Dienogest Therapy as a Treatment for Catamenial Pneumothorax: Case Report and Review of Hormonal Options

Abstract Background Catamenial pneumothorax is a rare but serious condition for women of reproductive age. We describe a trial of dienogest as hormonal therapy for catamenial pneumothorax and review the literature on hormonal suppressive therapy for this condition. Case A 39-year-old female, gravida 0 para 0, presented with recurrent pneumothoraces coinciding with her menses. After surgical therapy, she was started on leuprolide acetate injections for 6 months to reduce recurrence. To reduce long-term side effects of leuprolide acetate, the patient was started on dienogest 4 mg orally once daily instead of leuprolide acetate for hormonal suppression and experienced resolution of recurrent pneumothoraces. Conclusion For women with recurrent catamenial pneumothorax, dienogest may be an effective hormonal treatment option and alternative to long-term GnRH agonist therapy for long-term suppression.