Use of immunoglobulins in adults in a university hospital: a retrospective study.

New applications are always being developed for immunoglobulins; new recommendations are regularly published. We wished to know the indications used in a large hospital. A hundred and thirty-six adult patients were prescribed immunoglobulins from January to December 2008. Three preparations in intravenous immunoglobulins were available (one liquid, 2 freeze-dried). Fourteen charts were rejected for clerical errors. A hundred and twenty two charts were available for statistical study. Thirty-six patients were on immunoglobulins for antibody deficiency, 19 were followed in haematology for chronic lymphoid leukaemia or multiple myeloma, 19 were treated after lung transplantation, 17 had received a kidney transplant, 1 after heart transplantation: these indications were substitution. Twenty for Guillain Barré and chronic demyelinating polyneuropathy, 10 in immune thrombocytopenic purpura: this was for immunomodulation. Recommendations were followed by the prescribers; charts were reviewed in March and November 2009. Side-effects were rare. (0.6%) (1).

[The police and mental health services.]. / Le système policier et les services de santé mentale.

Access to mental health services for people referred by the police represent an important stake to prevent the criminalization of minor infractions. The police play an essential role in the choice of the answer given to these situations. When informal measures cannot be retained or when health services are not accessible or when a person refuses, criminalization often appears as the only way to solve the problem and potentially, obtain care for the person. This article examines research on this issue in order to trace a canvas from which recent transformation in the mental health sector can be read.

Human perception of electric fields and ion currents associated with high-voltage DC transmission lines.

The objective of this study was to assess the ability of humans to detect the presence of DC electric field and ion currents. An exposure chamber simulating conditions present in the vicinity of high-voltage DC (HVDC) lines was designed and built for this purpose. In these experiments, the facility was used to expose observers to DC electric fields up to 50 kV/m and ion current densities up to 120 nA/m2. Forty-eight volunteers (25 women and 23 men) between the ages of 18 and 57 years served as observers. Perception of DC fields was examined by using two psychophysical methods: an adaptive staircase procedure and a rating method derived from signal-detection theory. Subjects completed three different series of observations by using each of these methods; one was conducted without ion currents, and the other two involved various combinations of electric fields and ion currents. Overall, subjects were significantly more likely to detect DC fields as the intensity increased. Observers were able to detect the presence of DC fields alone, but only at high intensities; the average threshold was 45 kV/m. Except in the most sensitive individuals, ion current densities up to 60 nA/m2 did not significantly facilitate the detection of DC fields. However, higher ion current densities were associated with a substantial lowering of sensory thresholds in a large majority of observers. Data analysis also revealed large variations in perceptual thresholds among observers. Normative data indicating DC field and ion current intensities that can be detected by 50% of all observers are provided. In addition, for the most sensitive observers, several other detection proportions were derived from the distribution of individual detection capabilities. These data can form the basis for environmental guidelines relating to the design of HVDC lines.