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Empathy Through Pain Control: Lidocaine Gel vs. Placebo Prior to IUD Placement

Expanding the Use of Paracervical Block for IUD Placements and Adding a Compassionate Care Assessment- Aim 3

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06974032
Acronym
EPIC3
Enrollment
68
Registered
2025-05-15
Start date
2025-06-01
Completion date
2028-06-30
Last updated
2025-05-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Contraception, Pain, Acute, Anesthesia, Local

Brief summary

The goal of this research study is to learn more about how different uses of a numbing medication might affect pain levels while getting an IUD placed. The investigators are also studying patients' opinions of their clinicians' empathy. The investigators are inviting patients who have never given birth who arrive at their clinic visit seeking an IUD. Usually, at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), for patients who have never delivered, clinicians numb both the sides of the cervix with a lidocaine-based paracervical block. The purpose of this research study is to compare perceptions of pain between lidocaine-infused gel and non-medicated gel inserted into the vagina before paracervical block and IUD placement for nulliparous women.

Detailed description

Lidocaine Jelly is a substance that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). At UCSD and other places, it is not currently standard practice for people with prior deliveries birth to receive any sort of vaginal jelly before paracervical block prior to IUD placement. Participants who take part in this study, may receive 6cc of 2% lidocaine gel or 6cc of a non-medicated gel in the vagina before a paracervical block for IUD placement. Throughout the local anesthetic and intrauterine device (IUD) placement procedure, research team members will present participants with questionnaires to complete to assess participants' pain, participants' satisfaction with the procedure, and how much empathy participants feel the clinician has shown.

Interventions

To determine if a 6cc of 2% lidocaine jelly decreases pain of paracervical block injection before IUD placement in nulliparous women

To determine if the placebo gel increases pain of paracervical block injection before IUD placement in nulliparous women

Sponsors

University of California, San Diego
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Caregiver)

Masking description

Participants will not know their group assignment. Clinicians will not know which group the participant is in. The gel will be prepared by another member of the research team.

Intervention model description

Two-armed double-blind, randomized controlled

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. Ability to provide informed consent 2. Women presenting for IUD placement for contraception or heavy menstrual bleeding 3. Ages 18-50 4. English-speaking 5. Participants must not have a past medical history of substance use disorders, pain disorders, use of prescription pain medications or are found to be pregnant 6. Nulliparous (never given birth)

Exclusion criteria

1. History of ever giving birth 2. Current use of prescription pain medication prior to procedure. Over-the-counter medications such as those containing ibuprofen, aspirin, acetaminophen, or naproxen are allowed. 3. Diagnosed chronic pain condition 4. Current pregnancy 5. Known allergic reactions to components of the local anesthetic 6. History of an IUD placement 7. Current substance use or history of substance use 8. Known contraindications to IUD, such as unexplained vaginal bleeding

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pain scores during IUD placement procedureFrom speculum placement to 5 minutes post-procedureDoes 2% lidocaine jelly decrease pain of paracervical block injection before IUD placement procedures among nulliparous women? Pain will be measured on a 10-cm Visual Analog Scale (VAS) with score points ranging from 0-10, where 0 means No pain and 10 means Worst pain possible.
Patient perceptions of clinician empathyFrom pre-procedure baseline to 5 minutes post-procedureWhat is the relationship between pain and feelings about clinician empathy? Empathy will be measured through answers to the 10-question Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) Measure. Each question is answered by a 5-point scale of how well the patient believes their clinician to be at various types of empathetic gestures, where 1 equals poor and 5 equals excellent.

Contacts

Primary ContactMarisa Hildebrand, MPH
mchildeb@health.ucsd.edu(858) 657-8745

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026