Utilization of Prophylactic Antibiotics After Nasal Packing for Epistaxis

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Otolaryngology

Background:

• Limited research exists on prophylactic antibiotic use with nasal packing for epistaxis.
• The emergency department is a key setting for studying epistaxis management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utilization rates of prophylactic antibiotics in nasal packing for epistaxis.
• To determine the evidence of benefit or harm associated with prophylactic antibiotics in this context.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 275 anterior nasal packing cases in an urban emergency department.
• Data collected from September 2013 to April 2017.
• Chi-square statistical analysis employed for result evaluation.

Main Results:

• No cases of toxic shock syndrome were observed.
• Approximately 73% of patients with nonabsorbable packing received prophylactic antibiotics.
• No statistically significant difference in acute sinusitis rates between antibiotic prophylaxis and no prophylaxis groups (1% vs. 0.56%).

Conclusions:

• Prophylactic antibiotics showed no discernible advantage or disadvantage for anterior nasal packing in the emergency department.
• Antibiotic prophylaxis use did not significantly impact sinusitis rates, irrespective of packing type.
• Nonabsorbable nasal packing correlated with a higher likelihood of receiving antibiotic prophylaxis.