Nasal self-packing for epistaxis in Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia increases quality of life.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is characterized by recurrent epistaxis that can lead to a feeling of losing control. We assessed potential benefits and side effects of different nasal packings used by patients themselves.

METHOD OF STUDY: An online-questionnaire in English and German was used to analyze nasal self-packings.

RESULTS: 588 of the 915 respondents suffered from HHT with most of them having moderate or severe epistaxis. Almost two thirds of the patients had already treated themselves with nasal packings. While one quarter used non-pneumatic nasal packings (NPNP) or pneumatic nasal packings (PNP), nearly half of the patients took only tissues to stop the bleeding. Patients with severe epistaxis used PNP more often than NPNP. Using nasal packings, most patients could stop their nosebleeds after a while. Patients using PNP reported the feeling of losing control less often and significant improvements in quality of life with a positive GBI.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that most patients with HHT using nasal self-packings could stop the bleeding after a while. Nasal self-packing is a user-friendly and secure method leaving patients more self-confident and independent.