Etiological Profile and Treatment Outcome of Epistaxis at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Rural Setup: a Prospective Review of 90 Cases

Aim Epistaxis is the commonest ENT emergency come to our hospital in emergency. There is paucity of published data regarding the management of epistaxis in India, especially the rural area. This study was conducted to describe the etiological factor and management of epistaxis a tertiary care hospital in UPRIMS & R, Saifai, Uttarpradesh. Methods This was a prospective descriptive study of the cases of epistaxis managed in our hospital from March 2014 to May 2015. The study was proceeding only after the approval of institute ethical committee. Results A total of 90 patients with epistaxis were studied. Males (74.44 %) were affected more than the females (25.55 %). The commonest age group was 31-40 (45.55 %) years. The commonest cause of epistaxis was trauma (52.22 %) followed by idiopathic (26.66 %). Observation alone (44.4 %) and anterior nasal packing (41.1 %) were the main intervention methods in 85.5 % of cases. Non-Surgical measures include electric and chemical cauterisation under endoscope is preferred. Arterial ligation and endovascular embolization were not performed. No Complications are seen in our study. Conclusion Trauma due to road traffic accidents (RTA) remains the most common etiological factor for epistaxis in our setting. Most cases were successfully managed only with conservative (non-surgical) treatment and surgical intervention done only in the last resort. Reducing the incidence of trauma from RTA will reduce the incidence of emergency epistaxis in our institute