QUALITY-OF-LIFE AND PATIENT SATISFACTION FOLLOWING TREATMENT FOR MENORRHAGIA

This prospective cohort study of patients who consulted general practi tioners complaining of excessive menstrual bleeding measured changes i n quality of life and patients' satisfaction following different forms of treatment for menorrhagia. Three hundred and forty-eight patients were followed-up for 18 months using self-completion questionnaires wh ich included generic measurements of health-related quality of life (S F-36) and a disease-specific questionnaire to measure the social impac t of menstrual symptoms. Only 15 patients (4%) received no active trea tment, 132 (38%) underwent surgical treatment (hysterectomy or endomet rical resection), and the remainder were prescribed drugs. Those in th e surgical group with both moderate and severe symptoms experienced si gnificant improvements in their quality of life. Patients with moderat e symptoms who did not undergo surgery improved in the social function ing and energy dimensions of the SF-36, but those with severe symptoms who received drug treatment only experienced no dissatisified with th eir treatment (21%) than those in the surgical group (5%). Since menor rhagia can have adverse effects on many aspects of a patient's daily l ife, it is important to measure the effects of treatment on quality of life. This study has demonstrated the feasibility of doing so.