Biomedical subjects

Pascal Burtin

Publications and source records attributed to Pascal Burtin.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Colorectal cancer screening: physicians' knowledge of risk assessment and guidelines, practice, and description of barriers and facilitators.

BACKGROUND: Physician nonadherence to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening recommendations contributes to underuse of screening. OBJECTIVE: To assess physicians' knowledge of CRC screening guidelines for average-risk individuals, perceived barriers to screening and practice behaviours. METHODS: Between October 2004 and March 2005, staff physicians working in three university-affiliated hospitals in Montreal, Quebec, were surveyed. Self-administered questionnaires assessed knowledge of risk classification and current guidelines for average-risk individuals, as well as perceptions of barriers to screening and practice behaviours. RESULTS: All 65 invited physicians participated in the survey, including 46 (70.8%) family medicine physicians and 19 (29.2%) general internists. Most physicians knew that screening should begin at 50 years of age, all knew to screen men and women and 92% said they screened average-risk patients. Fifty-seven (87.7%) physicians correctly identified three common characteristics associated with high risk for developing CRC. Physicians who screened average-risk patients preferred fecal occult blood testing (88.3%) and colonoscopy (88.3%) to flexible sigmoidoscopy (10.0%) and double-contrast barium enema (30.0%). Most physicians knew the correct screening periodicity for fecal occult blood testing (87.6%), but only 40% or fewer could identify correct screening periodicities for the other modalities. Barriers and facilitators focused on health care delivery system improvements, better evidence on which to base recommendations and development of practical screening modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians lacked knowledge of the recommended screening modalities and periodicities to appropriately screen average-risk individuals. Because CRC screening can reduce mortality, efforts to improve physician delivery should focus on physician knowledge and changes to the health care delivery system.

Colorectal Neoplasms↗

PubMed2005

The safety and usefulness of high-dose-rate endoluminal brachytherapy as a boost in the treatment of patients with esophageal cancer with external beam radiation with or without chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: This study reports the results of a single-institution experience with high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRBT) used as a boost in the treatment of esophageal cancer with external beam radiation therapy (ERT) with or without chemotherapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients without evidence of metastatic disease were identified. HDRBT was given before ERT with a dose of 20 Gy in 5 fractions. Patients with a Karnofsky performance of more than 70 received treatment with 50 Gy in 25 fractions and concurrent 5-fluorouracil and cis-platinum during Weeks 1 and 5, whereas patients with a Karnofsky performance of less than 70 were treated with radiation therapy alone with 35 Gy in 14 fractions. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients received HDRBT treatment with combined ERT and chemotherapy and 17 patients with ERT alone. The incidence of acute bone marrow toxicity was 55% Grade 2 and 15% Grade 3, and 85% of patients had Grade 2 esophagitis. With a median follow-up time of 26 months, the median survival was 21 months; the 2-year local recurrence was 25%, and the 5-year survival rate was 28%. CONCLUSION: HDRBT is safe and beneficial for local control in the radical treatment of patients with esophageal cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2005

MR cholangiopancreatography versus endoscopic sonography in suspected common bile duct lithiasis: a prospective, comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the accuracy of MR cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic sonography for the diagnosis of common bile duct stones in patients with a mild to moderate clinical suspicion of common bile duct stones. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty-seven patients were prospectively enrolled. Inclusion criteria included acute pancreatitis, subclinical jaundice, and clinical features of common bile duct stone migration. Radial endoscopic sonography and MR cholangiopancreatography with the single-shot fast spin-echo technique were performed a maximum of 48 hr apart. The gold-standard diagnosis was obtained with ERCP (n = 20) or intraoperative cholangiography (n = 14) if the results of endoscopic sonography or MR cholangiopancreatography were abnormal or if a cholecystectomy was performed, or by clinical and biochemical follow-up (n = 11) if the results of endoscopic sonography and MR cholangiopancreatography were normal. RESULTS: The final diagnosis was common bile duct stones in 16 patients, malignant obstructions in four, and another biliary disease in two (lithiasis migration aspect with papillary edema); 23 patients had no biliary disease. The sensitivity and specificity of MR cholangiopancreatography were, respectively, 90.5% and 87.5% for etiologic diagnosis and 87.5% and 96.6% for the detection of common bile duct stones. The corresponding values for endoscopic sonography were 86.4% and 91.3% for etiologic diagnosis and 93.8% and 96.6% for visualization of choledocholithiasis. Accuracy did not significantly differ between the techniques. CONCLUSION: In cases of mild to moderate suspicion of choledocholithiasis, the accuracies of endoscopic sonography and MR cholangiopancreatography are similar. Because MR cholangiopancreatography is noninvasive, it may be preferred for this indication.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Plastic or metal stents for malignant stricture of the common bile duct? Results of a randomized prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The systematic use of metal stents to treat biliary obstruction is restricted by high cost compared with plastic stents. The aims of this study were to compare cost and efficacy of plastic stents and metal stents in the treatment of patients with malignant common bile duct strictures and to define factors that predict survival of these patients. METHODS: One hundred eighteen patients (mean age 75 years) with malignant strictures of the common bile duct were randomized to placement of a plastic stent or metal stent. Comparisons were made with the Mann-Whitney or chi-square test as indicated; survival rates were compared with a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in survival between the two groups. Time to first obstruction was longer for patients in the metal stent group (metal stent, median not reached vs. plastic stent, 5 months; p = 0.007). The number of additional days of hospitalization, days of antibiotic therapy, and the numbers of ERCPs and transabdominal US procedures was significantly higher in the plastic stent group. After multivariate analysis, only the presence of liver metastases was independently related to survival (p < 0.0005; OR = 2.25). This variable defined a group with a shorter survival. Median survival of patients with hepatic metastasis at diagnosis was 2.7 months compared with 5.3 months for patients without liver metastasis; in the latter group, the overall cost associated with metal stents was lower than for plastic stents. CONCLUSIONS: Metal stent placement is the most effective treatment of inoperable malignant common bile duct stricture. Placement of a metal stent is cost effective in patients without hepatic metastases, whereas a plastic stent should be placed in patients with spread of the tumor to the liver.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Inter-observer and intra-observer variability in hepatology.

