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Catherine Sermet

Publications and source records attributed to Catherine Sermet.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

No significant decrease in antibiotic use from 1992 to 2000, in the French community.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse trends in antibiotic exposure of the French population from 1992 to 2000. METHODS: The analysis used data provided by a representative annual nationwide survey of health care consumption in the community. RESULTS: The frequency of antibiotic use increased from 4.7 per 100 person-months in 1992 to 7.3 in 1995, and remained stable from 1998 to 2000. Children under 7 years of age were three times more strongly exposed to antibiotics than older subjects. Respiratory tract infections of probable viral aetiology and sore throat accounted for >50% of antibacterial prescriptions. CONCLUSIONS: We identified two major priorities for campaigns designed to reduce antibiotic exposure of the French population in the community, namely respiratory tract infections of presumed viral origin, and children under 7 years of age.

Adolescent↗

Changes in osteoarthritis management by general practitioners in the COX2-inhibitor era-concomitant gastroprotective therapy.

OBJECTIVES: Two selective COX2 inhibitors, rofecoxib and celecoxib, were introduced on the French market in 2000. We evaluated their use in the treatment of osteoarthritis by general practitioners, with special attention to concomitant prescription of gastroprotective agents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Thales Epidemiology Observatory is a medical database compiled by a representative sample of 1000 general practitioners in France. We examined the data collected during the year before and the year after the introduction of rofecoxib and celecoxib on the French market (November 1999-October 2001). During each of the 2 years of the study period, about 200,000 visits for 70,000 patients were entered into the database. RESULTS: COX2 inhibitors were prescribed at a rapidly increasing rate during the second year, when they accounted for 38% of the prescription volume for nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and 25% of prescribed medication costs. In some patients, COX2 inhibitors were substituted for nonselective NSAIDs, and in others they were used as first-line NSAID therapy. On average over the 2-year study period, 22.1% of prescriptions for conventional NSAIDs included a prescription for a gastroprotective agent; this proportion increased from 18.6% in November 1999 to 24.8% in October 2001. Among prescriptions for COX2 inhibitors, 17.5% included a gastroprotective agent. CONCLUSION: General practitioners have been prompt to use COX2 inhibitors in the treatment of osteoarthritis. However, they have not decreased their use of concomitant gastroprotective treatment. Thus, they seem aware that proof of a lower long-term risk of gastrointestinal toxicity with COX2 inhibitors is lacking, and that elderly patients such as those with osteoarthritis are at high risk for gastrointestinal side effects of NSAIDs.

Adult↗

Increased prevalence of depression, smoking, heavy drinking and use of psycho-active drugs among unemployed men in France.

BACKGROUND: We document in the present study the relation between unemployment and the prevalence of health problems and risk behaviour in France. METHODS: Using data from the 1991-1992 French National Health Survey, adjustments are made for potential confounders, and relative risks (RR) are estimated for overweight, major physical diseases, depression, and addictive behaviours. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Unemployed men are found to have significantly higher prevalences of depression (RR: 2.6), smoking (RR: 1.5 for regular and 1.7 for heavy), heavy drinking (RR: 1.7) and consumption of psycho-active drugs (RR: 3.6) than the working population.

Adult↗