Dysfunctional uterine bleeding

The diagnosis of DUB is made by the exclusion of organic disease as a cause of the abnormal menses; the condition accounts for about 80% of cases of menorrhagia. Of these, over 80% will have no abnormality of the hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian axis, and it is likely that the disorder is the result of local endometrial factors. There appears to be not only a preponderance of vasodilatory prostaglandins in the endometrium of women with menorrhagia, but also an excessive increase in fibrinolytic activity within the uterine cavity. Once a diagnosis has been reached with the aid of history, examination, haematological and endocrine investigations, and dilatation and curettage when appropriate, medical treatment is the usual first line approach. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as mefenamic acid, or antifibrinolytic agents such as tranexamic or epsilon aminocaproic acids, will reduce blood loss by between 25 and 50%. Though the former drugs are relatively free from side-effects in healthy women, intracranial thrombosis has been reported with the latter (Agnelli et al, 1982). Medications which suppress ovarian function, such as danazol or gonadotrophin releasing hormone analogues, are highly effective in lessening, or inhibiting, menstrual loss, but at the expense of side-effects and convenience respectively. The combined contraceptive pill may reduce blood loss by 50% but is not appropriate for older women. Cyclical gestagens such as norethisterone have been widely employed, particularly for the treatment of anovulatory cycles, but their place in the management of ovulatory DUB is less clear. If medical treatment fails hysterectomy should be considered, though less invasive surgical methods of endometrial ablation are being developed. Finally, it should be remembered that in the absence of associated signs or symptoms of iron-deficiency anaemia, heavy menstrual bleeding is a subjective complaint and up to 50% of women describing menorrhagia will have a measured monthly blood loss within normal limits.