Less pain perceived in transrectal ultrasound of prostate using microconvex transducer as compared to biplaned linear transducer

Objective: Evaluate the difference in the subjective pain of using different probes for transrectal ultrasound of prostate. Materials and Methods: From July 2014 to December 2014, patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) of prostate were randomly divided into two groups and using two different probes. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to evaluate subjective perception of pain in these patients. Results: A significant difference was found in VAS between the two groups. The patient felt less pain during TRUS examination when using a microconvex transducer. Additionally, patients with external hemorrhoid, longer prostate sagittal length, image artifacts caused by stool, and deeper probe insertion depth were all found to be associated with more pain. The usage of a microconvex transducer can help reduce pain for patients with external hemorrhoids, whereas there was no difference in pain perception when the patient had previous rectal surgery or image artifacts caused by stool. Conclusion: We identified the factors of pain associated with TRUS. The microconvex transducer caused less TRUS-associated pain as compared to using a biplaned linear transducer.