TITLE:
Incidence of Hemorrhage after ENT Procedures and Seasonal Variation: A Retrospective Study and Literature Review
AUTHORS:
Loay Alekri, Fatema N. Alfayez
KEYWORDS:
Secondary Post-Tonsillectomy Bleeding, Post-Septoplasty Epistaxis, Seasonal Variation, Bahrain
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery,
Vol.10 No.3,
May
24,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Ear, nose, throat procedures are the most performed procedures for adults and children per year. Doctors might have noticed that at certain times of the year, there would be an increase in admissions of post tonsillectomy bleeding or epistaxis after nasal surgeries. Objectives: To determine whether a correlation exists between season and the rate of hemorrhage presentation after ear, nose, throat procedures. Methods: A 12-year retrospective review from January of 2003 to June of 2015, involving 1032 patients who developed secondary hemorrhage following ear, nose, throat related surgeries. We analyzed the presentation of hemorrhage in relation to the month of admission. Meteorological data were obtained from the Meteorological directorate of Bahrain. Results: Post-Operative Hemorrhage occurred in (1032) patients. The season and air temperature had a significant influence on secondary post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage and post-septoplasty epistaxis according to the age with a significant increase in their rate during the summer months (p Conclusion: The incidence of hemorrhage showed monthly and seasonal variations. This is clearly a multi-factorial problem. However, in patients at high risk of bleeding, consideration should be given to performing surgeries at a time of year of lower rates.