A speculum examination should not be performed in a prepubertal child in the office. A young child usually can be examined best in a “frog leg” or “butterﬂy leg” position on the examining table. Some very young girls (toddlers or infants) do best when held in their mother’s arms. Sometimes, the mother can be positioned, clothed, on the examination table (feet in stirrups, head of table elevated) with the child on her lap, the child’s legs straddling her mother’s legs. The knee-chest position may be helpful for the examination (56). The child who is relaxed and warned about touching will usually tolerate the examination satisfactorily. An otoscope can be used to examine the distal vagina if indicated. Two percent lidocaine jelly may be used as a topical anesthetic to facilitate the examination if needed.
Some children who were abused, who had particularly traumatic previous examinations, or who are unable to allow an examination may need to be examined under anesthesia, although a gentle office examination should almost always be attempted first. If the child had bleeding and no obvious cause of bleeding is visible externally or within the distal vagina, an examination under anesthesia is indicated to visualize the vagina and cervix completely. A hysteroscope, cytoscope, or other endoscopic instrument can be used to provide magnification and as a light source for vaginoscopy, which should be performed under anesthesia.
Adolescent Patients A pelvic examination may be less revealing in an adolescent than in an older woman, particularly if it is the patient’s first examination or if it takes place on an emergency basis. An adolescent who presents with excessive bleeding should have a pelvic examination if she had intercourse, if the results of a pregnancy test are positive, if she has abdominal pain, if she is markedly anemic, or if she is bleeding heavily enough to compromise hemodynamic stability. The pelvic examination occasionally may be deferred in young teenagers who have a classic history of irregular cycles soon after menarche, who have normal hematocrit levels, who deny sexual activity, and who will reliably return for follow-up. A pelvic examination may be deferred in adolescents who present to the office requesting oral contraceptives before the initiation of intercourse or at the patient’s request, even if she has had intercourse. Newer testing methods using DNA amplification techniques allow noninvasive urine testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia (57). Current guidelines recommend that cervical cytology testing in most adolescents be initiated at age 21 (58).
Other diagnostic techniques (such as pelvic ultrasound) can substitute for or supplement an inadequate examination. An examination usually is required when there is a question of pelvic pain, genital anomaly, pregnancy-related condition, or possibility of pelvic infection. The keys to a successful examination in an adolescent lie in earning the patient’s trust, explaining the components of her examination, performing only the essential components, and using a very careful and gentle technique. It is helpful to ascertain whether the patient had a previous pelvic examination, how she perceived the experience, and what she heard about a pelvic examination from her mother or friends.
Before a first pelvic examination is performed, a brief explanation of the planned examination (which may or may not need to include a speculum), instruction in relaxation techniques, and the use of lidocaine jelly as a lubricant can be helpful. The patient should be encouraged to participate in the examination by voluntary relaxation of the introital muscles or by using a mirror if she wishes. If significant trauma is suspected or the patient finds the examination too painful and is truly unable to cooperate, an examination under anesthesia may be necessary. The risks of general anesthesia must be weighed against the value of information that would be obtained by the examination.