledge.

Pain was scored using a visual analog scale.

The intervention consisted in a 45-minute individualised session 48 h before HSG.

We observed a reduction of anxiety and depression scores in the intervention arm compared to the control group.

After controlling for potential confounding variables, intervention was an independent predictor of the difference of Z-SAS score before and after HSG.

This is the first randomised controlled trial to assess the potential effectiveness of a single education and counseling intervention to lower anxiety in a diagnostic setting.