OBJECTIVES: A determination of the inter-observer variability is an important step before determining diagnostic accuracy and requires a specific methodology and statistical tests. The aim of this study was to report the results, characteristics and methodological quality of agreement studies performed in hepatology. METHODS: A search of published studies yielded 42 that could be used in this evaluation: three were clinical studies, 11 were in the field of endoscopy, 12 in histopathology and 16 in radiology. The studies were described with a grid of 28 items and evaluated with a quality score (QUAS; maximum, 35) including 22 items. RESULTS: The following agreement level was noted: intra-observer > inter-observer > inter-centre. The following signs had good agreement. Endoscopy: size and red signs of oesophageal varices; histopathology: cirrhosis, fibrosis and steatosis; Doppler: mean portal vein and superior mesenteric artery velocities, hepatic artery area and perfusion indexes. Frequent methodological weaknesses were noted. The real agreement (such as the kappa index excluding chance), and the prevalence of signs and biases were rarely assessed. Standardized observations (67% of the studies), blind assessment (48%), simultaneous observations (7%), and the recording technique were not frequently used. The mean QUAS was 13 +/- 6 with 17 +/- 4 in histopathology versus 11 +/- 6 in radiology (P < 0.05). Using multiple regression, four variables independently predicted the QUAS with R2 = 0.77: adapted tests, multiple observations, intra-class correlation coefficient and agreement proportion. CONCLUSIONS: Methodology was often insufficient. Agreement is often measured under biased conditions. Some areas were not or were rarely studied, e.g., biology and ultrasound. The agreement and QUAS were often poor, suggesting the need for studies with improved observation and methodological quality of agreement.

Esophageal and Gastric Varices↗

PubMed2003

[Prognostic value of endorectal ultrasonography in rectal cancer: results of a multifactorial analysis].

INTRODUCTION: No study has evaluated the prognostic value of initial endorectal ultrasonography (ERUS) in rectal cancer (RC). AIM: To assess the prognostic value of initial ERUS in operated patients with RC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighty-four patients with non metastatic RC were examined by ERUS before treatment. Forty-two received preoperative radiation therapy and they were resected 7 weeks later on average. The prognostic value of uTN and pTN classification was analysed by means of a Cox model, taking into account the realization of preoperative radiation therapy. RESULTS: In the univariate analysis, 4 variables were predictive of prognosis: elevation of alkaline phosphatases, the degree of circonference, the extension of the resection margin, and the involvement of perirectal lymph nodes. The multivariate analysis showed that when considering only pTN and uTN classifications, only uT and pN kept a significant prognostic value. The better prognostic role of uT was due to a close relationship with preoperative radiation therapy which was responsible for a significant downstaging. CONCLUSION: Since preoperative radiotherapy has become a standard in France, the prognostic value of ERUS has emerged, better than pTN classification when radiotherapy has been preoperatively applied. Other prognostic factors should be investigated in a more homogeneous population of patients, all presurgically irradiated

Aged↗

PubMed2002

[Treatment of pain in chronic pancreatitis by an endoscopic method].

UNLABELLED: The epigastric pain is the most frequent manifestation in chronic pancreatitis. It is due to intraductal pancreatic pressure, presence of compressive pseudocysts and probably to neuroinflammatory process caused by alcohol. AIM: The aim of our study was to assess the influence of endoscopic treatment on pain in chronic pancreatitis and the correlation between residual pain after endoscopic treatment and pancreatic morphology. PATIENTS: Forty-four patients from the Gastroenterology Department of Angers (France) with chronic pancreatitis were included in our retrospective clinical study. Thirty-seven patients underwent a diagnostic ERCP and only 28 needed an endoscopic treatment. The pain was evaluated semi-quantitatively before and after the endoscopic treatment. The mean follow-up was 28.6 months. RESULTS: Among the 28 patients with endoscopic treatment, 18 had a complete improvement of the pain, 4 an incomplete improvement and 6 had no improvement; these last were submitted to pancreatic surgery. The pain evolution had a good correlation with the reduction of Wirsung diameter; there was no correlation with ductal stenosis, residual lithiasis and pseudocysts presence. Alcohol consumption had no influence on the pain evolution. CONCLUSION: The endoscopic treatment of intraductal lithiasis and pseudocysts is a useful method for Wirsung decompression, improving the pain in chronic pancreatitis.

Adolescent↗