Offering patients a two-cent baby wipe ahead of a genital examination may be a simple way to lift patient satisfaction, results of a US pilot study suggest.

Patients randomised to being given a scented baby wipe before a genital examination rated their satisfaction with the appointment more favourably than those not offered a wipe.

Researchers, led by Dr Neelam Vashi, an associate professor of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine, said that prior to his study, little was known about patient satisfaction of the genital exam.

“Despite its prevalence, the exam is associated with feelings of embarrassment and discomfort,” Dr Vashi and colleagues wrote in a research letter in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.