Mastectomies avec conservation de l’étui cutané : comment éviter les souffrances cutanées ?

Skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) has emerged as the surgical technique best adapted to the treatment of early breast cancers or breast cancer recurrences after conservative treatment; the technique is particularly appreciated by the patients who had been expecting the development of immediate, high-quality breast reconstruction for over 15 years. SSM preserves anatomical landmarks on the skin surface (notably the under-breast fold and the conical shape of the breast). The procedure must be performed by a skilled surgical team in order to maximize the quality of breast resection and reconstruction, particularly to avoid postoperative complications, notably damage to blood vessels within the skin flap and prosthesis infection. These complications generally affect the cosmetic outcome of the reconstruction, with serious short-term and long-term consequences for the acceptability of the surgical procedure, and may sometimes compromise the delivery of adjuvant treatments (either chemo- or radiotherapy). Based on our previous experience (1000 new cases since 1992), we will compare the advantages and drawbacks of the procedure, discuss its indications, describe the clinical situations encountered and the various specific interventions available, as well as the methods to reduce the risks of tissue damage and skin necrosis.     

Quelle pression de perfusion cérébrale après traumatisme crânien chez l’enfant ?

The management of cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) is the one of the main preoccupation for the care of paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). The physiology of cerebral autoregulation, CO₂ vasoreactivity, cerebral metabolism changes with age as well as the brain compliance. Low CPP leads to high morbidity and mortality in pediatric TBI. The recent guidelines for the management of CPP for the paediatric TBI indicate a CPP threshold 40–50 mmHg (infants for the lower and adolescent for the upper). But we must consider the importance of age-related differences in the arterial pressure and CPP. The best CPP is the one that allows to avoid cerebral ischaemia and oedema. In this way, the adaptation of optimal CPP must be individual. To assess this objective, interesting tools are available. Transcranial Doppler can be used to determine the best level of CPP. Other indicators can predict the impairment of autoregulation like pressure reactivity index (PRx) taking into consideration the respective changes in ICP and CPP. Measurement of brain tissue oxygen partial pressure is an other tool that can be used to determine the optimal CPP.     

Optimisation de l’administration des agents anesthésiques inhalés : débit de gaz frais ou fraction délivrée ?

Introduction

During volatile closed-circuit anaesthesia, a chosen end-tidal fraction (Fet) could be achieved by setting either delivered fraction (Fd) or fresh gas flow (FGF). This study compared the efficacy of both strategies and the resulting drug consumption.

Patients and methods

Sixty patients (10 per group) were administered, after intravenous induction and intubation, desflurane, sevoflurane or isoflurane + 50% N₂O, to achieve a target Fet equal to one minimal alveolar concentration (MAC), according to one strategy: high FGF (HFGF) Fd fixed 20% above target Fet, FGF 10 l/min then 1 l/min after achieving the target, FGF opened at 10 l/min at the end of surgery; low FGF (LFGF) FGF fixed at 1 l/min, Fd at the maximal value on the vaporizer, then set at target Fet + 20% after achieving Fet equal to one MAC, FGF maintained at 1 l/min until extubation.

Results

The target Fet was achieved in all patients in LFGF within 2.1 ± 0.9 min followed by 15% (isoflurane) to 57% (sevoflurane) overdosage, but only in nine patients out of 30 after 10 min in HFGF. Delays were similar between desflurane and sevoflurane. Volatile consumption was decreased by 75% in LFGF. Fifty percent decrement and extubation times were shorter with HFGF, similarly for the three agents.

Conclusion

Massive overdosage of Fd is the fastest, reproducible and cheapest strategy to achieve (or to increase) a chosen Fet. High FGF is the fastest to decrease Fet during or at the end of anaesthesia. Combining Fd and FGF adjustments in order to maximize Fd/Fet gradients overwrites pharmacokinetic differences between desflurane and sevoflurane and reduces differences with isoflurane. Automatic adjustments based on volatile pharmacockinetics would be helpful to achieve a target Fet without overdosage.     

Repérage de la membrane cricothyroïdienne en phase d’apprentissage : valeur ajoutée de l’échographie ?

Objectives

Emergency cricothyroidotomy is recommended as life-saving maneuver when mask ventilation and tracheal intubation are impossible. It requires the puncture of the cricothyroid membrane (CTM) whose clinical identification is difficult. The objective of this study is to evaluate if ultrasound can help locating the CTM by comparing palpation and ultrasonographic evaluation.

