Gynaecology: Bleeding Disorders and Cancer Flashcards
Define Post-Menopausal Bleeding?
Vaginal bleeding occurring at least 12 months after the last menstrual period.
What is PMB presumed to be until proven otherwise?
Endometrial Carcinoma.
Apart from Endometrial Carcinoma, what are some alternative diagnoses for PMB?
- Endometrial hyperplasia (with or without Atypia or Polyps)
- Cervical Carcinoma
- Ovarian Carcinoma
- Atrophic Vaginitis (diagnosis of exclusion)
- Cervicitis
- Cervical polyps
- Foreign bodies e.g. Pessaries
What initial investigations should be performed for a woman presenting with PMB?
- Bimanual examination
- Speculum examination
- Cervical smear (if not already performed through national screening programme)
- Transvaginal USS
What does TVS show?
- Endometrial thickness
- Pelvic pathology e.g. fibroids, ovarian cysts
- Fluid in the endometrial cavity (indicates increased risk of malignancy)
When should a patient with PMB go in for an endometrial biopsy and hysteroscopy?
If…
- Endometrial thickness >4/5mm (depends on the literature) OR
- Multiple episodes of PMB
What management options tend to follow a presentation of PMB?
Generally it’ll be either cancer or atrophic vaginitis…
- Cancer: surgical management options, chemotherapy
- AV: Oestrogen cream
What is the most important thing to check when a patient presents reporting PMB?
Is the bleeding actually coming from the vagina, rather than the urethra or rectum
What are the first and second line treatment options for heavy menstrual bleeding?
- Tranexamic acid, PO
- Merina coil
Why is post menopausal bleeding such a concern?
PM women do not menstruate, therefore any bleeding noticed is pathological.
What questions are important to ask in a PMB history?
- Spotting vs Bleeding vs Flooding
- Any concurrent bladder or bowel problems
- Symptoms of cancer
- RFs for cancer
- Cervical smear history
- HPV vaccine history
- Sexually active/protection
What are the most common risk factors for endometrial cancer?
Non-oestrogen related:
- Smoking
- HTN
- Diabetes
Oestrogen related:
- Obesity
- PCOS Leads to many follicles, leads to high oestrogen levels)
- Tamoxifen (stimulates endometrial hyperplasia)
- Lynch syndrome (genetic mutation which increases risk of bowel and endometrial cancer)
Prolonged Oestrogen exposure:
- Nulliparity
- Early menarche
- Late menopause
What are some causes of PMB?
Vaginal:
- Atrophic vaginitis
- Vulvar cancer
- Lichen sclerosis
Cervical:
- Polyps
- Ectropion
- Cancer
Uterus:
- EM cancer
- EM Hyperplasia
- EM polyp
How would you investigate a women with PMB?
Visualise the vagina and cervix with an external exam + speculum.
Examine the uterus with a TVUSS within 2 weeks (urgent pathway).
What is an Ectropion?
- Condition in which the glandular cells of the inner cervix begin to develop outside of the cervix, which should be squamous cells
- Symptoms: clear vaginal discharge, PCB, IMB
- Area looks red and irritated, can be indistinguishable from cancer so should be investigated
- Causes include: random congenital, hormone related (common in puberty), pregnancy, while on oral contraceptives
What are you looking at in the TVUSS of a woman with PMB?
Endometrial thickness, if greater than 4mm (5 in some hospitals), need hysteroscopy and pipelle biopsy
What would a pipelle biopsy show and how are each managed?
EM Hyperplasia w/o Atypia:
- Treat with progesterone
EM Hyperplasia w/ Atypia:
- Hysterectomy (possibly TAH BSO)
EM adenocarcinoma:
- Requires CT CAP for staging
- Staged using FIGO system
- If advanced refer to TAH BSO
- +/- Removal of lymph nodes depending on metastasis
+/- Radiotherapy +/- Chemotherapy (mostly paliative)
What is a TAH BSO?
Total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.
What is the benefit of TAH BSO over just a hysterectomy?
- Prevents future ovarian cancer + need for intervention
- Prevents development of malignant disease (impossible to tell that early whether or not there are mets in the ovaries).
What are your differentials for Post-Coital Bleeding?
- Infection
- Cancer
- Cervical Ectropion
- Cervical or Endometrial Polyps
- Vaginal atrophic changes
- Sexual abuse or trauma
What are your differentials for Inter-Menstrual Bleeding?
Don’t forget…
- Think of PREGNANCY causes e.g. Ectopic, Gestational Trophoblastic Disease
- Physiological causes (Ovulation, Peri-menopause)
- Medications e.g. SSRIs, anti-coagulants, Tamoxifen, missed COCP
Vaginal causes:
- Adenosis
- Vaginitis
Cervical causes:
- STIs
- Polyps
- Ectropion
Uterine causes:
- Fibroids
- Polyps
- Adenomyosis
- Endometritis
In all cases CANCER
What is the most likely cause of severe cyclical pain?
Endometriosis.
What are the most common causes of Chronic Pelvic Pain?
- PID
- Endometriosis
- Ovarian cyst
What are the differential diagnoses for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding?
Use the Mnemonic; PALM-NOICE
PALM = structural factors:
- Polyps (endometrial or cervical)
- Adenomyosis (look for bulky uterus)
- Leiomyoma (aka Fibroid)
- Malignancy (or hyperplasia)
NOICE = non-structural factors:
- Not classified
- Ovulatory dysfunction (PCOS or Hypothyroidism)
- Iatrogenic
- Coagulopathy
- Endometrial
How is HMB typically managed?
