Morphological alterations in the nasal mucosa in heat stroke.

A preliminary histomorphological examination of the nasal mucosa of 8 heatstroke patients who presented without epistaxis, showed stromal vascular damage and degenerative changes in the basal lamina of the overlying epithelium, severe enough in two cases to indicate impending epistaxis, even in the absence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). It is suggested that direct damage by the extreme heat to mucosal structures, especially the prominent, thin-walled blood vessels, plays an important role in the genesis of epistaxis in heatstroke even in the absence of DIC.