Upper airway obstruction secondary to anticoagulant induced haemorrhage necessitating a tracheostomy.
The incidence of major haemorrhagic complications from oral anticoagulants is between 4.4% and 8.2%. Life-threatening haemorrhage is usually either intracranial or gastro-intestinal, but haemorrhage into the upper airways is a distinctly uncommon occurrence. We report the case of an elderly lady who developed an anticoagulant induced haemorrhage into the parapharyngeal area resulting in upper airway obstruction and necessitating an emergency tracheostomy.
O'Leary
T G
TG
Department of Otolaryngology, Hope Hospital, Manchester.
Kotecha
B
B
Rothera
M P
MP
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000601:surgery; D000638:Amiodarone / Q000009:adverse effects; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000139:chemically induced*; D006801:Humans; D014139:Tracheostomy
D000925:Anticoagulants; D000638:Amiodarone