
Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Dysfunctional uterine bleeding laboratory findings
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Women afflicted with dysfunctional uterine bleeding commonly present with CBC changes, particularly changes in red blood cells. Significant laboratory findings may include coagulation profile changes, hormonal levels as well as biomedical markers to detect underlying malignancies.
Laboratory Findings
Laboratory Findings
A pregnancy test should be done to rule out pregnancy related complications leading to dysfunctional uterine bleeding by testing for human chorionic gonadotropin.[1]
CBC[2]
- RBC: Iron deficiency anemia may be seen; Microcytic, hypochromic anemia with central pallor and target like cells

Iron deficiency anemia; PMID: 28846348 - WBC: leukocytosis: normal
- Platelets: changes in platelet count may be seen if coagulopathy is the underlying cause
- Platelets: changes in platelet count may be seen if coagulopathy is the underlying cause
- PT, aPTT and bleeding time vary depending on the underlying coagulopathy
- Normal labs indicate a lack of bleeding disorders as the underlying cause of DUB
- Clotting factor assays
- No significant changes
Genitourinary Tests
- TSH
- Prolactin
- Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S)
- Testosterone
- Estradiol
- Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
- Luteinizing hormone (LH)
- Serum progesterone
Biomedical Markers[5]
Markers may be helpful in diagnosing an underlying endometrial malignancy. These include:
- Carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA 125)
- Estrogen and progesterone receptor expression
- Presence of mutations (e.g., PTEN, TP53)
- E-cadherin (CDH1)
- Neural cell adhesion molecule L1 (L1CAM)
References
References
- ↑ “StatPearls”.  ( ). 2022:  . PMID 30422508.
- ↑ “StatPearls”.  ( ). 2022:  . PMID 30422508.
- ↑ “StatPearls”. 2022. PMID 32491756 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Whitaker L, Critchley HO (2016). “Abnormal uterine bleeding”. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 34 ( ): 54–65. doi:10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2015.11.012. PMC 4970656. PMID 26803558.
- ↑ “StatPearls”.  ( ). 2022:  . PMID 32965984 Check
|pmid=value (help).
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Arooj Naz, M.B.B.S, Vishnu Vardhan Serla M.B.B.S. [2]
