Trick of the Trade: V-to-Y flap laceration repair for tension wounds
You see a patient with a large V-shaped laceration under tension requiring suture repair. Resist the temptation to simply pull the edges together and close the laceration with simple interrupted or running sutures. Excessive tension on a flap edge during the healing process can compromise its blood supply. This causes ischemia to the healing tissue, which in turn makes that flap edge more likely to dehisce, necrose, and become infected.
Misuse of prescription opioids is one of the defining health problems of our generation. The dramatic rise of opioid analgesic prescriptions in the US and Canada has been well documented, and opioids represent the most common cause of fatal prescription overdoses. On every shift, in every emergency department in the country, physicians struggle with the concerns of patients presenting with common pain complaints. Seeking to manage their patients’ symptoms in the face of dramatically rising prescription opioid misuse and fatal overdose, emergency physicians are challenged to distinguish those who are simply seeking pain relief, those who are seeking opioid prescriptions due to addiction, and those who fit both categories. Emergency care providers are also charged with balancing the pressures of meeting clinical care and patient satisfaction goals while fulfilling our moral obligation to provide primary and secondary prevention of opioid misuse.
Iron toxicity is determined by the amount of elemental iron (Fe) ingested. Examples of Fe formulations and the amount of elemental Fe contained in each formulation are listed in the table below (adapted from 
