[Intracerebroventricular infusion of morphine, bupivacaine and clonidine for the management of refractory neoplasic pain in a palliative care setting : a case report]. / Administration intracérébroventriculaire de morphine, bupivacaïne et clonidine pour la gestion de la douleur réfractaire d'origine néoplasique en soins palliatifs.

Intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of morphine is a well-known technique to relieve intractable neoplasic pain when conventional analgesic strategies reach their limits. Through this case report, we present indications, assets, and drawbacks of this procedure in such conditions. We also describe the adaptation of the systemic analgesic treatment to allow discharge from the hospital to home settings. Thanks to the ICV infusion of a mixture of morphine, bupivacaine and clonidine, the patient was weaned from oral opioid medications and reached an acceptable level of comfort. This allowed him to be discharged from the hospital to go back home with a specific setting of mobile palliative care structure. The patient's family followed training about the device to prevent any technical trouble and to react in case of unwanted events.

L'administration de morphine intracérébroventriculaire (ICV) est une technique bien connue pour traiter les douleurs néoplasiques insoutenables lorsqu'un traitement antalgique conventionnel atteint ses limites. A travers un cas clinique, nous présentons les indications, les atouts et les inconvénients de cette procédure dans de telles conditions. Nous décrivons aussi l'adaptation du traitement antalgique per os après implantation du cathéter. Grâce à l'infusion ICV d'un mélange de morphine, de bupivacaïne et de clonidine, le patient a été sevré totalement des dérivés opioïdes oraux et a atteint un niveau de confort acceptable pour rentrer à domicile avec une structure mobile de soins palliatifs mise en place. L'entourage du patient a bénéficié de séances d'information pour prévenir les problèmes techniques liés au dispositif et pour réagir en cas d'incident.

Combined minimally invasive techniques to cure accidental dural tears occurring during spine surgery: epidural blood patch associated with cerebrospinal fluid drainage and ventral bed rest.

We report the case of a 70-year-old man, with increased anesthetic risk, who beneficiated from a lumbar laminarthrectomy from lumbar vertebra 4 (L4) to sacral 1 (S1). A dural tear facing L5-S 1 levels occurred during surgery and was repaired intra-operatively. Postoperatively, back and radicular pain symptoms appeared along with a pseudo-meningocele. Successful treatment was only achieved after performing an epidural blood patch and closed subarachnoid drainage. This well-known but infrequent management was undertaken after a first epidural blood patch attempt, and after two unsuccessful surgical choking procedures. Management is here described, and discussed at the light of existing literature.

Associations between genetic variants in the ACE, AGT, AGTR1 and AGTR2 genes and renal function in the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Some studies suggest that polymorphisms in angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), angiotensinogen (AGT), angiotensin II type I receptor (AGTR1) and angiotensin II type II receptor (AGTR2) genes may contribute to renal function variation. METHODS: Genotyping for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in these candidate genes was performed in 2,847 participants from four racial/ethnic groups (African American, Chinese, White and Hispanic) without known cardiovascular disease in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. SNP and haplotype analyses were performed to determine associations between genotypes and cross-sectional renal function measurements, including urine albumin excretion (UAE) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using serum creatinine and cystatin C. RESULTS: Twenty-four ACE SNPs, 10 AGT SNPs, 15 AGTR1 SNPs and 6 AGTR2 SNPs were typed successfully. After adjusting for ancestry, age and gender, 3 SNPs (AGT M235T, AGT rs2148582 and AGTR1 rs2131127) showed associations with an empiric p value <0.05 with the same phenotype in multiple racial/ethnic groups, suggesting replication. The AGT M235T SNP has been shown previously to be associated with diabetic and hypertensive nephropathy. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that genetic polymorphisms in the renin-angiotensin system are associated with renal phenotypes in the general population, but that many associations differ across racial/ethnic groups.

Gatifloxacin 200 mg or 400 mg once daily is as effective as ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice daily for the treatment of patients with acute pyelonephritis or complicated urinary tract infections.

The efficacy and safety of two oral dosing regimens of gatifloxacin were compared to ciprofloxacin in the treatment of complicated urinary tract infection in a randomised, double-blind multi-centre trial. One thousand one hundred and twenty-three adult patients with complicated urinary tract infection (70%) or pyelonephritis (30%) were initially enrolled, 1122 were treated. Of these, 824 were included in a modified ITT population: gatifloxacin 200 mg (274 patients) or 400 mg (280 patients) once daily or ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice daily for 5-14 days (269 patients). Bacteriological and clinical responses were assessed 7-9 days after the end of treatment (EOT) and 4-6 weeks post-treatment (end of study visit, EOS). The bacteriological response rates per patient at EOT in the gatifloxacin 400 mg, gatifloxacin 200 mg and ciprofloxacin groups were 77% (207/269), 78% (208/268) and 73% (190/259), respectively. At EOS they were slightly lower: 70% (184/262), 71% (176/248) and 69% (174/252), respectively. The clinical responses at EOT were 69% (190/277), 70% (190/273) and 65% (174/266). At EOS they were 71% (193/273), 70% (182/259) and 74% (190/258). The overall eradication rates of initial pathogens at EOT and EOS were 85.3% and 88.4% in the gatifloxacin 400 mg group; 84.1 and 90.1% in the gatifloxacin 200 mg group and 85.1 and 91.4% in the ciprofloxacin group. Both oral regimens of gatifloxacin were as effective as that of ciprofloxacin. All treatment groups showed a similar safety profile, nausea being the most frequently reported adverse event.

[Arterial aneurysm within a tumor in a pediatric patient]. / Anévrisme artériel intra-tumoral chez l'enfant.

A middle cerebral artery aneurysm, completely enclosed in a large frontotemporal anaplastic astrocytoma, is demonstrated in a 11-month-old girl admitted for intracranial hypertension. Clipping of the aneurysm along with radical resection was successfully performed. Five years later, follow-up neurological examination is normal, aneurysm occlusion and no evidence of tumor recurrence are demonstrated by angiogram and MRI. The association of brain tumor and aneurysm is discussed, and documented with the only two cases of a neoplasm surrounding on aneurysm reported in the literature.