ABSTRACT

Epistaxis is one of the most common otolaryngology emergencies. Epistaxis is a very common disease which is experienced by almost every people. However, it was detected 6% of whom requiring hospital admission for treatment. Despite considerable interest in the subject, there is still no consensus on the most appropriate primary therapeutic modality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bleeding source of acute or recurrent epistaxis in adults.

Thirty adult patients with acute or recurrent epistaxis were prospectively.evaluated After clinical assessment, all patients were initially examined by classical anterior rhinoscopy with frontal illumination, while those whose bleeding sources were not identified were submitted to nasal endoscopic evaluation. Bleeding sources were classified as: anterior or posterior; from the lateral nasal wall or nasal septum.

Use of the nasal endoscope allowed diagnosis of the bleeding location in all patients.

Including a careful endoscopic examination of the posterior nasal cavity to the treatment allows identification of the bleeding source in most patients and this examination should be used as a routine procedure in epistaxis treatment.

Keywords: Epistaxis, Endoscopic examination