Determining the hospital cost of anterior epistaxis treatment modalities at a Canadian tertiary care centre

Objective

To estimate the hospital costs of managing anterior epistaxis in the Emergency Department at a Tertiary Care centre in Canada.

Material and methods

A cost analysis was conducted based on a retrospective review of Emergency Department visits from January 2012 to May 2014. A consecutive sample of adult patients with a diagnosis of anterior epistaxis was included. Anterior epistaxis was managed via one of: Nasal clip, Merocel®, Silver Nitrate cautery, Vaseline packing, other treatment or no treatment. Both the direct and indirect hospital costs ($CDN) for anterior epistaxis treatment were calculated from the hospital's perspective. Generalized linear models were used to assess the association between treatment modalities and total hospital costs while controlling for potential confounding factors.

Results

Three hundred and fifty-three patients (49% female) with a mean age of (69.9 ± 18.5) years were included in the analysis. The median (interquartile ranges) costs of treatment ranged from C$227.83 (C$167.96, C$328.69) for observation to C$763.98 (C$632.25,C$830.23) for Merocel®. The overall median total hospital costs incurred across all modalities was C$566.24 (C$459.61, C$753.46) for the management of anterior epistaxis. Silver Nitrate, nasal clip, and observation were statistically associated with a lower cost when compared to Merocel® (P < 0.001) even after potential confounding factors were controlled.

Conclusions

Our results show wide difference in the hospital cost of epistaxis across treatment modalities. These cost estimates can help inform future economic evaluation studies aiming to guide the allocation of health care resources for patients with epistaxis.

Hemostasis of idiopathic recurrent epistaxis in children with microwave ablation: a prospective pilot case series

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated microwave ablation (MWA) for treatment of idiopathic recurrent anterior epistaxis (RAE) in children, in terms of technical feasibility, efficacy, and safety.

STUDY DESIGN

A prospective pilot case series.

SETTING

Tertiary university hospital.

METHODS

Children with idiopathic RAE were treated with endoscopic MWA and reevaluated at 1 and 4 weeks and at 6 months thereafter. The primary outcome was successful hemostasis on the day of the procedure. Secondary outcomes were the rebleeding rates after 1 and 4 weeks, and 6 months, and any complications.

RESULTS

Of the 92 children with idiopathic RAE who met the inclusion criteria, the operation was interrupted in 7 children due to intraoperative noncooperation, and silver nitrate cautery was performed instead. All procedures were completed, and hemostasis was achieved within 10-20 s by MWA in 85 children. Two to four ablations were conducted. No recurrent epistaxis occurred and no severe MWA -related complications, such as septal perforation or synechiae formation, were observed at the 6-month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Endoscopic MWA is a feasible and safe technique for the treatment of idiopathic pediatric RAE in the clinical setting, especially those cases that do not respond to in-office chemical cautery.

Epistaxis

Most anterior epistaxis originates primarily from the Kiesselbach plexus, whereas posterior epistaxis is less common and originates from branches of the sphenopalatine artery. Risk factors include local trauma, foreign body insertion, substance abuse, neoplasms, inherited bleeding diatheses, or acquired coagulopathies. Assessment of airway, breathing, and circulation precedes identification of bleeding source, pain control, and achieving hemostasis. Management options include topical vasoconstrictors, direct pressure, cautery, tranexamic acid, nasal tampons, Foley catheters, or surgical intervention. Specialty consultation may be pursued if interventions fail. Disposition is typically to home unless posterior epistaxis or significant comorbidities exist that warrant admission.

An outcomes analysis of anterior epistaxis management in the emergency department

Background

Many treatment options exist for the management of anterior epistaxis. However, little is known about treatment outcomes. The objective was to identify the currently utilised methods of management and outcomes for patients with anterior epistaxis presenting to the emergency department (ED) at a Canadian tertiary care center.

Methods

A retrospective review of ED visits from January 2012-May 2014 for adult patients with a diagnosis of anterior epistaxis was performed. Patient demographic data, comorbidities, and treatment methods were documented. The effectiveness of different treatment modalities was determined.

Results

Three hundred fifty-three primary anterior epistaxis cases were included. Mean patient age was 70 years and 49 % of patients were female. Comorbidities included hypertension (56 %), diabetes (19 %), CAD (28 %), and atrial fibrillation (27 %). A large proportion of the cohort (61 %) was on at least one anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy. The most common utilised treatment modalities were silver nitrate cauterization, Merocel®, petroleum gauze packing, nasal clip and 15 % were simply observed. Initial treatment success was achieved in 74 % of cases. Of patients receiving specific treatment modalities, silver nitrate cauterization had the highest success rate at 80 %. 26 % of patients returned to the ED for recurrence of epistaxis with highest rates occurring in the nasal clip (59 %), Merocel® (26 %), and petroleum gauze packing (42 %) groups.

Conclusions

The differences in recurrence rate among the different treatment modalities observed may be due to true differences in effectiveness or differences in treatment selection by the ED physicians based on severity of epistaxis. Cauterization with silver nitrate, however, offers the added benefit of no need for follow up. Further study is needed to elucidate the most efficacious treatment modality based on epistaxis severity.