The effect of 2% citric acid in control of spontaneous epistaxis in Emergency Department

Abstract

Introduction: Epistaxis is one of the most common causes of emergency department visits and almost 60% of the public have experienced it at least once in their lifetime. There are different methods for controlling the nasal bleeding. With due attention to the invasive and harmful features of most methods which makes them impossible to use in pre-hospital settings, the aim of this study is to prove that citric acid as a non-synthetic safe agent can be used in controlling the epistaxis. Methods and materials: In a randomized clinical trial, we studied 406 patients with chief complaint of epistaxis referring to the emergency department of Imam Reza Hospital of Tabriz from 2010 to 2011 in two groups of case and control. We used 5 drops of 2% citric acid in every nostril for patients in the case group and anterior nasal tampon in the control group. All data were recorded and finally, the appropriate statistical tests were used to compare and analyze them. Results: The mean age of patients was 53.94 +/- 14 years. 44.8% of patients were female and 55.2% of them were male. There was no significant difference between the controls of bleeding in two studied groups. Conclusion: Using both of anterior nasal tampon and 2% citric acid are effective in controlling spontaneous epistaxis and there is no significant difference between them; however, regarding the fact that citric acid or base substance of lemon juice is widely available, its usage is recommended. [Moharamzadeh P, Pouraghaei M, Sadeghi H, Khodaverdi Zadeh H. The effect of 2% citric acid in control of spontaneous epistaxis in Emergency Department. Life Sci J 2012; 9(4): 4577-4581] (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 688