JABFM
HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Rapid Responses: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Marsden, J. S.
Right arrow Articles by Clements, T. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Marsden, J. S.
Right arrow Articles by Clements, T. L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice 17:240-246 (2004)
© 2004 American Board of Family Practice

Guaifenesin as a Treatment for Primary Dysmenorrhea

Jennifer S. Marsden, MD, Charlene D. Strickland, BSN, RN and MAJ Tina L. Clements, AN, USA

From the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Darnall Army Community Hospital, Fort Hood, Texas (TLC), and the Fort Hood Chapter, American Red Cross (JSM, CDS)

Correspondence: Address correspondence to Jennifer S. Marsden, MD, 16 Trenchard Road, Andover, Hampshire SP11 8HB, UK (E-mail: skydoc21{at}yahoo.com)

Background: Dysmenorrhea is highly prevalent and causes much work loss and discomfort. A treatment with a new mechanism of action could benefit women of menstruating age. A study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of guaifenesin as a treatment for primary dysmenorrhea because of its effects of cervical dilation and cervical mucous thinning.

Methods: Thirty-four subjects with primary dysmenorrhea were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Three treatment surveys measured 10 symptoms (lower abdominal pain, general abdominal pain, back pain, headache, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, menstrual flow, weakness, and activities of daily living) on a 100-mm visual analog scale. Nonstudy analgesic use was also measured.

Results: Twenty-five subjects returned the first treatment survey, and 17 returned all 3 surveys. Results were nonsignificant, but guaifenesin trended toward being better than placebo for dysmenorrhea pain and associated constitutional symptoms and caused no worsening of symptoms. Lower abdominal mean pain scores from the first survey decreased 38 mm for guaifenesin versus 7 mm for placebo. By the third survey, only 2 of 8 guaifenesin participants took nonstudy analgesics compared with all 9 placebo subjects.

Conclusions: Guaifenesin may be useful in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea. A larger study is needed to validate these initial findings.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?




HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2004 by the American Board of Family Medicine.