A Review on Premenstural Syndrome

This activity is a review of the existing literature on premenstrual syndrome (PMS). It summarizes the management of PMS by outlining the importance of taking a comprehensive history and performing a detailed physical examination and makes a note of necessary diagnostic tests to be done to rule out other conditions that may present with similar symptoms, A woman has premenstrual syndrome (PMS) if she complains of recurrent psychological and/or physical symptoms occurring during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and often resolving by the end of menstruation. Symptom severity can vary between women. Premenstrual symptoms occur in 95% of women of reproductive age. Severe, debilitating symptoms occur in about 5% of those women. There is no consensus on how symptom severity should be assessed for PMS, which has led to the use of a wide variety of symptom scores and scales, thus making it difficult to synthesise data on treatment efficacy. The cyclical nature of the condition also makes it difficult to conduct RCTs.