Can We Estimate the Recurrence of Epistaxis with Simple Blood Tests?

Abstract

Epistaxis is often treated in the emergency department (ED) and is one of the causes of bleeding that can be successfully managed by physicians. This study aimed to investigate whether there is a relationship between recurrent epistaxis and simple blood parameters (the values of mean platelet volume (MPV) and red cell distribution width (RDW)). Method: This retrospective case-control study was designed at a tier-three ED. The patients were chosen from among those who applied to the ED for epistaxis between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018. Demographic data, seasonal application frequency, complete blood count results and clinical findings were retrospectively reviewed on the hospital information record system. The patients were categorized into three groups of recurrent epistaxis, nonrecurrent epistaxis and healthy control groups. Results: 143 epistaxis patients in total including recurrent (n=73) and non-recurrent (n=70) patients were enrolled in this study. The healthy control group was composed of 77 patients. The MPV value was significantly higher in the recurrent epistaxis group than in the nonrecurrent epistaxis group (8.91±1.16, 8.48±1.06, P = 0.006, respectively). In addition, the mean platelet and platecrit values were significantly higher in the non-recurrent epistaxis group than in the recurrent epistaxis group (P = 0.034, P = 0.043, respectively). The high RDW level was found to be statistically significant both in the recurrent and non-recurrent epistaxis groups than in the control group (P < 0.001). The logistic regression analysis concluded that the high MPV value increased epistaxis 1.367 times [OR: 1.367 (0.952-1.963), P = 0.028]. Conclusion: High MPV levels caused an increase in the bleeding tendency in the patients with recurrent epistaxis.