Abstract

Menstrual bleeding that falls outside the range of normal in adolescents is often a cause of great concern for both girls and their families. Often, much of this anxiety can be alleviated with proper anticipatory guidance about menarche and early menstrual bleeding patterns. Eliciting a menstrual history from an adolescent girl is challenging, and the use of concrete methods to chart their patterns and flow, such as menstrual calendars and pictorial bleeding assessment calendar (PBAC) tools, may be helpful. The importance of obtaining a confidential history from the adolescent girl cannot be overestimated. A confidential sexual history is essential so that pregnancy and infectious causes of bleeding are addressed. Not all menstrual bleeding in young girls is attributable to immaturity of the HPO axis. Anovulation and DUB from other clinically relevant conditions in adolescent girls must also be considered. Chief among these is PCOS, which should always be ruled out when a girl presents with excessive bleeding associated with clinical signs of hyperandrogenism, obesity, or insulin resistance. Attention must also be paid to signs or a family history of a bleeding disorder, as vWD is commonly associated with excessive uterine bleeding. Importantly, the laboratory testing for both PCOS and vWD is affected by therapies for the excessive bleeding, and it should be performed before hormonal interventions or blood products are administered or during the placebo phase if treatment has begun. Management goals for excessive uterine bleeding include stabilizing the endometrium and stopping further blood loss, as well as preventing future uncontrolled blood loss. Hormonal stabilization of the endometrium is often helpful regardless of the cause of bleeding and especially in those with hormonally mediated anovulation. New antifibrinolytics, such as tranexamic acid, may also be helpful in the emergent setting and in adolescents with bleeding disorders.