Influence of meteorological variables on the frequency of visits and hospital admission for epistaxis in a city with a cold semi-arid climate (Lorca, Spain)

Background and objectives Epistaxis is a common emergency for otorhinolaryngologists. Although the aetiological factors have been widely studied, they remain subject to debate. The role of meteorological variables has been discussed in recent years, but results have been inconsistent. Given a lack of prior data, the aim of our study was to identify the meteorological variables that influence the frequency of visits and hospital admission for epistaxis in a city with a cold semi-arid climate in Spain. Methods Case–control study. Cases: patients who attended the accident and emergency department of a secondary level hospital for epistaxis over a 9-year period (2011–2019). Controls were established by simple random sampling among emergency rooms visits in general (patients who attended the same centre over the same period of time). Sociodemographic, clinical and meteorological variables were all taken into account. Results 2749 patients in the epistaxis group and 2764 in the control group. There were significant differences in the epistaxis group, with a higher proportion of male (62.85%) and older patients. Univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that the daily minimum temperature and maximum wind speed were factors significantly associated with the onset of epistaxis. In addition, logistic regression analysis showed that decreases in minimum temperature and increases in maximum wind speed were associated with an increase in epistaxis (p