Study objective: The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the effectiveness of norethisterone (NET) in the management of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) in adolescents in a tertiary care center.
Design: This was a prospective audit focused on administering high doses of NET in female adolescents with complaints of AUB.
Setting: We included female adolescents who presented to our Emergency Gynecological Department or Adolescent Gynecological Outpatient Department from October 2016 to January 2019.
Participants: The study included 29 female adolescents aged 11-17 (mean, 13.14) years.
Interventions: Patients were administered a daily dose of 10-30 mg, depending on the severity of the condition, bleeding duration, and patient weight.
Main outcome measures: Cessation of vaginal bleeding.
Results: Mean age at menarche of our patient sample was 11.4 years (range, 10.7-14 years). AUB presented at a mean time of 24.6 months after menarche (range, 0-79 months). Blood transfusion was deemed necessary in 9 patients. Bleeding stopped at a mean of 46.1 (range, 8-120) hours after onset of treatment with NET. No serious adverse events were reported with NET administration, with only 3 cases of minor side effects.
Conclusion: The use of NET is an effective and reliable treatment option among adolescents for whom control of AUB is desired in the acute setting.
Keywords: AUB; Abnormal uterine bleeding; Adolescents; Heavy menstrual bleeding; Norethisterone.
Copyright © 2019 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.