Patients and methods

After ultrasound localization of CTM by a referent physician in two overweight volunteers, twelve residents without prior anatomy recall, defined by palpation an entry point for CTM. After a rapid training in CTM ultrasound localization, residents identified an ultrasound-guided puncture point. For each puncture site were registered: relevance, time and ease to localization. Six months later, residents renewed clinical and ultrasound identification of CTM on the same subjects.

Results

The CTM was accurately identified by palpation and ultrasound by 46% and 100% of residents respectively (P < 0.05). Six months later, residents remained more effective identifying CTM with ultrasound than with palpation (78% vs. 33%) (P < 0.05). Time to localization of CTM by palpation in the 2 volunteers was 15 s [11–18] and 24 s [9–39] (average [CI 95%]) whereas it was 21 s [16–25 s] and 28 s [19–36] by ultrasound respectively (ns). The ultrasound identification of CTM was also considered easier than clinical identification.

Conclusion

Following a limited training phase, ultrasound allowed a more effective localization of CTM by residents when compared to clinical palpation in overweight patients. This benefit remained significant when assessment was repeated 6 months later.     

La personne de confiance est-elle un témoin fiable en cas de possibilité de prélèvement d’organe sur personne décédée en vue d’un don ?

Objectives

All adults (people over the age of 18) can assign a person of trust and this person can be a parent, a partner or the treating doctor. Following the introduction of the 4^th March 2002 law, this third party is now within the doctor–patient relationship. The aim of this study is to find out who is appointed as a person of trust by patients notably concerning the level of education or medical knowledge of these people. We have equally put the person of trust to the test within the realms that they would be questioned regarding organ donation from the deceased.

Patients and methods

The included subjects were adults admitted to hospital for surgical procedures or medical biopsies that were not deemed life threatening. The data collection was done by doctors from the legal medicine department at the university hospital of Amiens over a period of 18 months. With the permission of the patient and his or her person of trust, a one-to-one discussion was held. Statistical analysis took place focusing on all the variables together and is shown by comparing the patient group versus the person of trust group. The significance threshold returned was 0.05.

Results

A total of 125 patients–persons of trust couples were interviewed. The patients and their person of trust were not different in terms of age, social status, occupational groups and education. However, a person of trust is more often a woman (64%) against 50% of patients. A person of trust more often lives as a couple than the patients. Concerning organ donation, over half of the people questioned were for donation but only a third of patients had already discussed the subject with their person of trust. The persons of trust bring in 40% of cases a response that is not concordant in the position of the patient.

Discussion

The creation of a person of trust due to the law of 4^th March 2002 brings about the opportunity for the patient to take on an approach, with the doctors, of having somebody that can advise them. Yet in this study, there is no significant evidence of a difference between the level of education of patients and that of their person of trust, or a difference in the distribution of the socio-professional categories, or specific choices for the GP. The person of trust can be used to wait on behalf of the patient whilst he or she is not able to do so. Even if the patient feels that the person of trust has come first over other close friends or relatives, the persons of trust assume this role with difficulty. Since its creation, the person of trust was presented as a response to social demand; however, it seems that patients are not sufficiently informed when it comes to the possibilities that are on offer to them.     

Pratique de l’anesthésie réanimation en milieu pénitentiaire. Un détenu peut-il bénéficier d’une anesthésie ambulatoire ?

Ambulatory anaesthesia is an anesthesia allowing the return of the patient home the same day. Even if the ambulatory hospitalization can, in theory, be applied to a prisoner as to every patient, caution is essential in such approach. Every anaesthetist reanimator doctor practicing in public hospitals may give care to patient prisoners while he is far from dominating all features of the prison world and while he must put down his therapeutic indications. The ambulatory anaesthesia in prison environment does not guarantee full security for the patient. Procedures could be set up between hospital complexes, caretakers practicing within penal middle (Unit of Consultation and Ambulatory Care [UCAC]) the prison service and hospital, the prefecture, to identify possible ambulatory interventions for a patient prisoner and to set up all guarantees of patient follow-up care in his return in prison environment. The development of interregional secure hospital units (ISHU) within teaching hospitals, allows an easier realization of interventions to the prisoners, but exists only in seven teaching hospitals in France.     

