Prevention and Management of Iron Deficiency/Iron-Deficiency Anemia in Women: An Asian Expert Consensus.

The lack of standardized clinical practice impeding the optimal management of iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in women is a global concern, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. The aim of this study was to determine best practices through a Delphi consensus process. In Round 1, panelists were asked to rate their level of agreement with 99 statements across four domains: identification, diagnosis and assessment, prevention, and treatment of ID/IDA in women. In Round 2, panelists reappraised their ratings in view of the collective feedback and responses to Round 1. After two rounds, consensus (≥85% agreement) was reached for 84% of the Delphi statements. Experts agreed on the role of presenting symptoms and risk factors in prompting assessments of anemia and iron status in women. Experts repeatedly called for prevention, recommending preventive iron supplementation for pregnant women irrespective of anemia prevalence levels, and for non-pregnant adult women, adolescent girls, and perimenopausal women living in areas with a high prevalence of anemia. Experts unanimously agreed to prescribing oral ferrous iron as first-line therapy for uncomplicated ID/IDA. The recommendations and clinical pathway algorithms generated should be used to inform clinical practice and standardize the care of women at risk or presenting with ID/IDA in the Asia-Pacific region.

Thermal balloon endometrial ablation in dysfunctional uterine bleeding.

INTRODUCTION: Dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB) affects a large number of women in the reproductive and perimenopausal age group. It significantly impairs the quality of life in otherwise healthy women. There are many different techniques for the conservative management of DUB. Medical management, LNG-IUD, hysteroscopic resection and various global ablation techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We did a retrospective analysis of 156 women with dysfunctional uterine bleeding who had completed childbearing and who underwent uterine balloon ablation therapy using the Thermachoice device. Majority of the women (72%) were done using short general anesthesia while in the others sedation or local anesthesia was used. RESULTS: 49% women had amenorrhea while 41 % had oligomenorhoea or eumenorrhoea. 90% were satisfied with the procedure. There were no major complications during this study. CONCLUSIONS: Thermal balloon endometrial ablation is a simple, safe and effective technique for the permanent treatment of DUB in well selected cases.