Background
Adolescent obesity continues to rise in prevalence and is a risk factor for many etiologies of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), yet comprehensive guidelines on the evaluation and management of HMB in obese adolescents is lacking. This study aims to (1) characterize the prevalence of obesity and menstrual characteristics among adolescents presenting to the emergency department (ED) with HMB, (2) investigate the hemostatic efficacy of norethindrone acetate (NA) relative to IV conjugated estrogen in obese adolescents.
Methods
A retrospective chart review with collection of demographic and clinical data was performed, including all ED encounters (2017-2022, excluding 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic) at three affiliates of a large tertiary children's hospital that utilized an acute HMB clinical pathway. Obesity was defined by BMI equal to or greater than the 85th percentile. Hemostatic efficacy was defined as follows: red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, tranexamic acid (TXA) utilization, and length of stay (LOS) >36 hours. TXA use was a surrogate for poorly controlled HMB at 24 hours; the clinical pathway recommended adding TXA if HMB persisted despite primary hemostatic agent at 24 hours. T tests and chi squared statistics were used to compare continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to predict adjusted odds ratios of outcome variables (NA vs. IV conjugated estrogen) separately among all non-obese and obese individuals.
Results
Between 2017-2022, 402 adolescents were admitted from the ED for HMB with documented BMI measurements. Over half were obese. Obese adolescents disproportionately identified as Black and reported younger onset of menarche. When adjusting for admission hemoglobin, receiving NA alone was associated with significantly decreased odds of RBC transfusion (AOR: 0.265, 95% CI: 0.104-0.674; p=0.005) relative to receiving IV conjugated estrogen among non-obese individuals. When adjusting for platelet levels, receiving NA alone was associated with significantly decreased odds of TXA utilization (AOR: 0.107, 95% CI: 0.013-0.859; p=0.036) among non-obese individuals. However, among obese individuals, we observed no association with odds of transfusion (p=0.267), TXA utilization (p=0.265) or LOS >36 hours (p=0.472) by hemostatic agent.
Conclusions
In the setting of acute HMB, treatment with NA is associated with reduced odds of RBC transfusion and TXA utilization among non-obese but not obese individuals, highlighting the potential disparities in treatment response based on obesity status.