Caracterización de la población que consulta por epistaxis al servicio de Otorrinolaringología del Hospital Universitario Mayor

Abstract

Background: Epistaxis is one of the main reasons for emergency consultations in the Otolaryngology department. Most episodes originate in the anterior nasal septum and their management tends to be conservative. Aim: Characterize the population that consults by epistaxis to the Otolaryngology department of the Hospital Universitario Mayor Méderi (HUM) between March 2017 and February 2018. Methods: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, with retrospective data collection of patients admitted to the emergency department of the HUM by epistaxis, registered in the database of the Otolaryngology department. Demographic data, location of bleeding, treatment, comorbidities, drugs and blood pressure were analyzed. Results: A total of 587 patients, 57% women with an average of 66 years +/- 16.15 years. The most frequent comorbidity was arterial hypertension (60%) and 26% of the patients presented blood pressure levels >140/90 mmHg. In pharmacological history, 64.9% belonged to the group of antihypertensives and 37.6% to antiplatelet agents. The location of the bleeds was anterior (> Cottle area II). The main treatment was the anterior nasal gauze packing (36.4%), followed by silver nitrate cauterization (36.1%). Conclusions: In the HUM, patients who consult for epistaxis are middle-aged and elderly adults, with anterior localization of nasal bleeding, which only required medical management. Other studies are required to determine the most effective treatment modality according to the severity of epistaxis.