Heavy menstrual bleeding and its detection in clinical practice

Abstract

Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is defined as excessive menstrual blood loss that interferes with quality of life. It is an under-diagnosed and under-treated disorder due to the poor correlation between patient perception and objective menstrual blood loss, as well as the scarcity of validated diagnostic tools. Anaemia caused by HMB is a common problem, underestimated on many occasions and with consequences that go beyond the scope of gynaecology. Despite the condition's negative effect on quality of life, most of the tools validated to detect HBM do not take this into account. The aim of this paper is to review the main instruments available to detect HMB, their advantages and disadvantages, their applicability in routine clinical practice, and to recommend those with the best characteristics.

Keywords: Abnormal uterine bleeding; Anaemia; Anemia; Calidad de vida; Cribado; Cuestionario; Heavy menstrual bleeding; Quality of life; Questionnaire; Sangrado menstrual abundante; Sangrado uterino anormal; Screening.