Abstract

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to examine seasonal distribution, comorbidities and treatment process in resistant epistaxis (RE) cases requiring hospitalization and to evaluate the etiology of RE and appropriate treatment choices according to the etiology.

METHODS: A total of 11,370 patients (7,114 males, 4,256 females; mean age: 56.7±19.9 years; range, 3 to 95 years) diagnosed with epistaxis by the Ear, Nose and Throat Department between January 2016 and December 2019 were retrospectively screened from the hospital data base. The patients were divided into two groups as RE and simple epistaxis (SE) according to their hospitalization status and the seasonal distribution of the admissions was evaluated. Parameters including age, use of anticoagulants, hypertension, length of stay, treatment methods applied, and requirement of blood transfusion were examined and their relationships with each other were evaluated in the RE group.

RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in the RE rates between seasons (p=0.185). The rate of achieving bleeding control by conservative methods in hypertensive patients was statistically significantly higher (57.4%, p>0.001), while achieving bleeding control by a surgical intervention was statistically significantly lower (10.5%, p=0.01). The rate of achieving bleeding control by anterior and posterior packing in older patients (>51 years) (76.9%, p=0.002) was statistically significantly higher and the rate of achieving blood control by a surgical intervention in younger patients (<51 years) (26.3%, p=0.017) was statistically significantly higher.

CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that seasonal differences do not affect the development of RE and the treatment process, although seasonal differences may play a role in the development of epistaxis. In the light of these data, etiological factors should also be taken into consideration while choosing the treatment method in patients with RE.