Abstract
Objectives:
Although epistaxis is still very common in children and adults, its cause in most non-traumatic cases remains unknown. We aimed to find out if nasal colonization with Staphylococcus aureus leads to inflammation, crusting, and new vessel formation and ends with epistaxis in association. We also wanted to investigate the relationship between positive cultures and seasons.
Methods:
One hundred twenty-nine patients were recruited for the study group (86 had crusting in the nasal vestibule while 43 did not) and compared with 40 healthy control subjects. A microbial swab was taken from the anterior nasal cavity of each subject. The same procedure was repeated at each season.
Results:
S aureus was found to be more common in the epistaxis group when compared with the control group, with a percentage of 37% and 19% respectively. There was no difference in the prevalence of S aureus between crust and noncrust groups. When positive cultures were grouped and compared according to season, we observed that the positive culture with epistaxis was much higher (44.82 %) in autumn.
Conclusions:
A positive correlation between nasal colonization with S aureus with epistaxis highlights the importance of healthcare and preventive care. Further studies should be performed to decrease epistaxis by diminishing the colonization of S aureus. Special attention should be given in autumn.
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