An update and systematic review on the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea

Primary dysmenorrhea is a painful uterine contraction caused by endometrial laceration. Drug therapies and complementary medicine have been used to treat dysmenorrhea. The aim of this study was to investigate and offer an updated perspective on the treatments for dysmenorrhea. The present study was...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:JBRA assisted reproduction 2019-01, Vol.23 (1), p.51-57
Main Authors: Sharghi, Maedeh, Mansurkhani, Shabnam Malekpour, Larky, Damoon Ashtary, Kooti, Wesam, Niksefat, Mehdi, Firoozbakht, Mohammad, Behzadifar, Masoud, Azami, Milad, Servatyari, Karo, Jouybari, Leila
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absenteeism
Acupressure
Acupuncture
Alternative medicine
Drug dosages
Drug therapy
Evidence-based medicine
Herbal medicine
Infectious diseases
Menstruation
Methods
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Pain
Research centers
Review
Students
Systematic review
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Summary:Primary dysmenorrhea is a painful uterine contraction caused by endometrial laceration. Drug therapies and complementary medicine have been used to treat dysmenorrhea. The aim of this study was to investigate and offer an updated perspective on the treatments for dysmenorrhea. The present study was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA checklist for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The required information was collected based on searches for the following keywords: treatment, primary dysmenorrhea, medicinal plants, chemical drugs, and herbs. Searches were performed on databases Pubmed, Web of Sciences, Scopus, Iran medex, and SID by March 2018 to find literature in the English and Persian languages on this subject without a time limit. This review included 17 papers, 10 of which on complementary medicine, three on drug therapies, and four on acupuncture and acupressure. The largest and smallest samples had 303 and 24 patients, respectively. Length of treatment ranged from one to six months and the measures most commonly used in the studies were the visual analogue scale and clinical efficacy. Reported complications included gastrointestinal events, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and liver and kidney disorders. Medicinal plants, drugs, and acupressure seem to suppress pain by reducing the level of prostaglandins, mediating nitric oxide, increasing beta-endorphin levels, blocking the calcium channel, and enhancing circulatory flow through the uterine pathway. Further trials are required to confirm the benefits of the procedures described and ensure the absence of complications.
ISSN:1518-0557
1517-5693
1518-0557
DOI:10.5935/1518-0557.20180083