Comparative study on levonorgestrel intrauterine system and oral progestogen in women with heavy menstrual bleeding in terms of efficacy, user satisfaction and quality of life using MMAS score

Background: To compare the efficacy, safety and user satisfaction of levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) with oral progestogen in medical management of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB).Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 80 women with HMB in age group of 35-55 years. Patients were divided into two groups of 40 each and followed for six months. In Group I, LNG-IUS was inserted in post menstrual period and in Group II, patients received oral norethisterone 5 mg twice a day during 5th-25th day of cycle for 6 months. Patients were evaluated about amount and duration of blood loss by pictorial blood assessment chart (PBAC) along with haemoglobin estimation on each follow up visit. MMAS (Menorrhagia Multi-Attribute Scale) score comparison between two groups was done to measure the improvement in quality of life. The results were analysed by using Chi-square test and Student t-test.Results: Percentage reduction in PBAC score after six cycles of treatment was 89.3% in LNG IUS group as compared to 68% in norethisterone group. LNG-IUS was found to be more efficient in correcting anemia, lowering duration of bleeding and improving MMAS score as compared to norethisterone.Conclusions: Present study showed that LNG IUS was superior to oral progestogen in decreasing quantity and duration of bleeding and improving overall quality of life over time.

Serodiagnosis of dengue during an outbreak at a tertiary care hospital in Delhi.

Dengue, an important human arboviral infection, is endemic in many parts of India. Outbreaks are now reported quite frequently from different parts of the country. We report here findings of serological investigation of serum samples received during a recent outbreak of dengue infection in Delhi from September to November 2003. Acute phase serum samples from suspected cases of dengue infection (including dengue fever, dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome) of duration 5 days, were tested for dengue specific IgM antibodies by enzyme linked immuno sorbant assay (ELISA). Of the 874 serum samples tested, 456 (52.3% ) were positive for dengue specific IgM antibodies. The maximum number of positive cases was reported in October, peaking in second and third week. Patients in the age group of 21-30 yr accounted for 34.2 per cent of positive cases. This outbreak was less severe as compared to the previous 1996 outbreak and showed a shift towards an older age group.