Emergency Department Evaluation of Abnormal Uterine Bleeding in US Children's Hospitals

To assess initial evaluation patterns of patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) including differences by race DESIGN: Retrospective multicenter cohort study from October 2015 through September 2020 SETTING: Forty-seven children's hospitals submitting data to the Pediatric Health Information System PARTICIPANTS: Female patients aged 8-21 with an ED encounter with AUB as the primary diagnosis code INTERVENTIONS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of visits with at least 1 laboratory assessment for the evaluation of anemia, iron deficiency, and/or hemostatic disorders RESULTS: We identified 17,759 unique patients with AUB seen in the ED who met inclusion criteria. Median age was 16.3 years (IQR, 14.1-17.8 years). Most encounters (n = 11,576, 65.2%) included evaluation for anemia, but only 6.8% (n = 1,215) included assessment for iron deficiency and 26.2% (n = 4,654) for hemostatic disorders. Black patients accounted for 34.7% (n = 6,155) of AUB encounters yet constituted only 25% of all ED encounters (n = 198,192). Black patients with AUB were less likely to undergo bleeding disorder evaluation (OR = 0.76; 95% CI, 0.69-0.83) but more likely to receive evaluation for sexually transmitted infections (OR = 1.63; 95% CI, 1.48-1.80) compared with White patients, despite controlling for age and concomitant pain.

In a national cohort of adolescents presenting to the ED with AUB, evaluations for anemia and hemostatic disorders were infrequently performed, and racial differences existed regarding initial assessment. Further studies are needed to understand the factors underlying racial differences in hematologic testing and the impact of this disparity on health outcomes for females with AUB.