Open AccessAn Uncommon Cause of Epistaxis: Nasopharyngeal Hirudiniasis
Author(s) -
Ali Çağlı,
Hatice Çelik
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
türkiye parazitoloji dergisi/türkiye parazitoloji dergisi
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.207
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 2146-3077
pISSN - 1300-6320
DOI - 10.5152/tpd.2015.3614
Subject(s) - nose , medicine , leech , larynx , dysphagia , surgery , airway obstruction , respiratory tract , airway , nasal packing , differential diagnosis , respiratory system , anatomy , pathology , world wide web , computer science
The leech that is taken by ingestion of contaminated water can settle on any location at upper respiratory tract from nose to larynx. It sucks blood by adhering to the mucosa and causes mucosal bleeding by secreting hirudin. If the leech goes forward to the larynx, this can be life threatening due to severe airway obstruction. We are presenting 23 year-old male patient who admitted to our hospital with anterior and posterior nose bleeding and dysphagia due to the leech located in the posterior wall of the nasopharynx. The treatment and differential diagnosis of epistaxis is discussed in this article.