EFFICACY OF MEFENAMIC-ACID IN PATIENTS WITH A COMPLAINT OF MENORRHAGIA

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  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 58  (5) , 543-551
Abstract
Sixty-nine patients with a convincing history of menorrhagia completed a 4-cycle double-blind randomized placebo-controlled crossover trial of mefenamic acid [inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis] taken during menstruation. Only 30 of these patients demonstrated objective menorrhagia with a measured menstrual loss > 80 ml during the placebo cycles, but the remainder reported passing clots and/or using 2 pads at a time. Fourteen of these women (20%) had a loss of < 35 ml while taking placebos. This raises serious questions about the establishment of menorrhagia based on history alone. Overall, there was a mean reduction of 28. in menstural blood loss between placebo and mefenamic acid cycles (P < 0.001). The greatest reduction recorded was 80%, and most of the large percentage reductions were seen in patients with high loss during placebo cycles. Significant reductions in blood loss (P < 0.001) were seen in patients with ovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding and menorrhagia that developed after tubal interruption. There was also an indication based on small sample sizes that mefenamic acid reduced blood loss in women with anovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding, fibroids, intrauterine devices and von Willebrand disease. No reduction was seen during the fefenamic acid cycle in the group with a loss of < 35 ml during the placebo cycle. There was a significant shortening of duration of bleeding (P < .003). Fifteen patients (21.7%) experienced no objective reduction in blood loss.