ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Stroke is a public health priority in France. The use of telemedicine for stroke known as telestroke, is a safe and effective practice improving access to acute stroke care including thrombolysis. Telestroke is currently being implemented in France. The objective was to describe the public health policy supporting telestroke implementation in France. METHODS: An external ex-post evaluation of telestroke policy in France was conducted through a retrospective descriptive study from 2003 to 31st December 2016. Process, content, and actors of the health policy were described at a national level. The logical framework of the telestroke policy was described. The stages model of public policy from the 'Institut National de Santé Publique du Quebec' was used. RESULTS: Agenda setting was produced from 2003 to 2007. Policy formulation lasted from 2008 to 2009 with official reports on telemedicine, telehealth and stroke. The decision-making stage included the national stroke plan, the national telemedicine implementation strategy and an administrative document in 2012 that described the organization of telestroke implementation. Implementation in 2011 was initiated with dedicated funding and methodological resources. No dedicated evaluation of policy for telestroke was defined. CONCLUSIONS: Using a health policy model allowed to describe the policies supporting telestroke implementation in France and to highlight the need for better evaluation.
Subject(s)
Fibrinolytic Agents/therapeutic use , Health Policy , Stroke/drug therapy , Telemedicine , Thrombolytic Therapy , Critical Care/legislation & jurisprudence , Critical Care/methods , France , Health Plan Implementation/legislation & jurisprudence , Health Plan Implementation/standards , Health Policy/legislation & jurisprudence , Humans , Program Evaluation , Retrospective Studies , Telemedicine/legislation & jurisprudence , Telemedicine/methods , Thrombolytic Therapy/methods , Thrombolytic Therapy/standardsABSTRACT
In Crohn's disease (CD), labeled leukocyte scintigraphy results are highly correlated with radioendoscopic findings and the degree of histologic inflammation. We evaluated the correlation between leukocyte activity measured by two complementary methods. polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN)-elastase concentration and leukocyte scintigraphy. In 20 patients with CD, labeled leukocytes, 99m technetium hexamethyl propylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) scintigraphy, and PMN-elastase concentration were evaluated on the same day. A good correlation was found between PMN-elastase concentrations and the scintigraphic scores (p = 0.005; rs = 0.60; 95% CI, 0.20-0.83). Scintigraphy results were significantly correlated with CD activity index (p = 0.023, rs = 0.50). In four patients, scintigraphic scores and clinical disease activity were not consistent due to the state of PMN leukocyte activation, measured by elastase concentration. In CD, PMN-elastase can provide information about the degree of activation of PMN leukocytes and may explain discrepancy between clinical and scintigraphic indexes.
Subject(s)
Crohn Disease/diagnosis , Leukocyte Elastase/blood , Leukocytes/diagnostic imaging , Neutrophils/enzymology , Radiopharmaceuticals , Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime , Adult , Aged , Blood Sedimentation , C-Reactive Protein/analysis , Cell Separation , Crohn Disease/blood , Crohn Disease/diagnostic imaging , Crohn Disease/enzymology , Data Interpretation, Statistical , Female , Humans , Immunoenzyme Techniques , Male , Middle Aged , Radionuclide ImagingABSTRACT
Activation of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a wellknown phenomenon. This study aimed to determine if activated PMNs are sequestered and degranulated within the myocardium at reperfusion in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Nineteen patients undergoing elective CABG were included in a prospective randomized study. Blood samples were obtained simultaneously from the radial artery (RA) and the coronary sinus (CS) at the following times: T0 (5 min after onset of CPB), T1 (2 min after aortic unclamping), and T2 (10 min after aortic unclamping). Neutrophil function was evaluated by PMN count and by elastase and lactoferrin concentrations. All patients survived. Neutrophils increased significantly from T0 to T1 and T2 in both RA and CS (p < 0.001 between T0 and T1 or T2). Pre-ischemia and reperfusion were associated with a significantly lower neutrophil count in CS compared with RA blood (p < 0.001), suggesting that PMNs were trapped within the myocardium at the onset of the CPB. Elastase and lactoferrin concentrations increased significantly from T0 to T1 and from T1 to T2 for each site, with greater concentrations (p < 0.001) in the CS compared with the RA, suggesting that activated neutrophils released their granular content into the plasma milieu only after reperfusion of the ischemic heart. This study establishes that neutrophil sequestration seems to be secondary to PMN activation by CPB but that the ischemia-reperfusion sequence induces specific degranulation of the PMNs trapped within the ischemic myocardium.
