ACOG report provides recommendations on HT: document designed to help readers 'synthesize what's out there in terms of clinical trials related to' HT.(Gynecology)

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued a new report with evidence-based clinical recommendations in an effort to simplify the increasingly complex task of counseling patients about hormone therapy.

The Hormone Therapy Report, an encyclopedic catalog of the evidence on topics ranging from herbal remedies for hot flashes to the use of estrogen for the treatment of depression and low libido, was issued as a supplement to the October issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Cynthia A. Stuenkel, M.D., one of 21 national experts who comprised the ACOG task force that developed the report, said in an interview that the task force sought to develop a "user-friendly review for practitioners to help them really synthesize what's out there in terms of clinical trials related to hormone therapy."

"It also serves as a good platform to help practitioners understand new data as it comes out," said Dr. Stuenkel, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.

This is important at a time when patients and their physicians are reevaluating the pros and cons of HT, she said.

After findings of the landmark Women's Health Initiative showed that the risks of HT outweighed the benefits, about 65% of women using HT discontinued treatment. More recent data suggest a return to what task force chair Isaac Schiff, M.D., called in a written statement "a more appropriate balance."

About 25% of those women who discontinued treatment are once again using HT because it offers the best relief of symptoms, he said.