For my site visit, I presented an article that studied the treatment options for heavy menstrual bleeding during a pandemic.

Here is a summary of the article:

This article is a Cochrane Review entitled “Interventions commonly available during pandemics for heavy menstrual bleeding: an overview of Cochrane Reviews (Review).” The review was published in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and I found it to be relevant and practical for concerns in OB/GYN today. The main question of the article is “What is the effectiveness and safety of treatments commonly available during pandemics for heavy menstrual bleeding?” This research is important because pandemics can cause major changes in treatment availability and options. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic social distancing between healthcare providers and patients was enforced, as well as limitations on the availability of elective surgery. Therefore pharmacologic treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding are important to explore and understand their safety and efficacy. Four Cochrane Reviews were included in this review, with 55 trials and data from 3947 women in total among them. 

The main results found that antifibrinolytics, such as tranexamic acid, and combined hormonal contraceptives, such as estradiol valerate plus dienogest, are probably effective in reducing heavy menstrual bleeding when compared to placebo. They also found that NSAIDs, such as mefenamic acid or naproxen, may be effective in reducing heavy menstrual bleeding when compared to placebo. Between these options, antifibrinolytics may be more effective than NSAIDs and short-cycle progestogens, but the results were inconclusive when compared to long-cycle progestogens. The secondary outcomes, such as quality of life and women’s satisfaction with their treatment, was difficult to ascertain. The article did note that it is important to advise patients to have a complete assessment when health services become available, as all of these treatment options are associated with side effects. 

Here is the article:

OBGYN-Cochrane-Review