Emergency Department Management of Vaginal Bleeding in the Nonpregnant Patient
August 2013 Emergency Department Volume 15, Number 8 Management Of Vaginal Author Joelle Borhart, MD Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Georgetown Bleeding In The Nonpregnant University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Washington Hospital and Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC Patient Peer Reviewers Lauren M. Post, MD, FACEP Abstract Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, Newburgh, NY and Overlook Medical Center, Summit NJ Abnormal uterine bleeding is the most common reason women Leslie V. Simon, DO, FACEP, FAAEM seek gynecologic care, and many of these women present to an Assistant Residency Director, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville, emergency department for evaluation. It is essential that emer- Jacksonville, FL gency clinicians have a thorough understanding of the underly- CME Objectives ing physiology of the menstrual cycle to appropriately manage a nonpregnant woman with abnormal bleeding. Evidence to Upon completion of this article, you should be able to: 1. Discuss common and serious causes of vaginal bleeding guide the management of nonpregnant patients with abnormal in prepubertal children, nonpregnant adolescents, and bleeding is limited, and recommendations are based mostly on women. expert opinion. This issue reviews common causes of abnormal 2. Describe the ED approach to both the unstable and stable nonpregnant patient with vaginal bleeding. bleeding, including anovulatory, ovulatory, and structural causes 3. Select the common treatments of acute abnormal vaginal in both stable and unstable patients. The approach to abnormal bleeding in nonpregnant patients. bleeding in the prepubertal girl is also discussed. Emergency 4. Discuss the disposition and follow-up needs of the clinicians are encouraged to initiate treatment to temporize an nonpregnant patient with vaginal bleeding.
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