conscious sedation with and without paracervical block for transvaginal ultrasonically guided oocyte collection: a comparison of the pain and sedation levels, and postoperative side effects

background: the quality of intraoperative analgesia with paracervical block (pcb) during egg collection in in-vitro fertilization (ivf) is still unclear. objective: this study performed to compare the pain levels during egg collection and the subsequent intra and postoperative side effects in patients receiving a conscious sedation with and without paracervical block. materials and methods: in this prospective, double-blind, and placebo–controlled study, 60 patients undergoing egg collection in their first ivf cycle were randomized to receive conscious sedation in conjunction with paracervical block with 10 ml lidocaine 1.5% (sedation + pcb patients or study group) or with 10 ml normal saline (sedation patients or placebo group). results: patients in study group experienced significantly less vaginal (10.40±8.40 mm vs 20.77±4.60 mm respectively; p<0.0005) and abdominal pain (10.87±5.08 mm vs 35.33±4.27 mm respectively; p<0.0005) during egg collection, compared with those in placebo group. propofol requirements was 8.67±2.42 mg in pcb patients vs 25.60±5.29 mg in placebo group (p<0.0005). incidence of intraoperative (9.90% vs 50% respectively; p=0.002) and postoperative (3.33% vs 56.66% respectively; p<0.0005) side effects were significantly less in study patients compared with placebo group. conclusion: conscious sedation with pcb appears to be an effective and safe method of providing analgesia and anesthesia for transvaginal retrieval of oocyte.