One-year all-cause mortality for 338 patients admitted with epistaxis in a large tertiary ENT centre

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute otolaryngology inpatient activity at a tertiary referral centre: a retrospective analysis

Objective

To determine the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on acute admissions and inpatient activity at a tertiary referral centre.

Design

Retrospective review of coding‐based inpatient electronic records.

Setting

An otolaryngology and head and neck surgery department at a major UK trauma and tertiary referral centre.

Participants

Otolaryngology patients admitted as an emergency over a period of 10 months pre‐COVID19 (01/04/2019‐23/01/2020) and 10 months post‐COVID19 (01/04/2020‐23/01/2021).

Main outcome measures

Baseline characteristics, admission rates, length of stay (LoS), overall mortality and 30‐day mortality.

Results

A total of 1620 records were reviewed; (1066 pre‐COVID19, 554 post‐COVID19). Admissions across all age groups were reduced, with an increase in mean age from 39.88 to 47.4 years (p = .018). LoS remained unchanged (3.85 vs 3.82 days, p = .160). Infection remained the most common presentation, followed secondly by epistaxis which entailed an increased LoS compared to the pre‐COVID19 cohort. GP referrals reduced from 18.3% to 4.2% (n = 195 vs n = 23, p < .001) and ED referrals proportionally increased from 71.9% to 85.9% (n = 766 vs n = 476, p < .001). Critical care admissions were higher in the post‐COVID19 cohort (OR 1.78 (1.07–2.98) [95% CI], p = .027).

There was no significant difference in overall mortality between groups (n = 60, 5.6% vs. n = 33, 6.0%; p = .844). Thirty‐day mortality increased from 0.9% (n = 12) pre‐COVID19 to 2.3% (n = 13) post‐COVID19 (p = .039).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates significant changes and a reduction in acute otolaryngology presentations. Our findings may suggest that sicker, frailer patients were admitted during the pandemic. This study reports the observational effect that the pandemic has had on acute otolaryngology admissions, which may be relevant in addressing unmet care needs in the post‐pandemic period.

[Approximation analysis in the study of the epidemiology of the epistaxis]

Epistaxis or nosebleeds (NB) are the most common emergency pathology that otorhinolaryngologists have to deal with. Purpose of the work: to study the prevalence of patients with NB in the otorhinolaryngological departments of hospitals in Moscow from 2003 to 2019. The reports of the heads of the ENT departments of the city clinical hospitals in Moscow were studied. Inclusion criteria were hospitals working with an adult contingent of patients. An approximation analysis was carried out and trend indicators of the prevalence of NB were studied.

RESULTS

2003 to 2019 the total number of patients treated in ENT hospitals was 563 189 people, 20 623 (3.7%) patients were treated with NB, of which 52 (0.25%) died. The average age of the deceased was 64.7 years, men are 73.7% more prevalent than women. In 96.2% of patients, epistaxis was a complication of the underlying disease, and in 3.8%, it was regarded as a concomitant condition. In 30.8% of the deceased, NB recurred with the background of malignant lesions of the nose and nasopharynx, in 69.2% - posthemorrhagic anemia aggravated diseases of other organs and systems. Over the past 17 years, there has been a tendency for the growth of treated patients with diseases of ENT organs and patients with nosebleeds by 58.5% and 51.1%, respectively. The studied approximation of the relative prevalence and mortality rates in patients with NB showed that for the period from 2003 to 2019. trend values are practically at the same level with the minimum multidirectional linear dynamics - -0.24% and +0.04%, respectively.

[Epistaxis and arterial hypertension: a pathogenic link]

THE AIM OF THIS RESEARCH

Was to study changes in the nasal mucosa vessels in hypertensive patients suffering from recurrent epistaxis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

78 hypertensive patients aged between 50 and 70, admitted due to epistaxis were studied. Diabetic, coagulopathic patients and those taking anticoagulants were excluded from the research. All the patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 (46 people) with a single epistaxis, group 2 (32 people) with a recurrent epistaxis. At the admission time all the patients showed elevated arterial pressure, yet the differences between the patients of group 1 and group 2 were not significant. 14 patients of group 2 did not reveal any source of hemorrhage due to a severely deviated septum. These patients underwent septoplasty followed by mucoperichondrium biopsy. Histological study of samples showed multiple erosions within the epithelial layer, as well as necrotic patches spreading to the deeper mucous coat layers. The microvasculature showed dystrophic changes in the endothelium, its focal desquamation with basal membrane exposure and thrombocytes and erythrocytes adhesion at such places, erythrocyte aggregation, plasma separation, erythrocyte and fibrinous thrombi formation. Ultrastructural investigation revealed dystrophic changes in the capillary endothelium of the nasal mucosa combined with rheological disorders expressed as erythrocytes sludge. Thus, the cause of epistaxis is not high arterial pressure, but those changes in the nasal mucosa vessels promoted by long arterial hypertension.

Hospitalization for epistaxis: a population-based healthcare research study in Thuringia, Germany

Purpose

Epistaxis is the most common ENT emergency. The aim was to determine population-based data on severe epistaxis needing inpatient treatment.

Methods

Retrospective population-based cohort study in the federal state Thuringia in 2016 performed on all 840 inpatients treated for epistaxis in otolaryngology departments (60.1% male, median age: 73 years; 63.9% under anticoagulation). The association between patients’ and treatment characteristics and longer inpatient stay (≥ 4 days) as well as readmission for recurrent epistaxis was analyzed using univariable and multivariable statistics.

Results

The overall incidence of epistaxis needing inpatient treatment was higher for men (42 per 100,000) than for women (28 per 100,000). The highest incidence was reached for men > 85 years (222 per 100,000). Most important independent predictors for longer inpatient stay were localization of the bleeding not in the anterior nose (OR = 2.045; CI = 1.534–2.726), recurrent bleeding during inpatient treatment (OR = 2.142; CI = 1.508–3.042), no electrocoagulation (OR = 2.810; CI = 2.047–3.858), and blood transfusion (OR = 2.731; CI = 1.324–5.635). Independent predictors for later readmission because of recurrent epistaxis were male gender (OR = 1.756; CI = 1.155–2.668), oral anticoagulant use (OR = 1.731; CI = 1.046–2.865), and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (OR = 13.216; CI 5.102–34.231).

Conclusions

Inpatient treatment of epistaxis seems to be variable in daily routine needing standardization by clinical guidelines and strategies to shorten inpatient treatment and to reduce the risk of readmission.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s00405-020-05875-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.