A Study for Suggestion of Quantitative Scale for Dysmenorrhea in Clinics

Objectives: Oriental Medicine has thousands years of history. But this era, every medical decision should be based on scientific evidence, that is evidence-based medicine (EBM). This study is to suggest quantitative case report form for dysmenorrhea that can be easily used in clinics. Methods: First, to search published papers in Korea and overseas, OASIS, KISS and NCBI(pubmed) database. Second, to search clinical trials in clinical trial register website, ISRCTN and clinicaltrials.gov. Result: Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) is the most commonly used scale. Conclusion: The main scales for dysmenorrhea are Visual Analogue Scale(VAS), Multidimensional verbal Rating scale(MVRS), pain-killer intake amount and restriction of daily life activities. To measure the effect of herbal medicine, more than 2 menstrual cycle is recommended.