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Large studies of the clinical features of acute posterior epistaxis are lacking. This report describes 88 episodes in 81 adults who presented to a city hospital emergency department and were admitted after placement of posterior nasal packing. Half the patients had hypertension, a third had previous nosebleeds, two reported warfarin use, and 27 reported aspirin use. Twenty-four patients experienced rebleeding, often on the first day after admission. In fact, removal of packing within 48 hours was significantly associated with rebleeding (odds ratio, 3.07), while age, hypertension, and type of packing were not. Complications included sinusitis (21 percent), need for surgery (20 percent), and transfusion (12 percent). Two patients died -- a 9…