Endoscopic management of recurrent epistaxis: The experience of two metropolitan hospitals in Italy

Abstract

Conclusion: Endoscopic cauterization of the sphenopalatine artery and anterior ethmoid artery is a first-line standard of care in managing intractable epistaxis, after the failure of previous packing. Epistaxis occurs in 12% of the population. Treatment is often based on nasal packing that could be poorly effective in the treatment of severe posterior epistaxis. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the endoscopic approach for posterior epistaxis. Methods: We report the experience of endoscopic cauterization in two metropolitan hospitals in Italy: 48 patients with at least one nasal packing in the 3 weeks before hospital admission. They underwent endoscopic cauterization of the sphenopalatine artery or of the anterior ethmoid artery. Results: The patients' mean age was 58.7 years; the mean hospital stay was 2.97 days. In 42 cases (87.5%), cauterization of the sphenopalatine artery was performed, and 6 (12.5%) were subjected to anterior ethmoid artery treatment. Epistaxis control was achieved in 93% of cases; 3 patients had a recurrent nasal bleeding, and were treated with anterior nasal packing. Minor complications occurred in 27.1%. We achieved a shorter hospital stay compared with patients who underwent anteroposterior packing.