Vitamin K antagonists and emergencies.

The recent emergence of 'non-VKA' oral anticoagulants may have led to some forgetting that vitamin K antagonists (VKA) are by far the most widely prescribed oral anticoagulants worldwide. Consequently, we decided to summarize the information available on them. This paper presents the problems facing emergency physicians confronted with patients on VKAs in 10 points, from pharmacological data to emergency management.

Management of an arteriovenous fistula with two nidus between the inferior alveolar artery and the external jugular vein.

Background: Cervical arteriovenous fistulas are rare forms of head and neck tumors.

Methods: We describe the case of a patient with an extensive fistula between the right inferior alveolar artery and the external jugular vein. The disorder had been diagnosed 30 years earlier and the patient had been followed clinically and radiologically ever since.

Tracheotomy in children: evolution in indications.

Objectives: To evaluate the evolution of indications for tracheostomy in children.

Methods: A retrospective review of 46 children undergoing tracheostomy between 1996 and 2001.

Results: The indications for tracheostomy were classified in two groups:(1) prolonged ventilator dependence (57%), (2) upper airway obstructions (43%).