Clinico-Aetiological Profile of Adult Epistaxis-Three Years’ Experience at a Tertiary Care Centre

Abstract

Introduction

Epistaxis is the commonest otorhinolaryngological emergency affecting upto 60% of population. The aetiology of epistaxis can be local or systemic. Often it may be difficult to categorize the epistaxis and no clear cause is found; then it is labelled as idiopathic.

Materials and Methods

It was a prospective observational study. All the patients of both gender, age ≥18 years with epistaxis without obvious cause coming to the ENT OPD/ Emergency were included in the study. The patient's vitals were recorded and hemodynamical stability was established first. All patients of epistaxis underwent thorough clinical examination and proper history was taken. Measures to stop bleeding included nasal packing, electro/chemical cautery of local area or ligation of sphenopalatine vessels etc. Efforts were made to establish a primal relationship of adult epistaxis with various factors.

Results

There were 97 patients in the study. Male to female ratio was 5.7:1. Majority were above 40 years. The commonest factor associated with epistaxis was Hypertension(38%) followed by idiopathic(21%). Anterior nasal bleeding was present in 71% patients whereas posterior nasal bleeding was there in 29% patients. Non-surgical measures like nasal packing and cauterization were the main intervention methods. Duration of hospital stay was more than 3 days in 73% patients.

Conclusion

Hypertension, blood thinners and trauma were the most common risk factors among the patients in whom aetiology was found although in 21% of the patients, aetiology could not be found. Most cases were successfully managed with conservative (non-surgical) treatment.