EPISTAXIS AND ITS RELATION WITH TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY

Abstract

Objective:

The objective of this study was to observe the frequency of primary epistaxis and its relation with temperature and relative humidity.

Materials and Methods:

This was a prospective study which included 262 patients with epistaxis attending the Department of  ENT and Head & Neck Surgery of Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital (NMCTH) from August 2008 to July 2010. Out of these 262 patients, 105 with primary epistaxis were included in the study.  Daily temperature and relative humidity for the period were recorded from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology of the Government of Nepal. Pearson’s coefficient correlation was applied to see the relationship between the frequency of primary epistaxis with variation of temperature and relative humidity.

Results:

Out of a total of 262 patients attending the outpatient department, 105 (40.07%) had primary epistaxis. The frequency of primary epiataxis was seen to be higher during the cold period from September to March. Pearson’s coefficient correlation showed good correlation between primary epistaxis and temperature (r = -0.695) and average correlation with relative humidity (r = -0.550).

Conclusion:

The relationship between primary epistaxis and temperature was good while that with relative humidity was average.

Keywords: epistaxis, relative humidity, temperature