A quick-look summary of the British Menopause Society’s recent guideline for managing unscheduled bleeding on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is now on offer from GIRFT, supporting clinical decision-making and helping to ensure women receive the right care.
GIRFT was among the contributors to the BMS’s detailed guidance on management of unscheduled bleeding on hormone replacement therapy, which was published earlier this year.
GIRFT has now worked to produce a summary of the BMS’s 47-page guideline, condensing the recommendations, tables and useful links into a seven-page summary format for clinicians.
HRT was prescribed to 1.9 million women in the UK in 2021/2022 – a 35% increase from 2020/2021. Over the past decade, prescriptions have increased annually for women aged 50 or over.
HRT has clear benefits in terms of quality of life, but unscheduled bleeding is a typical issue for post-menopausal women who use it and can discourage them from continuing or starting on HRT.
Increased prescribing has resulted in more referrals of women with unscheduled bleeding to gynaecological services, impacting on service capacity and increased anxiety for women awaiting assessment.
The aim of both the BMS guideline and the GIRFT summary is to manage more women on an appropriate, evidence-based pathway to ensure they are seen within recommended timeframes, and to increase patient safety and satisfaction.
“The BMS guideline is an invaluable resource for the assessment of women on HRT presenting with unscheduled bleeding, supporting decisions around when and how to investigate and for assessing the risks of endometrial cancer. We hope our quick-look summary will ensure more clinicians use this resource, placing women on the appropriate pathway and making sure they get the right care at the right time.”
