title: Patterns of hospital admission with epistaxis for 26,725 patients over an 18-year period in Wales, UK.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epistaxis is the one of the most common otorhinolaryngology emergencies. This study examined the age and sex distribution of all patients admitted with epistaxis to National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in Wales, UK, over a period of 18 years and 9 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Patient Episode Database for Wales was examined for all patient admissions with a diagnosis of epistaxis between April 1991 and December 2009. The age and sex of these patients was recorded and the proportion of the underlying population affected was calculated by comparing admission rates  to the population data derived from the 1991 and 2001 national population censuses for Wales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 26,725 patients were admitted to NHS hospitals in Wales with epistaxis over the period studied. The proportion of the population admitted with epistaxis increased from the  age of 40 onwards. For all ages except patients in the 10-14 years group, a higher proportion of the male population was admitted with epistaxis than the comparable female population. This discrepancy was most pronounced between the ages of 15 and 49 years, with the female-to-male ratio  of hospital admissions with epistaxis being 0.55. These ages (15 and 49 years) approximate the average age of menarche and menopause respectively in the UK.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women of menstrual age have fewer hospital admissions with epistaxis. This may be due to oestrogens providing protection  to the nasal vasculature (as they do to other areas of the vascular tree).
authors.affiliation: Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, UK, Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XW, UK. samfishpool@gmail.com
authors.forename: S J C
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Fishpool
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tomkinson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004844:Epistaxis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult