Posterior packs and the nasopulmonary reflex

Increased mortality and arterial hypoxemia have long been associated with posterior nasal packs placed for control of severe epistaxis. Several authors have postulated a nasopulmonary reflex to partially explain this clinically observed phenomenon. In ten young, healthy subjects, using a multiparameter pulmonary evaluation, posterior nasal packs were placed and no significant changes were observed in lung volumes, flow, and alveolar gas exchange, especially oxygenation. These findings suggest that aspiration, sedation, and degeneration of pulmonary function with age, not a nasopulmonary reflex, have not been adequately emphasized in previously performed studies.