Vaginal bleeding in young children.

To evaluate prospectively vaginal bleeding in young children with emphasis on the cause, management and outcome, we analyzed the data of all children aged under 10 years old who presented with vaginal bleeding at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital between 1981 and 2000. There were 55 girls presenting with vaginal bleeding with variable degrees of severity. In 41 of the 55 girls (74.5%), the bleeding resulted from a local lesion of the genital tract. Genital tumors were seen in four girls, ie hemangioma of the vulva, sarcoma botryoides of the vagina, functional ovarian cyst and granulosa cell tumor of the ovary. In the remaining 14 girls (25.5%), the bleeding originated from systemic hormonal etiology. In one girl with precocious puberty, it was associated with hypothyroidism, whereas in the other six girls it was due to constitutional causes. In addition, the cause of bleeding in 10 girls was the vaginal manifestation of leeches, which is a unique problem for Thailand. Although vaginal bleeding in young children is rare, it can be an alarming clinical presentation, and serious underlying causes should be excluded. Prompt and correct diagnosis will lead to successful management.