Which of the following statements is true regarding menorrhagia?
Heavy and regularly timed episodes of bleeding
Heavy and irregularly timed episodes of bleeding
Amount of bleeding greater than 50 ml
Duration of bleeding greater than 3 days
Menorrhagia is defined as heavy but regular menstrual bleeding. Menorrhagia denotes regularly timed episodes of bleeding that are excessive in amount (>80mL) and/or duration of flow (>7 days) According to the recent update, the term heavy menstrual bleeding has replaced menorrhagia. Hemoglobin concentration below 12 g/dL increase the chance of identifying women with heavy menstrual bleeding. A normal level, however, doesnot exclude heavy menstrual bleeding, as many women with clinically significant bleeding have normal values. All patients should undergo a pelvic examination and, if the menstrual pattern has changed substantially or if anemia is present, a vaginal sonography should be carried out as the most impoant supplemental examination. Vaginal sonography combined with an endometrial biopsy is a reliable method for diagnosing endometrial hyperplasia or carcinoma, but it is insufficient for diagnosing endometrial polyps and fibroids; these can be diagnosed more reliably by sonohysterography or hysteroscopy. Appropriate treatment considerably improves the quality of life of the patients. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and tranexamic acid reduce menstrual blood loss by 20-60% Drug treatment should be used and evaluated before surgical interventions are considered. Ref: Shaw&;s textbook of Gynaecology 17th edition Pgno: 122
Disorders of menstruation