The diagnostic value of bleeding diathesis rate and pediatric bleeding score in patients presenting with epistaxis

Objective: Epistaxis is a common condition in the childhood age group. However, it is important to diagnose the underlying bleeding disorders in children presenting with this complaint. Simple methods to be used in primary health care are needed to determine whether patients have bleeding disorders.

This study aims to evaluate patients presenting with epistaxis with the bleeding questionnaire and determine the diagnostic value of patients with symptomatic but normal hemostatic tests.

Methods: Seventy-seven children with epistaxis were included in the study group and 20 healthy children in the control group. Pediatric Bleeding Questionnaire (PBQ) was used for evaluation.

Results: In our study, 19.4% (n = 15) of the patients were diagnosed with bleeding diathesis (vWh: 10, rare factor deficiency: 5). The mean age at presentation was 8.99 ± 3.42 (3-17) years. Thirty-seven (48%) were girls and 40 were boys. In terms of PBQ epistaxis score, there was no statistically significant difference between those with and without bleeding diathesis. However, the overall score was not statistically different; it was higher in the group with bleeding diathesis. The cutaneous bleeding score was higher in the group with bleeding diathesis and there was a statistically significant difference.

 Conclusions: This study showed that bleeding scores can be used in patients with epistaxis who apply to primary health care institutions and patients with high overall scores and cutaneous bleeding scores should be directed to the hematologist for further research.Keywords: Epistaxis, bleeding diathesis, bleeding score