title: Predictors of clinical response in hirsute women treated with spironolactone.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the clinical efficacy of low dose spironolactone in hirsute women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outpatient endocrinology clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred nine consecutive women prescribed 75 to 100 mg/d spironolactone for at least 4 months in whom adequate follow-up data were available.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hirsutism improved in 72% of the women. Women with regular menses, whether or not they used oral contraceptives (OCs), had the highest response rate to spironolactone (78%), whereas women with irregular menses who did not use an OC had the lowest response rate (55%). Favorable responses were associated with increased severity of hirsutism (P = 0.04) and lower serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels (P = 0.05). Responders and nonresponders did not differ significantly in age (P = 0.10), duration of hirsutism (P = 0.14), pretreatment serum testosterone (T) (P = 0.48), or body mass index (P = 0.11). However, when each parameter was divided into subsets, trends toward decreasing response were observed with increasing age, duration of hirsutism over 15 years, and increasing serum T level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low-dose spironolactone improves hirsutism in a majority of hirsute women, irrespective of age, severity or duration of hirsutism, menstrual status, or serum hormone levels.
authors.affiliation: Camp Hill Medical Centre, Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Crosby
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Rittmaster
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003276:Contraceptives, Oral; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D005260:Female; D006628:Hirsutism / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D009839:Oligomenorrhea / Q000503:physiopathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013148:Spironolactone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003276:Contraceptives, Oral; D013148:Spironolactone; D013739:Testosterone; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate