[The comparative study of the effectiveness and safety of various nasal packing techniques in the patients suffering...

The objective of the present study was to improve the methods for mechanical nasal bleeding (NB) control. To this effect, the authors undertook a prospective comparative study of the effectiveness and safety of two mechanical techniques for nasal tamponade in the patients suffering from nasal bleeding. A total of 48 patients with NB and concomitant arterial hypertension were recruited for the study. In 20 of them, nasal bleeding was arrested with the help of an Epistop-3 three-balloon silicone catheter; in the remaining 28 patients, the gauze packs were used for the purpose. The conditions of the nasal cavity were assessed on the day when the pack was removed and during the next three days by the endoscopic technique and calculation of the mucociliary transport (MCT) time. The subjective assessment of the quality of life by the patients was taken into consideration. The study revealed no relapses of NB in the first group while hyperemia, oedema of nasal cavity mucosa, fibrinous pellicles and crusts were less manifested than in the control patients; moreover, the function of ciliated epithelium and the patients' quality of life were less affected (p<0.05). In the control group, recurrent NB episodes occurred in 42.9% of the patients. It is concluded that the application of the Epistop-3 catheter reduces duration of the rehabilitation period in the patients with NB. The device is fairly well tolerated by the patients; it is less injurious to the intranasal mucous membrane than the gauze pack.