Duration of effectiveness of coblation for recurrent epistaxis in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

Abstract

IntroductionHereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disease leading to recurrent epistaxis, telangiectasias, and/or visceral arteriovenous malformations. Multiple treatment methods, including both pharmacologic and surgical, are described to be effective in managing symptomatic HHT. Few report the duration of symptom improvement for each of these treatment methods. This study aims to analyze the duration of effectiveness of coblation treatment for recurrent epistaxis in those with HHT. MethodsRetrospective single-center chart review was completed for patients diagnosed with HHT who underwent coblation treatment by the same otolaryngologist from December 2009 to November 2021. Demographic information was collected along with whether local Bevacizumab was used during each treatment. Months between treatment coblation sessions was used as a surrogate for duration of treatment effectiveness. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis alongside quantitative statistical analysis. ResultsOver the course of 12 years, 57 patients (24 female, 42.11%) with HHT underwent a total number of 150 coblation treatments. The average age at initial coblation was 59 years (29–88) with an average follow-up time of 5 years (1–12 years). Of the 150 coblations, 30 treatments (20%) included bevacizumab injections into the nasal cavity. The average duration of treatment effectiveness across all 150 treatment sessions was 24.5 months (1–87 months). Of the 26 patients (46%) that underwent multiple coblation treatments, the overall average duration of coblation effectiveness was 16.4 months (1–72 mos). When Bevacizumab was utilized, the average duration of effectiveness was 18.3 months (3–62 mos), while the average duration of effectiveness for treatments without Bevacizumab was 15.7 months (1–87 mos, p > 0.251). Further, there was no correlation between duration of treatment effectiveness and age, sex, and race; yet,there was a significant negative correlation between the use of tobacco and duration of coblation effectiveness (p = 0.0202). ConclusionsCoblation is an effective treatment option for the management of epistaxis in patients with HHT with duration of benefit lasting approximately 2 years. The use of Bevacizumab did not add to the duration of treatment benefit. Further, the duration of benefit was negatively impacted by smoking history.