Audit of Patients of Epistaxis: Treatment Modalities and Relation with Blood Groups

Background: Epistaxsis in one of the common condition faced in emergency. Objective: To evaluate the pattern of epistaxis, treatment, modalities and relation of epistaxis with blood groups. Patients and Methods: This retrospective the study was conducted at department of Ear, Nose, Throat, Head & Neck Surgery, Sheikh Zayed Medical College/Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan st st from 1 January to 31 December 2010. Patients with spontaneous severe epistaxis who require hospitalization for control were included in this study and those who were with obvious cause like trauma, rhinolith, foreign bodies, granulomatous condition, tumours, blood dyscrasia and age below one year were excluded from this study. Data regarding age, gender, mode of presentation, under lying cause, blood groups and treatment modalities of consecutive 160 admitted cases of epistaxis was collected and analyzed by manual method and with the help of SPSS version 19. Sixty patients were excluded from this study because of blood dyscrasia, granulumatous disease and tumours. Trauma was not included in this study. To determine the association of blood grouping with opistaxsis 100 controls were also included in the study. Results: Hypertension above 50 years was the most common cause. It was more common in male patients (72%) as compared to in female. Sixty patients (60%) were above 50 years, twenty (20%) patients were in between (30 to 49) years, nine patients (9%) were in between (10 to 29) years and seven patients (7%) were in between (01 to 09) years of age. Hypertension was observed in sixty (60 %) patients, chronic rhino sinusitis in twenty (20%). Eighty five patients (85%) were managed by anterior nasal pack and in fifteen patients (15%) posterior nasal packing was done. Blood group (O) distribution was present in (47%), while in control group it was 38%. Conclusion: In adult admitted patients, hypertension was the major cause when trauma, granulomatous disease and blood dyscrasia was excluded. Anterior nasal packing is still valuable in control of epistaxis. Patients with blood group O was found in majority of patients of epistaxis.