Patient de réanimation,journées de réanimation ? Modélisation d’un fonctionnement optimisé des unités de réanimation,de soins intensifs et de surveillance continue et conséquences sur les suppléments tarifaires induits

Introduction

“Critical Care Units” are intended to admit patients with multiple organ failure. The severity of patients admitted is variable. The aim of the study was to estimate the number of days that an optimum care organization could release, and therefore the additional admissions that would have been allowed. Estimates of earnings related to the various supplements were carried out jointly.

Methods

Reporting days associated or not with a resuscitation care during the year 2011 in an ICU of a university hospital (16 beds), optimized patient flow simulation, and computation of medical act inducing financial supplements.

Results

Six hundred and fifty-seven patients (SAPS II from 0 to 110, 41% ventilated more than 48 hours, mortality = 26%) were admitted representing 5095 days (occupancy rate = 87%). Two hundred and twenty-two patients (34%) did not trigger supplement for resuscitation care for 415 days in the unit. Four hundred and thirty-five patients have triggered this supplement representing 4680 days, including 3035 days with resuscitation care and 1645 (35% of days valued resuscitation, 32% of total days) without any. The entire year 2011 has generated earnings of 3,980,192 €. Optimization of management would have allowed the admission of additional 235 to 295 patients and potential additional earnings from 524,735 € to 1,063,804 €, depending on the occupancy rate chosen (80% or real 2011s) and the severity of discharged patients.

Conclusion

Optimization of the patients flow between “Critical Care”, Intensive Care and Continuous Monitoring Units would increase the number of patients admitted in “Critical Care” Units without any financial loss related to supplements.     

Hypernatrémie chez le patient cérébrolésé : utile ou dangereux ?

Hypernatremia is defined by a serum sodium concentration of more than 145 mmol/L and reflects a disturbance of the regulation between water and sodium. The high incidence of hypernatremia in patients with severe brain injury is due various causes including poor thirst, diabetes insipidus, iatrogenic sodium administration, and primary hyperaldosteronism. Hypernatremia in the intensive care unit is independently associated with increased mortality and complications rates. Because of the rapid brain adaptation to extracellular hypertonicity, sustained hypernatremia exposes the patient to an exacerbation of brain edema during attempt to normalize natremia. Like serum glucose, serum sodium concentration must be tightly monitored in the intensive care unit.     

Faut-il procéder à un dépistage du portage de Pseudomonas aeruginosa dans les services de réanimation ?

Objective

To evaluate the potential interest of screening of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on admission and during hospitalisation in intensive care units patients.

Method

A retrospective study was carried out in two adult ICU of the University-Hospital of Besançon in 2007. P. aeruginosa screening was performed on admission and once a week during ICU stay. Clinical samples positive with P. aeruginosa were collected.

Results

Among the 754 patients included, 146 had a screening sample positive giving an average incidence of 19.4 per 100 patients. Thirty-five were imported and 111 ICU-acquired. Sixty-one patients had at least one positive clinical sample, that is an incidence 8.1 cases per 100 admitted patients. Sensibility, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of screening as an indicator of subsequent infection were 54.1%, 86.9%, 26.6% and 95.6%, respectively.

Conclusion

Screening samples are necessary to assess P. aeruginosa endemicity in intensive care units. The high negative predictive value of screening suggests that use of specifics anti-Pseudomonas antimicrobials could be reduced. However, the benefit of this strategy remains to be evaluated.     

Immunomodulation au cours d’un cas de leptospirose grave avec défaillance multiviscérale : échanges plasmatiques,immunoglobulines ou corticoïdes ?

We report a case of severe leptospirosis complicated with a multiple organ failure syndrome. A 62-year-old patient presented a picture associating fever, asthenia and myalgias, particularly intense on the calves. The assessment showed acute renal failure, hyperbilirubinemia, severe rhabdomyolysis and thrombocytopenia. Although initial management associating amoxicilline and continuous veino-venous hemodiafiltration, evolution was unfavourable, with SDRA and increase of hyperbilirubinemia. Administration of a bolus of 500 mg of methylprednisolone, associated with intravenous immunoglobulin (0,4 g/kg per day during five days), led to a rapid clinical and biological improvement. Immunomodulation aspects during leptospirosis are discussed.