By Kelly Young
NEJM Journal Watch
Edited by William E. Chavey, MD, MS
Hypertension is associated with higher risk for epistaxis requiring treatment, suggests a retrospective study in JAMA Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery.
Using South Korean national databases, researchers matched roughly 36,000 adults with hypertension to 36,000 without hypertension. Patients with other epistaxis risk factors were excluded.
During a median follow-up of 5.5 years, patients with hypertension had higher rates of epistaxis episodes requiring treatment than patients without hypertension (33 vs. 23 events per 10,000 people). Rates of emergency department visits for epistaxis and posterior nasal packing were also higher in the hypertension group.
The authors say that chronic vascular damage could play a role in the observed association. They conclude that “the presence of hypertension should be considered when managing nasal bleeding.”
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