Epistaxis in Sagamu

Abstract

Epistaxis is a common nasal complaint with varied aetiologies. Physicians need to know the characteristics of epistaxis in their area of practice in order to give the best amongst the various treatment options.The aimof this studywas to analyze the causes,management and outcome of epistaxis in Sagamu This is an analysis of the patients who had epistaxis and were managed in the Ear, Nose and Throat department of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu, Ogun state between July 2003 and June 2007. Therewere seventy-nine patients¸M:F ratiowas 1.3:1. Therewere two peak age groups between 1- 10 and 31-40, with a mean age of 34.8 years. Anterior epistaxis was present in 60.8%, 11.4% had posterior, 5.1% had combined anterior and posterior,while the location of the bleeding could not be ascertained in 22.8% of the patients. The leading causes noted were idiopathic 29.1%%, road traffic accidents 24.1%, sinonasal and nasopharyngeal malignancies 22.8%. 77.3% of the patients had their epistaxis controlled with nasal packs, with 72.2% of the nasal bleeds being well controlledwithout complications. 2.5% of the patients had recurrent epistaxis and 1.3% died. The trend of epistaxis in our study is in agreement with that found in previous studies. Nasal packingswere effectivemethods of treatment.

Keywords: Epistaxis,Nasal packing, Sagamu,Treatment.