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Treating Menorrhagia in Primary Care: An Overview of Drug Trials and a Survey of Prescribing Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

Angela Coulter ,
Joanne Kelland ,
Viv Peto  and
Margaret C. P. Rees
Angela Coulter
Affiliation:
King's Fund Centre for Health Services Development and University, College London Medical School
Joanne Kelland
Affiliation:
University of Leeds
Viv Peto
Affiliation:
Radcliffe Infirmary
Margaret C. P. Rees
Affiliation:
John Radcliffe Hospital
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Abstract

Menorrhagia can be treated by drug therapy or surgery. General practitioners (GPs) can prescribe drugs to reduce menstrual blood loss as first-line treatment, referring patients for surgical treatment if drug therapy fails. This study examined the efficacy of drugs used to treat menorrhagia and surveyed British GPs to discover the extent to which they prescribed the most effective drugs for this condition. The results suggest that treatment of this condition in primary care falls short of desirable standards. A meta-analysis of randomized trials of drug therapy revealed wide differences in efficacy and side effects. The most effective drug (tranexamic acid) is little used by British GPs, whereas the least effective drug (norethisterone) is the most frequently prescribed.

Type
Special Section: The Rational Use of Therapeutic Drugs
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , Summer 1995 , pp. 456 - 471
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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