PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C Faure

Publications and source records attributed to C Faure.

161 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

[A.L.J. external fixation. Indications and results in 59 cases].

The authors report their results in 59 cases of external fixation with A.L.J. type devices inserted from November, 1984, to November, 1988, in 57 patients (2 cases of bilateral injuries). These included 49 cases of "recent" traumatology, 4 cases of "second-hand" traumatology, and 6 orthopaedic cases (tibiotarsal arthrodesis for degenerative lesions). Among the recent traumatic injuries, 38 were fractures, most often compound fractures (stages II and III), and 11 serious soft tissue lesions, for which the external fixation was used temporarily for stabilization until the wound was healed. The older traumatological lesions were 4 infected pseudarthroses. The results based on 52 cases (6 were lost to follow-up and 1 is a peculiar case) include 45 healed injuries (ie. 86.5%) and 7 failures. The soft-tissue lesions have all healed within 2 to 4 months. Among the bony lesions, some knit primarily without an additional graft (20 of 37 cases, ie 54 percent), the others after 1, 2 or 3 grafts (10 of 37 cases, ie. 27 percent). The union also occurred without any problem for all 6 tibiotarsal arthrodeses. The 7 failures occurred in cases where no additional bone graft had been performed. The discussion evidences the advantages and drawbacks of the A.L.J.

Adult↗

[Medical treatment of sustained ventricular tachycardia. Retrospective study of 85 patients].

In this retrospective study the antiarrhythmic of 85 patients suffering from sustained and recurrent attacks of ventricular tachycardia is analysed. Among these patients, 48 had ischaemic heart disease, 18 had right ventricular arrhythmogenic dysplasia, 9 had dilated cardiomyopathy and 2 had complex heart disease; in 8 patients the tachycardia was idiopathic. Two hundred and seventy-two antiarrhythmic treatments administered orally alone or in combination were studied. Their effectiveness was evaluated on the clinical course of the disease, on the résults of Holter recordings and, in some cases, on electrophysiological exploration. The mean follow-up period was 50 months. Each patient received 3.2 antiarrhythmic treatments on average. The effectiveness and side-effects of these treatments are analysed retrospectively, but the relative effectiveness of a treatment compared to another cannot be extrapolated to a new patient. Prescription in this field is purely empirical. The recent amiodarone-flecainide combination has been the most frequently used antiarrhythmic treatment in recent years. It was given to 33 patients in this series and proved effective in 21 patients followed up for 22 months.

Adolescent↗

[Position and sudden death of the infant].

In western countries, the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of mortality in infants under one year of age. In an official statement on prevention from the French Ministry of Health, sleeping in the supine position or on the side is recommended for all infants unaffected by a particular medical condition. This clear restrictive recommendation is based on valid epidemiological data but raises questions in the minds of paediatricians and general practitioners since the most recent recommendations for treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux indicate that the prone position at a 30 degrees angle is the first preventive measure to be taken. We present here an objective view point on this complex problem which others may find helpful in developing a sound approach to each individual case. First it must be emphasized that multiple factors are involved in SIDS. While the confirmed correlation between the supine sleeping position and reduced incidence of SIDS is a valid rationale for population-based preventive measures, it does not indicate any causal relationship. Secondly, epidemiological data is valid for a given geographical area but cannot be extrapolated to other areas without taking into account intercurrent factors such as soft bedding, use of feather-bed quilts, excessive bedroom temperature and passive smoking. The public campaign for the prevention of SIDS should be encouraged as an effective low-cost measure, but both physicians and parents should be aware of its multifactorial nature in order to avoid psychologically catastrophic consequences of the guilt syndrome. For infants with uncomplicated simple gastro-oesophageal reflux, a formerly well-known condition but currently less well tolerated by modern parents, it is essential to explain the physiological nature of the reflux to parents then to propose formula thickeners, antacids or prokinetic agents in particularly symtomatic cases. Sleeping in the 30 degrees prone position should not, in this particular case, be introduced as a preventive measure since the risk induced would probably be greater than the beneficial effect. For complicated reflux, after careful exploration and elimination of other causes of vomiting, treatment should be optimized first, followed by discussion on placing the infant in the 30 degrees prone position which should be considered as a therapeutic tool with the same risk of secondary effects as expected with drugs.

France↗

[Cost evaluation of therapeutic management of patients with chronic hepatitis C].

Hepatitis C now poses an important problem of public health in France. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost of care of 55 patients who were carriers of hepatitis C and treated with interferon alpha. The economic analysis included the blood testing costs, pharmaceutical costs and hospitalization costs. A questionnaire permitted the impact of the treatment on the socio-professional life of each individual to be assessed. The global cost amounted to 1155 359 francs spread among hospitalization costs (55 pour cent), pharmaceutical costs (35.8 pour cent) and blood testing costs (9.2 pour cent). Of 36 actively working patients being treated, 10 modified their activities and 4 of these 10 restarted their initial activities after stopping treatment. This evaluation has shown the disparities which exist in the clinical follow up of patients treated for chronic hepatitis C. It is thus imperative to institute a systematic screening of patients being transfused to permit an early diagnosis, to establish a rigorous standardization of blood testing, to visualise day care treatment and above all to establish a consensus of global care of these patients.

Adult↗