Comparing recurrence between cautery techniques in pediatric epistaxis.

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Pediatric Medicine
• Medical Devices

Background:

• Epistaxis, or nosebleeds, is a common condition in children.
• Current treatments include silver nitrate (SN) and electrocautery (EC).
• Understanding recurrence rates is crucial for effective pediatric epistaxis management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the risk of recurrent epistaxis in children treated with SN versus EC.
• To analyze the time to recurrence for both SN and EC treatments.
• To evaluate complication rates associated with each treatment modality.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of pediatric patients (aged 2-18) diagnosed with epistaxis in 2018.
• Comparison of recurrence rates and time to recurrence between SN and EC groups.
• Cox's proportional hazard regression used to analyze predictors of recurrence.

Main Results:

• A significantly higher risk of epistaxis recurrence was observed with SN compared to EC (HR 2.45, P < 0.0001).
• Median time to recurrence was not statistically different between SN and EC treatments.
• Low complication rates were reported for both SN (1.16%) and EC (0%) treatments.

Conclusions:

• Silver nitrate (SN) treatment for pediatric epistaxis is associated with a significantly higher risk of recurrence compared to electrocautery (EC).
• The time interval to recurrent nosebleeds does not significantly differ between SN and EC cauterization techniques.
• Both SN and EC demonstrate low complication rates, but EC may offer a lower risk of recurrence.