Menopause Part II: Hormone-Replacement Therapy

Today we’re talking on menopause once more with Dr. Renee Eger, assistant professor and clinician educator at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. We spend the second half of our menopause series reviewing HRT and the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI).

You can read more about the WHI here. The study really is two study methodologies in one: there were up to three randomized-controlled trial arms, and an observational arm. The components concerning HRT are dealt with through one of the RCTs.

The RCT dealing with HRT enrolled women into one of three arms: a placebo, an estrogen-only arm in patients without a uterus, or and estrogen-progesterone combination in patients with a uterus. The study was halted at 5.2 years in the E-P arm due to an increase in coronary heart disease, breast cancer, VTE, and stroke, which outweighed a benefit noted in colorectal cancer and fracture risk. The E-alone arm was stopped at 6.8 years average follow up, when the risk of heart disease was found not to be different than placebo.

Subsequent studies, including the Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study (HERS) have demonstrated at least that E-P and E should not be used for primary or secondary prevention of coronary disease, and thus HRT should not be prescribed for these indications. However, many benefits are particularly pronounced in younger patients using HRT. Thus, the position of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) reads (emphasis ours):

“For women aged younger than 60 years or who are within 10 years of menopause onset and have no contraindications, the benefit-risk ratio is most favorable for treatment of bothersome VMS and for those at elevated risk for bone loss or fracture.

”For women who initiate HT more than 10 or 20 years from menopause onset or are aged 60 years or older, the benefit-risk ratio appears less favorable because of the greater absolute risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, venous thromboembolism, and dementia.

”Longer durations of therapy should be for documented indications such as persistent VMS or bone loss, with shared decision making and periodic reevaluation. For bothersome GSM symptoms not relieved with over-the-counter therapies and without indications for use of systemic HT, low-dose vaginal estrogen therapy or other therapies are recommended.”

How should you prescribe HRT or other medications to relieve VMS? Below is a summary from ACOG PB 141. Check out CO 565 and CO 556 as well if you are really interested in the topic!

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Menopause Part I: Diagnosis and Non-Hormonal Therapies

Today’s episode features Dr. Renee Eger! Dr. Eger is an Assistant Professor at the Warren Alpert Brown University SOM, and is a North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Certified Menopause Practitioner. She is talking with us this week and next about menopause.

The ACOG PB 141 on Management of Menopausal Symptoms is an excellent resource for all therapies in use for menopausal symptoms. We’ll cover some additional resources for hormonal therapy on next week’s episode. The high yield points for today include:

-Menopause is the cessation of menses for 1 year. The average age of onset in the US is 51.
-Lifestyle modifications are first-line therapy for both vasomotor symptoms of menopause (VMS) and genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GUSM), formerly known as vulvovaginal atrophy.
-Paroxetine 7.5mg daily (Paxil) is the only FDA-approved non-hormonal pharmacologic treatment for VMS.

Perioperative Care and Optimization for GYN Patients

Today we’re featuring a special guest on the Podcast! Dr. Lauren Stewart is a current PGY-6 in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery here at Brown / Women and Infants. Lauren has special interest in perioperative care strategies in GYN, and has published a two-part series on the subject in “Topics in Obstetrics and Gynecology.”

It is a venti episode - a bit longer, but chock full of useful information!

While we can’t share Lauren’s articles directly due to paywall restrictions, you can find them here if your institution has a subscription: Part 1 and Part 2.

At the beginning of this episode, we discuss a number of systems you can utilize for preoperative evaluation of risk for patients, each with their own sets of pros and cons:
American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) Physical Status Classification
Revised Cardiac Risk Index (RCRI)
American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Risk Calculator

In addition, ACOG does have some publications that can aide with your perioperative management:
-PB 195 - Preventing Infection after GYN Surgery
-CO 750 - Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS)
-PB 084 - Prevention of DVT/PE

The Caprini score we talk about in the podcast is a common tool for deciding on perioperative mechanical vs. pharmacological DVT prophylaxis, and is the scale recommended in the 2012 CHEST guidelines for VTE prophylaxis in non-orthopedic surgical patients. MD Calc has an excellent appraisal of the evidence as well as an interactive Caprini calculator for your use.

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The Caprini score for VTE prevention in surgical patients

For antibiotic prophylaxis, this table from PB 195 is very handy review for CREOGs:

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ACOG PB 195 - for further review of evidence, see full text.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

Big shout out to Andrey Dolinko, MD, who suggested today’s topic!
ACOG PB 194 is an excellent resource for your studying on PCOS (membership required).

PCOS is a syndrome, diagnosed clinically by at least 2/3 of the Rotterdam criteria:
1. Hyperandrogenism - hirsutism, male pattern baldness.
2. Oligo- or amenorrhea - 3+ months without menses.
3. Polycystic ovaries on ultrasound - 12+ follicles or increased ovarian volume.

In terms of treatment, the big take home message is to understand whether your patient is planning on pregnancy or not. CHCs are the mainstay therapy of patients not desiring pregnancy due to their multimodal method of action - regulation of HPO axis, increased SHBG, and endometrial protection. Also remember metformin (insulin sensitization) and spironolactone, finasteride, or flutamide (anti-androgens) as other adjuncts in patients not desiring pregnancy.

In those desiring pregnancy, oftentimes the complaint will be infertility. While letrozole is now preferred for ovulation induction over clomiphene due to a higher live-birth rate, letrozole does not yet enjoy FDA approval. For the other symptoms of PCOS in patients desiring pregnancy, the first line therapy is lifestyle modification! The literature doesn’t support metformin for ovulation induction, but some may use it for its other benefits prior to pregnancy.

We didn’t discuss laparoscopic ovarian drilling in this episode, but that would be another surgical treatment for PCOS-related infertility.

Diagnosis and Workup of Secondary Amenorrhea

Today's topic will be a follow up of last week: diagnosis and workup of secondary amenorrhea. This will be a broad overview, with much more detail to follow in the future! 

Again, the ASRM guidelines for amenorrhea are a helpful resource for further reading.

Additionally, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has a guideline publication on amenorrhea. While it’s a bit outdated, they do supply a chart that can be a helpful framework for your studying or diagnostic evaluation!

And remember… did you get that pregnancy test yet?