Seasonal Variation in Epistaxis in Upper Assam Region: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Epistaxis whether spontaneous or acquired is one of the most common ENT emergencies. Its management can be challenging depending on the origin of bleeding and presence of precipitating factors. Aim: To find out the seasonal variation in epistaxis according to age, gender, region and aetiological factor. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2019 to June 2020 in a tertiary care centre in Upper Assam. In this study, the seasons were divided according to weather atlas as follows: Winter- December, January, and February; Spring- March and April; Summer- May and June; Rainy season- July, August and September; and Autumn- October and November. Outcome was to find the seasonal variation in epistaxis according to age, gender, region and aetiological factor. The data collected was tabulated in Microsoft Excel Worksheet and the categorical variables were summarised as proportions and percentages. Results: Out of 313 patients, 221 (70.6%) were males and 92 (29.4%) were females. High male preponderance with male to female ratio of 2.4:1 was noticed. Maximum number of patients were seen in month of October 66 cases (21%). Minimum male patients were seen in month of June 2020 (0.6%) 2 cases and minimum number of female patients were seen in the month of February and April (0.3%). Conclusion: The major cause of epistaxis in this region is hypertension, therefore peripheral health facility should be ready for giving treatment.

Keywords

• aetiology
• demography
• epidemiology
• hypertensive epistaxis
• incidence