Postmenopausal Bleeding and Changing Bleeding Patterns after Parental Use of Corticosteroids: A Prospective Cohort Study

H.A.R. Klomp, Johannes Maria Gulielmus Cobben, Paul J.Q. van der Linden
In: Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2017 · vol. 07(03) , pp. 326–333 · doi:10.4236/ojog.2017.73034 · W2597638162
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

This prospective cohort study found that postmenopausal bleeding and menstrual cycle disruptions were more common six weeks after women received corticosteroids for pain.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

This prospective cohort study investigated whether a single parental dose of corticosteroids (triamcinolone 40 mg or 80 mg) is associated with postmenopausal bleeding and with changes in previously regular menstrual cycles in 209 women presenting for treatment of joint or musculoskeletal pain. Women completed questionnaires 2 and 6 weeks after injection, and postmenopausal bleeders had medical-record review for endometrial sampling and histopathology when available. Bleeding events were more common 6 weeks after corticosteroid administration, and were sometimes reported as early as 2 weeks; in premenopausal women, 59.7% reported menstrual cycle disturbance at 6 weeks, while in postmenopausal women 10.8% reported vaginal blood loss at 6 weeks (not statistically significant). A major limitation was reliance on self-reported questionnaires and sparse endometrial sampling (only one case had histopathology), limiting assessment of underlying endometrial pathology. The paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

Objective: To study whether there is a relation between the application of corticosteroids and occurrence of postmenopausal bleeding. Also we want to determine whether corticosteroids can cause an irregularity in a previously regular menstruation cycle. Design and Setting: Prospective cohort study in the department of anesthesiology. Patients: 209 women who received a single dosage of corticosteroids as treatment for pain. Interventions: None, observational cohort study; all women received standard care. Main outcome measures: Postmenopausal blood loss or disruption of menstruation cycle. Result: Postmenopausal blood loss or disruption of menstruation cycle were both more common 6 weeks after administration of corticosteroids, but were sometimes also reported 2 weeks after administration of corticosteroids. Conclusion: After administration of corticosteroids in a postmenopausal woman an episode of menstruation like bleeding can be expected. This is probably due to a transient drop of androstenedione. In premenopausal women a transient change in menstruation cycle can be observed.

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