Each week, we identify one top search term, speculate as to what caused its popularity, and provide an infographic on a related condition. If you have thoughts about what's trending and why, share them with us on Twitter or Facebook!
Trending Clinical Topic of the Week (March 23-29): Endometriosis
A review focused on unmet needs and news about a smartphone app resulted in this week's top trending clinical topic. An article by a working group brought together by the Society for Women's Health Research in the United States was recently published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology . It called attention to various problems associated with endometriosis care. For example, the review found that nearly three quarters of women with endometriosis are misdiagnosed. The authors suggest that better, noninvasive clinical tools are needed to help aid earlier diagnosis and avoid these misdiagnoses. However, even when properly diagnosed, 11%-19% of women report no relief from medication, and most treatment options for endometriosis are contraindicated in women who are trying to conceive.
With this in mind, a professor of biomedical informatics at Columbia University has created a smartphone app called Phendo, which is designed to let women track their symptoms and better manage their condition. The app will help provide data for researchers and also creates a record that can help women better advocate for their own treatment. One of the current treatment options involves the use of hormonal contraceptives. A recent systematic review of nine randomized controlled trials and nine observational studies found that combined oral contraceptives resulted in a threefold reduction in dysmenorrhea, significant reduction in menstrual and nonmenstrual pelvic pain, and improved quality of life. Increased attention on this condition is needed in order to improve quality of patient care, which makes the fact that it is this week's top trending clinical topic an encouraging sign.
Read more information on endometriosis.
Medscape © 2019
Cite this: Ryan Syrek. Trending Clinical Topics for March 2019 - Medscape - Mar 29, 2019.
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