PBAC (Pictorial Blood Loss Assessment Chart)
Pictorial Blood Assessment Chart (Higham 1990): counts of lightly/moderately/heavily soiled pads and tampons plus small and large clots give a score where > 100 predicts heavy menstrual bleeding (~ > 80 mL).
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Lightly stained pads
- 0
- Moderately stained pads
- 4
- Soaked pads
- 5
- Lightly stained tampons
- 0
- Moderately stained tampons
- 0
- Soaked tampons
- 0
- Small clots
- 0
- Large clots
- 2
Result: PBAC score 130 — heavy menstrual bleeding likely (> 100, ~ > 80 mL).
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- <= 100
- Not in the heavy range.
- > 100
- Heavy menstrual bleeding likely (~ > 80 mL). Weighted tally of pads, tampons, and clots. A semiquantitative tally, not a treatment order.
What you enter
- Lightly stained pads
- Moderately stained pads
- Soaked pads
- Lightly stained tampons
- Moderately stained tampons
- Soaked tampons
- Small clots
- Large clots
How this is calculated
Higham JM, O’Brien PMS, Shaw RW. Assessment of menstrual blood loss using a pictorial chart. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1990;97(8):734-739. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.