Conservative Treatment of Epistaxis: Comparing Oxytetracycline with Sodium Pentaborate Pentahydrate

Abstract

Objective:In daily practice, the treatment of epistaxis is generally conservative. Surgical options, which are rarely used, also exist. However, a gold standard treatment option - especially one that is easily applied without need for specialist intervention- has not been introduced. Topical agents are easy to apply and are widely used but success is moderate to low, which demonstrates the requirement for new agents. Sodium pentaborate pentahydrate (SPP) is a natural mineral which has drawn attention in the medical field due to its remarkable wound healing properties. Our aim was to compare the results of topical SPP and oxytetracycline in the treatment of anterior epistaxis.Method:A total of 66 patients with recurrent anterior epistaxis were included in the study which was performed at the Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology Gebze Central Hospital from January 2018 to February 2018. The age, gender, date of application, medications, chronic illnesses, the frequency of epistaxis after treatment (first week) were recorded. Additionally, we recorded the pre- and post-treatment SNOT-22 scores and Kisselbach area measurement results of all patients. Thirty-two patients received topical SPP gel and 34 received topical oxytetracycline treatment. Groups were similar in terms of age and gender.Results:SPP gel and oxytetracycline treatments mostly showed similar results. However, the frequency of epistaxis during the first week after treatment was significantly lower with SPP gel treatment.Conclusion:Our results suggest that SPP gel may be used in the treatment of epistaxis with success similar to that of oxytetracycline. Furthermore, the frequency of epistaxis during the first week after treatment was significantly lower in patients treated with SPP, which is an important advantage.

Keywords

• epistaxis
• oxytetracycline
• spp
• snot 22
• topical treatment