Entonox as an alternative method of pain relief for IUCD insertion.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The introduction and use of Entonox as an alternative method of pain relief for intrauterine contraception device insertions.
IRAS ID
177871
Contact name
Theofanis Fotis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Brighton
Eudract number
2015-003628-29
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
REGC-15-035.R1, This is a small scale study for an acedemic award
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
Intrauterine contraceptives (IUC’s) are methods of long acting reversible contraception that provide a safe, reliable and cost effective option to prevent unintended pregnancy. For the majority of women undergoing intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) insertion, the level of pain experienced is comparable to menstrual pain, and many women will choose to have IUCD insertion without pain relief. However fear of pain at insertion is widely believed to be a deterrent to this method of contraception and a small percentage of women do experience severe pain.
Common methods of pain relief for this procedure include cervical primers (medication to soften the cervix), local anaesthetic (LA) in the form of a gel applied to the cervix or an injection into the cervix, and oral pain relief, but there is a general lack of available data looking at the efficacy of these methods and no conclusive evidence that any one method provides effective pain management.
Whilst there is no published evidence of the effectiveness of Entonox® (Gas and Air) in contraceptive services, it is widely used for the relief of procedural pain and pain of short duration, it works within 2-3 minutes of inhalation with rapid recovery from its effects, it has few contraindications or drug interactions and it can help to reduce anxiety and pain. It is self- administered and regulated, is easy to use and administration enables the user to be more in control of their pain relief and management.
This randomised controlled trial, comparing Entonox® to intracervical local anaesthetic (LA) injection is to evaluate if Entonox® could be of benefit in reducing the level of pain experienced by some women during IUCD insertion.REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1556
Date of REC Opinion
2 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion