A review of Non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments of Hemorrhoid in pregnancy

Hemorrhoid is one of the most common problems in pregnancy, especially in the second and third trimesters. In the absence of timely treatment and proper follow-up, the problem leads to a chronic disease that can impose harmful effects on the individual, the family and the society. Considering the high prevalence of this problem among pregnant women and failure to review the new advocacy, especially pharmacological and aggressive methods over the past 12 years, this study was performed with to review a variety of non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments of hemorrhoids in pregnancy and their effectiveness.

To achieve the aim of the study, databases of PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar, Science Direct, SID and Magiran were searched using English keywords of Hemorrhoid, Haemorrhoid, pregnancy, Pregnant, Medical Treatment, Conservative, Life style, Diet, Nutrition, Surgery, Hemorrhoidectomy and their Persian keywords were searched individually and in combination, from the timeframe covered until October 2019.

There are several methods to treat hemorrhoids during pregnancy, but many of these methods are based on the results of clinical trials on the general population of patients with this condition, so, due to the lack of sufficient and powerful clinical studies on the application of some methods and the prohibition or caution of using some other methods during pregnancy, deciding about the choice of treatment depends on the condition of each patient and considering the criteria such as: gestational age, the severity and degree of sustainability of symptoms as well observing the hierarchy of treatment from conservative and non-invasive approach toward aggressive methods.

There are various methods for the treatment of hemorrhoids, but sufficient and robust studies to confirm the efficacy and safety of these methods to the specific population of pregnant women are limited.