Do parents understand the medical information provided in paediatric emergency departments? A prospective multicenter study

Aim: We evaluated the extent to which parents understood the medical information about hospitalization of their child in an emergency department and looked for characteristics likely to increase the risk of poor comprehension. Methods: Prospective multicenter study in thirteen paediatric emergency departments. The parents and doctors completed questionnaires based on closed‐ended questions with a common core of four items: reasons of hospitalization, diagnosis, treatment and seriousness of child condition. We evaluated concordance between parents and doctor answers for these items by comparing their responses. Results: This study included 380 parents. Percentage of concordance was 55% for the reason of hospitalization, 78% for the diagnosis, 92% for the treatment, 48% for the seriousness of the condition and 19% for all four items. The mean number of concordant items was 2.76 (CI 95%, 2.66–2.86). Parents whose children seemed not in pain and parents who received additional information from the nurse showed significantly slightly higher levels of concordance with doctor’s answers (2.98 vs 2.66, p = 0.006 and 2.89 vs 2.60, p = 0.004, respectively). Conclusion: This study shows that improvements are required in the clarity of the information delivered to the parents. The assistance of nurses and optimal pain management may help to improve communication.     

Severe Hypoglycemia Due to Cryptic Insulin Use in a Bodybuilder

Background

Bodybuilding is a demanding sport, which requires high-volume, high-resistance weight training and augmented nutritional intake, toward an increase of overall body muscle mass accompanied by an overall decrease of body fat percentage and mass. Among bodybuilders, the use of various legal and illegal supplements is common. These supplements may be naturally occurring or man-made.

From a non-targeted metabolomics approach to a targeted biomarkers strategy to highlight testosterone abuse in equine. Illustration of a methodological transfer between platforms and laboratories

In order to overcome the challenge associated with the screening of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids abuses in animal competitions, a non-targeted liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry based metabolomics approach was implemented on equine urine samples to highlight potential biomarkers associated with the administration of such compounds, using testosterone esters as model steroids. A statistical model relying on four potential biomarkers intensity could be defined to predict the status of the samples. With a routine application perspective, the monitoring of the highlighted potential biomarkers was first transferred into high-throughput liquid chromatography-selected reaction monitoring (LC-SRM). The model's performances and robustness of the approach were preserved and providing a first demonstration of metabolomics-based biomarkers integration within a targeted workflow using common benchtop MS instrumentation. In addition, with a view to the widespread implementation of such biomarker-based tools, we have transferred the method to a second laboratory with similar instrumentation. This proof of concept allows the development and application of biomarker-based strategies to meet current doping control needs.