Making Use of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for Haemorrhoidal Disease in Clinical Practice: A Perspective

“Debido a la perda masiva de sangre, ya no podía funcionar normalmente. No, me atrevía an ir a ningún lado, ni a una fiesta, ni al partido de fútbol de mi hijo. (...) mi vida sexual, sí creo que es difícil, por el colgajo que sale de mi ano”

Haemorrhoidal disease (HD) is a recurring problem that is known to considerably hamper the patient’s quality of life, showing prevalence rates of up to 44% within the general population

Symptoms of a disease may be interpreted differently by the patient who experiences them than the clinician who observes them. Specifically in a proctological disease like HD, where patients may feel shame or embarrassment, safeguarding an open conversation is crucial.

Nowadays, patients' experiences can be assessed using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) which provide a deeper understanding of the disease, allowing the clinician to obtain information directly from patients.

The patient’s perspective is vital for clinical decision-making. Systematic assessment of patient-reported outcomes using PROMs provides a thorough understanding of the symptom burden and experienced health of patients and can inform a tailored clinical HD treatment.

Over the last years, several PROMs for HD have been developed. In 2015, the Sodergren score of Pucher et al. was created based on a scoring system developed by Nyström et al which contained five symptoms: pain, pruritus, prolapse, bleeding, and soiling.

Daflon 1000 is effective in reducing pain, pruritus, and bleeding while halting the disease progression.

Click here to learn more about PROMs and their application in clinical decision-making in HD.