Problematic drugs in elderly patients presenting to a European emergency room.

Background: Elderly patients are at an increased risk of developing complications from taking medication. Little is known about the inappropriate use of medication in elderly patients presenting to the emergency room, especially in very old patients. Methods: A random sample was drawn from patients aged 60 years or older who had been discharged from a medical emergency room.

Unsuspected mesenteric vein thrombosis in a patient with a hereditary bleeding disorder.

We report on a female patient with hereditary hemorrhagic teleangiectasia complicated by subacute thrombosis of the superior mesenteric vein. Despite gastrointestinal bleeding, anticoagulation therapy with heparin had to be performed to prevent bowel infarction. In this case, local vascular lesions with altered blood flow in combination with hyperfibrinogenemia might have caused superior mesenteric vein thrombosis.