La télémédecine,d'ETAPES à COVIDOM …vers une nouvelle ère ?

Telemedicine has been recognized since 2010 as a constitutive element of care, however, it was not until 2016 that the first national experiments were able to be launched with the aim of validating a framework allowing a possible rapid passage in the common right. These experiments, which are due to end in December 2021, have succeeded in involving more than 100,000 patients, mainly suffering from cardiac pathologies. The arrival of COVID-19 has made it possible to measure the usefulness of practices at a distance both from teleconsultation and telemonitoring, with the appearance of organizational and technical innovations that must now be maintained and developed in order to integrate the telemedicine of tomorrow into our actual medicine.     

Cœur et médecine interne : lupus systémique et syndrome des antiphospholipides

Cardiac involvement in systemic lupus (SL) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) can be due to variables and involve different presentations. Pericarditis is the most common lupus manifestation and occurs in 16% to 25% of patients. While corticosteroids are usually very effective, colchicine may avoid steroids and prevent relapse. Myocarditis during SL is rare and often inaugural. They may manifest as chest pain, acute heart failure, arrhythmias or conduction disturbances, and may progress to dilated cardiomyopathy and/or permanent heart failure. Their prognosis is however generally good, even in the absence of treatment with cyclophosphamide for the less serious forms. Finally, coronary involvement in SL is most often due to atherosclerotic, thrombotic origin (generally in the context of associated APS), and exceptionally explained by coronary vasculitis. During APS, valve disease is frequent and usually asymptomatic. Thrombotic damage can be (1) coronary, typically manifesting as a myocardial infarction in a young subject with healthy coronary arteries, (2) much more rarely intracardiac, or (3) microcirculatory, generally as part of a catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS) leading to a multiorgan failure. Finally, iatrogenic cardiac manifestations can exceptionally be seen during treatment with cyclophosphamide or antimalarials characterized by conduction disorders and/or heart failure.     

Les intelligences artificielles conversationnelles en médecine interne : l’exemple de l’hydroxychloroquine selon ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence (AI) using deep learning is revolutionizing several fields, including medicine, with a wide range of applications. Available since the end of 2022, ChatGPT is a conversational AI or “chatbot”, using artificial intelligence to dialogue with its users in all fields. Through the example of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), we discuss its use for patients, clinicians, or researchers, and discuss its performance and limitations, particularly in relation to algorithmic bias. If AI tools using deep learning do not dispense with the expertise and experience of a clinician (at least, for the moment), they have a potential to improve or simplify our daily practice.     

Importance des troubles cognitifs en médecine interne : physiopathologie, évaluation,prise en charge. L’exemple du lupus systémique

Systemic diseases, which are in France mainly monitored in internal medicine, affect multiple organs or tissues. While cutaneous or articular manifestations are the most common, neurological involvement is often associated with severity. Diagnosis of peripheral (e.g, neuropathies) or central (e.g, myelitis) nervous disorders is quite easy through clinical examination and dedicated complementary tests. However, neuropsychological manifestations that affect cognition, including memory, attention, executive functions or reasoning, are difficult to diagnose, sometimes trivialized by practitioners. Their causes are often numerous and interrelated. Nevertheless, these cognitive manifestations are closely related to patients’ quality of life, affecting their social life, family dynamics and professional integration but also the treatment adherence. The purpose of this review, focused on the example of systemic lupus erythematosus, is to raise awareness of cognitive dysfunction in systemic diseases including their management from diagnosis to treatments. The final aim is to go further into setting up research groups and care programs for patients with cognitive impairment followed in internal medicine.     

Prise en charge des orbitopathies inflammatoires en médecine interne : nouvelles données issues de l'étude d'une série de 31 patients consécutifs

PurposeTo describe a case series of patients investigated in internal medicine for orbital inflammation (OI) since the individualization of the clinical entity of the IgG4-related orbital disease (IgG4 ROD).Patients and methodsThirty four patients were consecutively referred by a specialized center where orbital biopsy was performed when the lesion was surgically accessible. Fourteen patients were excluded in case of missing data or lymphoma, periocular xanthogranuloma or Graves' orbitopathy. Patients with systemic or auto-immune disease according to the international criteria, or presenting with idiopathic orbital inflammation syndrome (IOIS), were included. Knowing the histological similarities between IOIS and IgG4 ROD, immunohistochemical assessment of plasma cells for IgG4 positivity was performed for every patient with available biopsy. Clinical and biological characteristics, treatment and response to treatment of included patients are reported.ResultsAmong 22 included patients, 10 presented with orbital manifestation of a systemic or autoimmune disease including 2 sarcoidosis (9%) and 8 (36%) cases of non specific OI which were reclassified in IgG4 ROD. Finally, IOIS of various clinicopathological presentation was diagnosed for 12 patients including 10 with histological documentation. Whereas relapse and resistance were not found to be related to IgG4 positivity (50% in both IOIS and IgG4 ROD groups), another treatment in addition to corticosteroids was more often necessary in IgG4 ROD patients (50%) than in IOIS patients (25%).ConclusionAfter ruling out auto-immune orbital diseases, especially IgG4 ROD, IOIS should be discussed. Factors conditioning the corticosteroid response are yet to be determined.