title: Epistaxis: a retrospective review of hospitalized patients.
abstract: A 2-year retrospective study (August 1, 1992, to July 31, 1994) reviews medical records of 249 hospitalized epistaxis patients at seven Baltimore-area hospitals. This review represents the first multihospital study of patients hospitalized with epistaxis. The study evaluates multiple factors associated with epistaxis: demographics, underlying medical diseases, use of anticoagulation medication, site of epistaxis, and month of hospital admission. Blood transfusion requirement, hematocrit level, length of stay, treatment, and local/systemic complications are studied as well. The month of hospital admission was evenly distributed without a wintertime predominance, and the mean length of stay was 4 days. Treatment and outcome were similar in all hospitals, and more than 83% of patients responded to packing, balloon placement, local cautery, or a combination thereof. Of the 249 patients reviewed, 30 underwent surgical endoscopic cautery, 3 required formal surgical arterial ligation, and 1 underwent arterial embolization. All 30 endoscopic cauterizations successfully stopped the epistaxis, and this technique proved to be a useful adjunct for patients who required multiple interventions. The review identified a 3% complication rate of epistaxis and its treatment, including synechiae, aspiration, angina, myocardial infarction, and hypovolemia. No deaths were directly attributable to epistaxis or its treatment.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland 21212, USA.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Pollice
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Yoder
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002404:Catheterization; D002425:Cautery; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004724:Endoscopy; D004844:Epistaxis / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D016896:Treatment Outcome