Abstract

Epistaxis is bleeding from the Nose and Paranasal sinuses and could be a life threatening emergency requiring urgent attention. The aim is to determine the aetiological factors and highlight treatment modalities in a tertiary hospital in Northwestern Nigeria. This was a 12-year retrospective study of all patients managed with epistaxis between January 2000 and December 2011in the otorhinolaryngology department of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto. Ninety-five patients were reviewed, out of which 61 [64%] were males and 34 [36%] were females. Age group 20-29 years had the highest prevalence [21.1%]. The commonest aetiology was hypertension in 24.2% of patients followed by idiopathic 21.1%, rhinosinusitis 20%, trauma 14.7%. Anterior nasal packing was the most common method of treatment [49.5%]. Epistaxis is a common Otorhinolaryngological condition. Hypertension was the commonest cause in this study, with most cases seen in patients’ aged 20 – 29years.

Highlights

  • Epistaxis, which is bleeding from the nose, is a common Otorhinolaryngological condition [1,2,3]

  • Epistaxis has been observed to account for 1 in 200 Emergency Department visits in the United States [6]. It accounted for 1.9% of all ENT cases seen in a tertiary hospital in Sokoto, Northwestern Nigeria over a five-year period1

  • This study describes the clinical pattern of epistaxis observed in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Sokoto from January 2000 to December 2011

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Summary

Introduction

Epistaxis, which is bleeding from the nose, is a common Otorhinolaryngological condition [1,2,3]. Epistaxis has been observed to account for 1 in 200 Emergency Department visits in the United States [6] It accounted for 1.9% of all ENT cases seen in a tertiary hospital in Sokoto, Northwestern Nigeria over a five-year period. The little’s area, which is in the anterior inferior nasal septum, has the kiesselbach plexus formed by the Anterior ethmoidal, Sphenopalatine, Greater palatine and Superior labial arteries [10]. It is a common site of epistaxis. The advent of Hopkins rod telescopes in endoscopic ligation of Sphenopalatine artery has revolutionalised treatment of nasal bleeds with very high success rate [2, 3, 10]

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