First line:
- Tranexamic acid (esp. if still trying to conceive!), which can cut down bleeding by up to 60%
- Mirena coil.
Alternatively:
- Other hormonal options (POP, implant, Depo, COCP)
- Surgical managements (discussed later)
- GnRH analogues can be used to manage fibroids conservatively
What coagulopathy is most commonly associated with HMB? What history features do you look for?
Von Willebrand’s disease. Look for:
- Heavy bleeding since menarche
- Excessive surgical or dental bleeding
- Bleeding gums
- Easy bruising
- PPH
- Family history
Other coagulopathies linked to HMB include platelet disorders, leukaemia, thrombocytopenia
How is VWD diagnosed?
Von Willebrand antigen, might also look for factor 8 activity
What is considered a normal cycle?
- Length of 24-32 days
- Regularity (although this drops with age)
- N.B: if cycle flits between the normal range e.g. one month is 25 days another is 30, this is still considered regular
- Menstrual blood loss 37-43ml/cycle and mostly in first 48 hours
- However 10% of women lose more than 80ml, 3/4 of whom are anaemic
What factors affect degree of MBL?
- Age, highest in 40s-50s decade
- Genetics
- Parity, more children heavier periods (possibly due to adenomyosis)
What is the difference between menorrhagia and metrorrhagia?
Menorrhagia = HMB
Metrorrhagia = Heavy irregular bleeding
What is Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding?
Heavy menstrual bleeding with no recognisable pelvic pathology, pregnancy or general bleeding disorders
aka Primary Menorrhagia
How do you clinically assess how heavy someone’s periods are?
Difficult, can’t strictly rely on subjective reporting of heaviness (50% of menorrhagia have normal loss).
Best judge is based on:
- Impact on QoL: staying off work, impact on social life, bleeding through clothing, soiling bed, disrupted sleep
- Anaemia!!!
When is a patient with HMB high vs low risk?
Low risk =
- Below 45
- No IMB
- No risk factors for endometrial cancer (e.g. HTN, diabetes, PCOS, fam history, obesity)
High risk =
- Above 45
- Or IMB
- Or risk factors for Endometrial cancer
- Or Suspected pathology
How do the assessment pathways differ between low and high risk HMB patients?
Low risk are deemed to probably not have any serious underlying pathology, therefore only go for:
- History
- Examination
- FBC
- First line treatment
- Follow up
High risk patients could well have something sinister, therefore also get:
- Pelvic USS
- Possibly Hysteroscopy and Biopsy
- THEN get first line treatment
What are the surgical management options for HMB?
Used for specific conditions e.g.
- Polyps= Hysteroscopic removal of polyps (MYOSURE system)
- Fibroids = Myomectomy or Uterine Artery Ablation
- Endometrial Ablation (NOVASURE- only if family complete!!!)
Can also do a Hysterectomy (definitive management)
How can fibroids/fibroid based HMB be managed?
Medically = GnRH analogues (good but tends to only be temporary)
Surgically = Myomectomy or Uterine Artery Embolization
What is the emergency management of HMB?
HMB can be managed in the short term using:
- Norethisterone 5mg PO TDS, up to 7 days
- GnRH analogues can be given monthly as injections to induce temporary medical menopause
- GnRH analogues are good for stopping heavy periods while anaemia is corrected in preparation for another, more surgical intervention e.g. in fibroids.
Define Oligomenorrhoea?
Infrequent periods. Cycle greater than 35 days in length but still under 6 months in length
Define Amenorrhoea and what are the two types?
Primary:
- No menarche by age 16
Secondary:
- Absent periods for at least 3 months if cycles previously regular
- Absent periods for at least 6 months if previously oligomenorrhoea
What are the main causes of Oligomenorrhoea?
- Constitutional
- Anovulation (so PCOS, Thyroid disease, Prolactinoma, CAH)
What are the physiological causes of amenorrhoea?
- Prepubertal
- Pregnancy
- Menopause
What is Cryptomenorrhoea?
- Menses ae occurring but without external blood flow (e.g. due to imperforate hymen, absent vagina)
- Haematocolpos (blood build up in vagina)
- Haematometra (blood build up in uterus)
What are some pathological causes of PRIMARY amenorrhoea?
- Delayed puberty
- Imperforate hymen
- Absent vagina
- Mullerian agenesis
- Turner’s
- PCOS
- CAH
What are some pathological causes of SECONDARY amenorrhoea?
- Pregnancy
- PCOS
- Premature menopause
- Prolactinoma
- Thyroid disease
- Cushing’s
- Eating disorder
- Exercise induced
- Asherman’s
- Sheehan syndrome
How do you distinguish primary and secondary amenorrhoea?
Primary = never had a period
Secondary = No periods in 6 months or 3 cycles
What is Sheehan’s syndrome?
- Massive PPH
- Hypovolaemia
- Under-perfusion of the pituitary
- Becomes non functional
How can you distinguish between infrequent/absent periods caused by the Hypothalamus/Pituitary vs Ovaries vs Uterus
Blood test for FSH and Oestrogen:
- Hypo or Pit causes have low both
- Ovarian causes have high FSH but low oestrogen
- Uterine causes will have normal bloods
How would you investigate a patient with PRIMARY amenorrhoea?
- History and exam
- Check for normal pubertal developments
- Pregnancy test +/- b-hCG
- TSH
- Prolactin
- LH, FSH
- Pelvic USS if FSH normal
What are the differentials in a patient with primary amenorrhoea with LOW FSH?
Caused by lack of stimulation from pituitary:
- Constitutional delay
- Eating disorder
- Exercise induced amenorrhoea
- Stress induced (common in famine or war victims)
- Chronic illness