Heavy menstrual bleeding is a fear amongst women and something they would rather never talk about due to the personal nature of it. Now for the first time there is a non-hormonal and non surgical treatment for women who have heavy menstrual bleeding. A new oral formula of tranexamic acid has been proven to have good safety and tolerance profile. Studies were taken on tranexamic acid efficacy versus placebo to see which one had a greater reduction in menstrual blood loss.
196 adult women aged from 18-49 were randomly selected to be a part of this study. Each woman had heavy menstrual bleeding with a blood loss at 80 mL per cycle. The women were chosen to receive tranexamic acid and placebo for 6 menstrual cycles. The women were prohibited to take medications such as aspirin, anticoagulants, and aminocaproic acid. They were permitted medications such as acetaminophen, analgeric opioids, iron and vitamins.
Compared to the placebo group, the tranexamic acid proudly showed significant improvements in limitations in social, leisure, and physical activity. Inclusion criteria were 3 consecutive days of heavy menstrual bleeding for about 4 the last 6 menstrual periods.
There were normal results on pelvic examination, no cervical cytology abnormalities, regular menstrual periods up to 10 days and cycles of 21 – 35 days. The tranexamic acid group had more menstrual discomfort or cramps, headaches, and back pain. Doctors are still unsure of the after effects after a patient has stopped using the medication. Also, there were no changes in blood pressure.
End results showed the placebo group had a significant reduction in mean blood loss. Reduction of at least 50 mL of blood loss occurred in more cycles of tranexamis group as well as blood loss was less than 80 mL in more cycles in tranexanic.