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D Perrotin

Publications and source records attributed to D Perrotin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Epidemiology and management of stroke patients in emergency departments of the Centre region of France].

INTRODUCTION: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. Patients with suspected stroke are usually managed in emergency departments (ED). Stroke units must be created in our country, but only few French epidemiological data are available to define needs in stroke care. OBJECTIVE: A prospective study was planned to evaluate epidemiology and stroke care for patients with suspected stroke admitted in the 22 ED of our region in the center of France during a two-month period. METHODS: Patients with suspected stroke seen at the 22 ED were prospectively followed until discharge or one month after admission. Data on demographic characteristics, mode of transport, delay of arrival and imaging, clinical findings at arrival, department of admission, diagnosis, Rankin scale at day 7, in-hospital mortality, and outcome at a month were collected. A global statistical analysis and a comparison between rural and urban ED were performed. RESULTS: Five hundred and ninety-eight patients were included. Mean age was 75 years. Median admission delay was 4 hours and 52 minutes. Predominant mode of transport was a private ambulance. A CT scan was obtained in 91 p.cent of cases with a median delay of 2 hours and 30 minutes. Only a third of the patients were admitted in departments of Neurology. Final diagnosis was: ischemic stroke (61 p.cent), transient ischemic attack (16 p.cent), hemorrhagic stroke (10 p.cent), other vascular disease (3 p.cent), non vascular disease (10 p.cent). In-hospital mortality was 20 p.cent, factors significantly associated with death rate were elevated age and a Glasgow coma scale<10 at admission. Mean length of stay was 12 days for stroke patients. At one month, 63 percent of patients were discharged to their home, 28 percent were transferred to an institution or in a rehabilitation unit, and 15 percent were still hospitalized. Significant differences in stroke care were found between rural and urban ED. CONCLUSION: This prospective study provides epidemiological data for our region. Creation of stroke units and definition of acute stroke networks are necessary to improve stroke care.

Aged↗

[Mycobacterium chelonae myositis].

INTRODUCTION: Mycobacteria are only exceptionally responsible for infection of the skin and soft tissues. A Mycobacterium chelonae myositis occurred in an immunodepressed patient. OBSERVATION: A 49 year-old man, treated for many years with corticosteroids for vasculitis of the lower limbs associated with rheumatoid polyarthritis, was hospitalized for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Ten days later he developed myositis of the right arm with multiple subcutaneous abscesses. Culture of the purulent substance isolated Mycobacterium chelonae. Treatment with ciprofloxacine and clarithromycine led to the regression of the lesions. He was followed-up for 12 months. DISCUSSION: M. chelonae is found in large quantities in the environment. Infection with this mycobacteria is enhanced by immunodepression, notably that secondary to corticosteroid therapy. Resistance to antibiotics are frequent. Clarithromycine is highly effective against this mycobacteria. Bi-therapy is recommended to avoid the emergence of resistance.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

[The "COPD emergency 2003" study: a description of the hospital management of exacerbations of COPD].

CURRENT SITUATION: Despite its impact on public health and numerous recommendations COPD remains under-diagnosed and its care pathways are not well known. Exacerbations are common presentations of the illness and contribute greatly to its impact on the health of the individual and the community. Despite this the methods of their management in hospital have not been precisely described. The purpose of the prospective study "COPD emergency 2003" is to describe these different aspects of the management of COPD and to study their determining factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It is a prospective, multicentre observational study of all the exacerbations of COPD managed as emergencies in public and private hospitals during a two-month period. Enrolment takes place between October 2003 and January 2004. The analysis will begin when the last patient has been discharged from hospital. EXPECTED RESULTS: The data obtained will allow identification of those aspects of the management of COPD and its exacerbations that are heterogeneous or in conflict with the current guidelines as well as the patient care pathways. In the future this study should help target the approaches aimed at improving the outcomes of patients suffering from COPD.

Adult↗

Genetic relationship between Escherichia coli strains isolated from the intestinal flora and those responsible for infectious diseases among patients hospitalized in intensive care units.

The exact origin of strains of Escherichia coli responsible for infectious diseases in intensive care units (ICUs) remains partly unknown. Our aim was to determine the nature of the link between strains from the intestinal flora of hospital staff, strains from the intestinal flora of patients hospitalized in ICUs and strains isolated from ICU patients with invasive diseases. For this purpose, 77 strains of E. coli were genetically characterized by exploring their entire genomes by random amplified polymorphism of DNA (RAPD), and by determining their phylogenetic position in ECOR (E. coli reference) groups, the virulence factors harboured (pap, sfa, afa, hly, aer and cnf) and their ability to mutate. The strains isolated from the intestinal flora of hospital staff were found to constitute a genetically heterogeneous population compared with the strains isolated from ICU carriers, which were highly clustered. The latter strains harboured numerous virulence factors, and 80% belonged to the group ECOR B2. The strains isolated from infected patients harboured fewer virulence factors than those from the ICU carriers, and only half belonged to ECOR B2. Moreover, these strains were more genetically related to strains from hospital staff than to strains from ICU carriers. Thus, the exogenous origin of the E. coli strains is probably almost as important as translocation from intestinal flora in ICUs. Moreover, a strong mutator phenotype had a minor, or no, role in the rapid adaptation to modifications in the ecological environment.

Cross Infection↗

[Asthma caused by isocyanate exposure].

