Coagulation disorders as the cause of menorrhagia in adolescents.

This study was undertaken to assess the frequency of coagulation disorders as a cause of menorrhagia in adolescents. A retrospective chart review was conducted of all adolescents with menorrhagia admitted to the Adolescent Unit of Ihsan Doğramaci Childrens Hospital of Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey from May 1999 to April 2002. 47 admissions for menorrhagia were identified, 44 were dysfunctional uterine bleeding due to anovulation, while a primary coagulation disorder was found in three patients. Two had Von Willebrand disease and one factor 11 deficiency. We suggest that pediatricians, gynecologists and other adolescent health care providers should be aware of the primary coagulopathy as a cause of menorrhagia in adolescence.