[Development of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for evaluating clinical competence in vascular medicine]. / Développement d'un examen clinique objectif structuré (ECOS) pour évaluer les compétences des étudiants en médecine vasculaire.

OBJECTIVES: Vascular medicine is now a clinical specialty in France. During their studies, students will acquire clinical reasoning in addition to technical skills. An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is considered as the gold standard for evaluating clinical competence. Our main objective was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of OSCE for the evaluation of students, secondarily their performance. METHODS: Three representative clinical cases of the specialty were developed. The OSCE consisted of a sequence of clinical situations presented in three stations of 7minutes each. The role of the simulated patient was played by medical students. At the end of the OSCE, observers and students completed the evaluation form. We compared the performances between junior and senior vascular medicine students. Written questionnaires were used to measure OSCE satisfaction. RESULTS: We were able to develop and organize this examination without difficulties. Fifteen students were evaluated. All participants agreed that the clinical situations were representative of vascular medicine practice, the cases were realistic and standardized patients were convincing. The performance of senior students was statistically higher than junior students in one case. DISCUSSION: Our study demonstrates the feasibility and acceptability of the OSCE in students in vascular medicine. The small number of stations and candidates requires further studies on a larger scale to evaluate their performance.

A foot tumour as late cutaneous Lyme borreliosis: a new entity?

Acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) is the late cutaneous form of Lyme borreliosis. The early inflammatory phase manifests with a bluish-red discoloration and doughy swelling of the skin. The atrophic phase represents a late-phase process with red discoloration, and a thin and wrinkled appearance of the skin. We present a patient who exhibited a previously undescribed form of late cutaneous Lyme borreliosis (LCLB) with a foot tumour. A 64-year-old woman had a large tumorous lesion on the right sole. The tumour size and deformation of the feet made wearing shoes difficult. On skin histology, a granulomatous lymphohistiocytic infiltrate with plasma cells was noticed. In fact, the patient recalled tick bites 2 or 3 years before. Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) serology was highly positive and a polymerase chain reaction analysis on the skin biopsy detected Bb sensu lato, genospecies B. afzelii. We diagnosed LCLB and antibiotics were prescribed. On the more recent examination, the tumour had totally disappeared; the skin was atrophic and dry with only few scales. We report an atypical case of European LCLB, suggesting that ACA is not the only possible presentation of LCLB. The diagnosis of ACA is often clinically missed for months or years, and may be mistaken at the inflammation phase for vascular disorders, erysipelas or bursitis/arthritis, and at the atrophic phase for lichen sclerosus atrophicus, morphoea or anetoderma. To our knowledge, no such tumorous LCLB has previously been described.

Estudo comparativo experimental na formação de neuromas: anastomose epineural em “looping” com fio de sutura e cola de fibrina / Experimental comparative study in neuromas formation: epineural anastomosis in “looping” with suture lineand fibrin glue

Neuromas podem ocorrer em todas as especialidades cirúrgicas, limitando os pacientes em suas atividades diárias. Até a presente data, não há técnica que seja uniforme e bem sucedida na prevenção e tratamento dos neuromas. Neste estudo, realizou-se anastomose epineural em “looping” utilizando fio de sutura (GSA) e cola de fibrina (GFB) em nervo ciático posterior de ratos. A anastomose epineural foi realizada no lado esquerdo, enquanto que o lado direito serviu como controle, realizando-se apenas a secção do nervo contralateral (GCA e GCB). A mensuração do neuroma foi realizada através de cortes histopatológicos. Demonstrou-se que o grupo GFB apresentou menor formação de neuromas em relação ao GCB e GSA (p<0,05). Não obstante ser impossível extrapolar estes resultados para humanos, acreditamos que ambas as técnicas de anastomose epineural são viáveis para futuros estudos clínicos.

Neuromas may occur virtually in all surgical specialties causing an important activity limitation in patients lives. Until now there is no technique that has proven success in neuromas prevention and treatment. In the present study looping epineural anastomosis was performed with suture line (GSA) and fibrin glue (GFB) in posterior sciatic nerve. While epineural anastomosis was done on the left side, the right side was used as control, by just transecting the nerve (GCA and GCB). The neuroma measurement was achieved by histopathology. It was showed that GFB group presented less neuromas formation compared to GCB and GSA (p<0,05). Although these results cannot be projected to humans, we believe that both epineural anastomosis techniques should be further studied in clinical trials.

[The treatment of advanced gastric cancer: total gastrectomy "extended" as needed]. / Il trattamento del cancro gastrico avanzato: la gastrectomia totale "allargata" di necessità.

Extended resections do play a definite role in the surgical approach to advanced gastric malignancy. Local extension of distant spread of the tumor is no longer to be considered as a contraindication to aggressive surgery based on the evidence that even for palliation, extensive operations, when feasible, have proved to be beneficial in preventing complications related to the natural history of the disease. Over a nine-year period 105 patients with gastric cancer were surgically treated. Out of the 88 patients undergoing tumor excision, 53 were submitted to total gastrectomy (there were 35 males and 18 females, mean age 63 years). This procedure was considered potentially curative in 37 cases and palliative in 16. In 8 of the patients treated with palliation. An extensive procedure, including splenectomy in 7 cases (1 of which with concomitant distal pancreatic resection) and a colonic resection in 1 case, was undertaken. Alimentary continuity following total gastrectomy was restored by jejunal interposition (Mouchet-type reconstruction) in 3 cases, Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy in 7 and simple: end-to-side esophagojejunostomy (Sweet and Allen-type) in 6. No postoperative complications have occurred and mean survival time was 8 months with a maximum of 20 months in a patient with a good nutritional status and quality of life (Karnofsky index 78%) who developed no complications related to tumor recurrence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Esophago-gastric lesions caused by caustics]. / Lesioni esofago-gastriche da caustici.

A wide range of lesions may occurs after accidental or voluntary ingestion of caustic substances including mild epithelial injury to whole thickness necrosis of the involved organs. The type of management varies according to the severity of the damage, medical therapy being indicated in the less severe cases while surgery is required in life threatering lesins or alternatively as elective treatment of trighly desabling sequelae last complications such as. From 1981 to 1989 we observed 20 patients with acute hastro-oesophageal lesions due to ingestion caustic substances 19 of then were successfully treated with medical therapy. Only 1 patient underwent surgery and died of oesophagus cardiac fistula with right atrium perforation (24 days following total gastrectomy). Based on either our own experience and the data reported in the literature we believe that the most adequate management of patients with lesions of the E.G. due to caustic agents tract must include: vital functions control maintenance intensive care treatment of shock endoscopic monitoring of E.G. lesions emergency surgical treatment where needed.