Evaluation of uterine blood loss with bleeding and visual analog scales

Abstract

Measurements of uterine blood loss are important when comparing treatments for prolonged and excessive bleeding. We tested two methods of quantifying uterine blood loss in 110 women (age &gte;18 yrs) who were evaluated for uterine bleeding: a new bleeding scale and a visual analog scale. The bleeding scale measured the amount of flow from none to prolonged, excessive, and disabling. Data were analyzed by covariance, stepwise regression analysis, and factor analysis. Patient and physician visual analog scales were highly correlated. The patients rated themselves higher (worse) by 2 mm. The bleeding scale was more correlated with the physician scale than with the patient scale. The amount of flow most heavily weighted the visual scale, and clot size and activity most heavily weighted the bleeding scale. Duration of flow and anemia affected summary scores.