Abstract

Background:
Epistaxis is defined as acute hemorrhage from the nostril, nasal cavity, or nasopharynx. Nasal bleeding ranges from mild to severe life-threatening. Epistaxis may last from a few minutes to more than an hour. It rarely occurs in those less than 2 years of age but is commonly observed in children between 3-8 years of age. The current study was done to investigate the prevalence, causes, treatment, and outcome of epistaxis in Saudi population.
Methodology
This study was conducted on parents using an online survey; the survey investigated the clinical characteristics, demographics of children and parents. The Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS program, V.20) was used to analyze the obtained data.
Results:
The prevalence of epistaxis among children was found to be 39.5%, and it was acute in 70.9%. The most common cause of epistaxis was the inflammatory diseases (50.5%) and the most common complication reported was recurrent epistaxis 12(15.2%). Observation alone was the most given management option 69.6%, recovery was obtained in 100% of patients.
Conclusion:
There was a moderate prevalence of epistaxis among children in the studied population. The study also concluded that observation and hospital stay could result in better outcomes and speedy recovery of epistaxis in children.

Key words: Epistaxis prevalence, children epistaxis, epistaxis management.