NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system, which is often used to treat menorrhagia in women with normal coagulation, has now been found to be useful for menorrhagia in women with inherited bleeding disorders.
In a prospective pilot study at the Royal Free Hospital in London, Dr. C.E.C. Kingman and colleagues placed the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system in 13 women with von Willebrand’s disease, 2 with factor XI deficiency, and 1 with Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. All of the women had either subjective or objective menorrhagia and all had failed previous attempts at medical management.
According to the report, published in the December issue of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “All 16 women reported at 3 and 9 months that their periods were much better.”
“At nine months, no women had any days of the month when their periods significantly affected their life and none reported any side effects,” the investigators add.
The patients in this pilot study all had mild to moderate factor deficiencies, the authors note. “It would be interesting to see if this treatment is as effective in those with severe factor deficiencies.”
BJOG: 2004;111:1425-1428.
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