Conservative management of epistaxis: are we putting patients at risk of developing venous thromboembolic complications?

A retrospective study of 1585 patients, admitted with epistaxis to a busy District General Hospital in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 2000, was undertaken in order to identify the relationship between hospital admission for epistaxis and the development of a venous thromboembolic event. Only one person (0.06%) developed pulmonary embolus (PE) within 6 weeks of hospital admission. No one developed a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This compares with the incidence of DVT and fatal PE in the general population. In our study population, the incidence of both PE and DVT was found to be no greater than that seen within the community and certainly less than the incidence seen within a group of high risk hospitalised patients. We conclude that hospital admission for epistaxis does not place the patient at increased risk of thromboembolic disease.