Use of Centchroman (Saheli) in conservative management of Menorrhagia: Our experience

• Author Details:   
• SK Chawla
• Atul Bucha
• Archana Sethi
• NS Puar
• Vivek Paliwal

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Introduction: One of the commonest disorder encountered in gynecological practice is menorrhagia which accounts for about 12–23% of the outpatient department consultations and is also an indication for hysterectomy in about 21–36% of cases.
Objectives: To bring out the beneficial effects of a commonly used contraceptive Centchroman (Saheli) in the medical management of menorrhagia.
Materials and Method: 100 women between the ages of 25 - 50 years with complaints of menorrhagia were investigated and managed with centchroman and the results analysed in the form of decrease in amount of bleeding, pattern of bleeding, endometrial thickness.
Results: Out of the 100 patients 68 patients were in pre menopausal age group. Almost all the patients registered a rise in hemoglobin levels at the end of study after treatment with centchroman. The duration of the cycles increased in 80% of the patients and the amount of bleeding reduced significantly. 17% patients did not benefit from Centchroman, out of these 10 patients underwent hysterectomy and 07 patients were reverted back to Norethisterone for better control of bleeding during the cycle.
Conclusion: Centchroman (SERM), a non-steroidal, non-hormonal agent was found effective in reducing menstrual blood loss in patients with menorrhagia. It was found to be an excellent drug in controlling the systems of abnormal uterine bleeding without effecting normal endocrinal and physiological parameters.

Keywords: Menorrhagia, SERMs (Selective estrogen receptor modulators), Centchroman, Estrogen receptors, Norethisterone, PBAC (Pictorial Blood loss Assessment chart).