Risk Factors and Management for Epistaxis in a Hospitalized Adult Sample

Epistaxis is a common otolaryngologic problem that affects most of the general population. Common risk factors for epistaxis include nasal irritants, nasal/facial oxygen use, certain systemic conditions (e.g., hypertension and coagulopathies) and medication use (e.g., anticoagulants and intranasal medications). This study examined risk factors for and management of epistaxis in patients admitted for other medical conditions who developed an episode of epistaxis during their hospital admission.

Patients were included in the study if they were older than 18, admitted for medical illnesses other than epistaxis and developed an episode of epistaxis during their admission during calendar year 2020 at the authors' institution's hospitals. Electronic health record data regarding sociodemographic characteristics, common risk factors (e.g. oxygen use, anticoagulant use, history of hypertension) and treatment for epistaxis (e.g. holding anticoagulation therapy, administration of oxymetazoline, nasal cautery, nasal packing) were extracted from each chart. Patients were split into otolaryngologic treatment versus no treatment groups and risk factors were compared between sample subgroups.

A total of 143 sample patients were included, with most common reason for admission being cardiovascular related, 48 (33.6%). Most patients, 104 (72.7%), did not have a previous diagnosis of epistaxis, were positive for anticoagulant use, 106 (74.1%) and were positive for hypertension, 95 (66.4%). Oxygen use showed a significantly decreased risk for intervention (OR 0.45, 95% CI: 0.23-0.894; p = 0.028). Most patients required changes in medical management (e.g., holding anticoagulation or starting nasal saline sprays/emollients).

These results demonstrate the common risk factors for epistaxis in patients admitted for other clinical diseases. Identifying at-risk patients for epistaxis at hospital admission can help to initiate measures to prevent epistaxis episodes. Future studies are needed to study epistaxis risk factors and identify effective preventative measures for epistaxis among hospital populations.