Asthma from exposure to inhalation of isocyanates is an affection recognised under the title of work place diseases within table no 62 in the General Regulations and no 43 in the Agricultural Regulations. If workplace induced asthma is the most frequent of the workplace respiratory illnesses with a frequency of 2 to 15% of the asthmatic population, 1 patient in 2 will only be the object of a declaration and 1 in 3 the objective of a survey by the administrative authorities. The frequency of isocyanate asthma is on average 16.4% amongst workplace asthmas (19.6% in the industrial environment and 1.5% in an agricultural environment); if this prevalence is dose-dependent according to Baür, 30% of patients exposed to weak doses of isocyanate (0.3% ppb according to White) develop asthmatic disease whilst Bernstein estimates as 5 to 10% the frequency of asthmatic disease per 100,000 persons who are exposed to isocyanates.

Adult↗

[Microbial infection documented on admission to the intensive care unit for post-chemotherapy neutropenia after empiric antibiotic therapy].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a systematic strategy of multiple microbiological samples for all adult patients with neutropenia admitted to an intensive care unit could document sepsis despite prior empiric antibiotic therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All adults admitted to the intensive care unit with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (WBC < 500/mm3) were included in the study. Microbiological samples were systematically obtained in all patients: 6 blood, 1 stool, 1 urine, 1 nasal swab. Data were analyzed for 54 consecutive patients: 22 men, 32 women, 42 with hematology diseases and 12 with solid tumors, mean age 46.6 +/- 14.4 years. Assessment of disease severity showed: simplified gravity index = 256 +/- 17; organ system failure score on day 1 = 2.42 +/- 1.1; 26 cases of septic shock among 47 cases of sepsis. Mortality was 50%. Within 48 h, bronchioalveolar lavage samples were obtained in 48 patients, and there were 12 spinal taps, 3 laparotomies, 3 skin biopsies and 6 sinus punctures. RESULTS: A microorganism was isolated in 39 patients (70%): 12 Gram negative, 12 Gram positive, 11 mycoses, 3 cases of herpes. Positive cultures were found for 31 blood, 1 bronchioalveolar lavage, 2 surgical, 5 serous and 22 oral or digestive tract samples. Documented microbial infection did not have prognostic value. Septic shock at admission was predictive of poor outcome. DISCUSSION: Despite prior antibiotic therapy in 46 patients, with a theoretically active drug in 37 cases, a systematic strategy of multiple deep samples increased the number of documented cases of infection in neutropenic patients. Oral and digestive tract infections predominated despite selective decontamination of the digestive tract.

Adult↗

Right-to-left interatrial shunt in ARDS: dramatic improvement in prone position.

The mechanisms leading to shunting through a patent foramen ovale include high right-sided cardiac pressures and respiratory factors due to mechanical ventilation and also anatomical changes in the right atrium as described in the platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome. We report a patient with the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who had a right-to-left atrial shunt which decreased in the prone position, after which oxygenation improved. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit because of ARDS due to an invasive fungal infection. He had a history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and paradoxical embolisms through a patent foramen ovale. Despite mechanical ventilation and antifungal treatment he developed severe ARDS. He was therefore turned to the prone position. Blood gas values improved dramatically (arterial oxygen tension/fractional inspired oxygen ratio increasing from 59 to 278 torr). Transcranial Doppler sonography was performed with bubble study, which confirmed a massive right-to-left shunt in the supine position and which instantaneously decreased in the prone position. This case suggests that a decrease in right-to-left shunt in patients who have a patent foramen ovale could partly explain the improvement in hypoxemia in the prone position.

Aged↗

Emphysematous pyelonephritis related to specific gas-forming Escherichia coli without diabetes mellitus.

A 60-year-old-man without a history of diabetes mellitus, or invasive manipulation or obstruction of the urinary tract was admitted for septic shock. Type I emphysematous pyelonephritis was clear in this case: gas within the renal parenchyma extending into the subcapsular region and the perirenal space was present on spiral computerised tomography (CT). Surgical nephrectomy was performed because biochemistry, urography and CT identified a damaged non-functioning left kidney. The outcome was favourable. All urine, blood and nephrectomy specimen cultures were positive for a specific Escherichia coli which produced a high level of gas compared to a reference E. coli strain in the same standard medium, despite the absence of diabetes mellitus. Certain strains of bacteria are able to produce high levels of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen and such fermentation in the absence of a high glucose serum level might explain the acute gas-producing bacterial renal infection.

Carbon Dioxide↗

[Guillain-Barré syndrome in the adult: therapeutic aspects].

The Guillain-Barré syndrome is the most common cause of acute flaccid paralysis. The current mortality is 5%, while severe motor sequelae persist after one year in 10%. Multidisciplinary teams, trained in all specific treatments, are required to treat these patients. Oral and intravenous steroids have proved ineffective. Two large randomized clinical trials comparing plasma exchange (PE) with no treatment have shown a short-term and a 1-year benefit. The appropriate number of exchanges and the indications are now more precisely known. In the mild form (walking possible) patients should receive two PEs; a further two exchanges should be done in the event of deterioration or in advanced forms (loss of walking ability, mechanical ventilation). More exchanges are not beneficial. Recently two new randomized trials have produced evidence that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) (0.4 g/kg/day for 5 days) was as effective as 5 PEs in advanced forms. The combination of PE with IVIg did not confer a significant advantage but increased the costs and risks. In advanced forms the choice between PE and IVIg depends on the contraindications for each treatment.

Adult↗