Towards evidence-based emergency medicine: best BETs from the Manchester Royal Infirmary. BET 2: Routine coagulation testing in adult patients with epistaxis.

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether routine testing of coagulation status was necessary in adult patients who present with epistaxis. 156 papers were found using the reported searches, of which 4 presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. It is concluded that coagulation studies are only indicated in adults with epistaxis if the history suggests a potential cause for coagulopathy.