Procedural anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and procedure-related pain during EGD and colonoscopy
Objectives Although sedatives and analgesic drugs defuse anxiety and relieve pain, digestive endoscopy still is uncomfortable and painful for some patients. Identifying patients who tolerate digestive endoscopy less well remains difficult. The present study evaluated the relations between procedural anxiety, catastrophizing thoughts, and pain, using a prospective design and multimodal assessments of pain. Methods A total of 118 consecutive patients were assessed for procedural anxiety before endoscopy. During endoscopy, a doctor rated the patients' pain behavior.