ABSTRACT
One in every 227 babies born in French Guiana has sickle cell disease, which represents the greatest incidence in France. This study aimed to determine the incidence of stroke in children with sickle cell disease and its associated risk factors. This retrospective cohort study included all children with sickle cell disease diagnosed in the neonatal period who were born in French Guiana between 01/01/1992 and 12/31/2002. Of a total of 218 records, 122 patients were included. There were 70 HbSS/Sß0 (58%), 40 HbSC (33%), and 11 Sß + thalassemia (9%). The number of emergency admissions was significantly different between genotypes, with a higher number in SS/Sß0 children (p = 0.004). There were significantly more acute chest syndromes (p = 0.006) and more elevated Lactate Dehydrogenase in SS/Sß0 patients (p = 0.003). Three of these patients had ischemic strokes at a mean age of 6.9 years, and one had a hemorrhagic stroke at the age of 9,2 years. The incidence rate of ischemic stroke for SS/Sß0 children was 3.1 (95% CI: 1.0-9.7) per 1,000 patient-years, and the clinically apparent stroke risk by the age of 15 years and 3 months was 6,4%. The incidence of hemorrhagic stroke was 1.1 (95% CI: 0.1-7.4) per 1,000 patients-years. No patient with SC or Sß + thalassemia genotypes experienced any stroke.
ABSTRACT
Paraquat is a nonselective contact herbicide of great toxicological importance, being associated with high mortality rates. Because of its high toxicity, the European Union withdrew it from its market in 2007. The aim of this study is to analyze all cases of paraquat poisoning hospitalized in French Guiana in order to assess their incidence and main characteristics.Medical records of all paraquat intoxicated patients hospitalized from 2008 until 2015 were reviewed in this retrospective study.Demographics, clinical presentation, and laboratory data were evaluated.A total of 62 cases were reviewed. The incidence of paraquat poisoning was 3.8/100,000âinhabitants/year. There were 44 adults and 18 children younger than 16 years of age. The median ages were 31 years [18.08-75.25] in adults and 13.4 years [0.75-15.08] in children, respectively. The median duration of hospitalization was longer in children [15.5 days (1-24)] than in adults [2 days (1-30)], Pâ<â.01. The majority of cases was due to self-poisoning (84%).Children had ingested a lower quantity of paraquat [48.8âmg/kg (10-571.1)] than adults [595.8âmg/kg (6-3636.4), Pâ=â.03]. There were more deaths among adults (65%) than in children (22%), Pâ=â.004. The severity and outcome was determined primarily by the amount of paraquat ingested.In conclusion, French Guiana has the largest cohort of paraquat poisonings in the European Union. The major factor affecting the prognosis of patients was the ingested amount of paraquat. The administration of activated charcoal or Pemba, in situ, within the first hour after ingestion of paraquat is essential.
Subject(s)
Drug Overdose/diagnosis , Drug Overdose/therapy , Paraquat/poisoning , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Charcoal/administration & dosage , Child , Child, Preschool , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Overdose/mortality , Female , French Guiana , Humans , Incidence , Infant , Length of Stay/statistics & numerical data , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Suicide, Attempted/statistics & numerical data , Survival Rate , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: In a teaching hospital where infectious disease specialists were routinely consulted for infections in patients in other departments, we sought to assess adherence to the specialists' recommendations, identify the factors influencing adherence, and measure the proportion of nosocomial infections among these consultations. METHODS: We collected data from intrahospital consultations with infectious disease specialists over a 4-week period. Afterwards (48 hours later), a physician and pharmacist collected all prescriptions for anti-infectious agents (dose, drug, combinations) and other orders (laboratory tests, radiology examination, isolation) for each patient. RESULTS: There were 174 infectious disease consultations requested for 143 inpatients during the study period. Anti-infectious agents were prescribed for 52.4% of patients, modified for 22.4%, and stopped for 9.1%; 16.1% neither had nor required such treatment. The rate of adherence to the specialists' recommendations was 84.6% for anti-infectious prescriptions and 77.4% for other orders. The factors associated with adherence were a bedside consultation (p = 0.04) and a recommendation to stop rather than modify anti-infectious treatment (p = 0.02). Roughly 40% of the patients (n = 57) had a nosocomial infection, most often during hospitalization for surgery (53.1% versus 29.1%, p < 0.01). Consultations were requested for 20% of the nosocomial infections observed at Grenoble University Hospital (based on annual prevalence in 2005). CONCLUSIONS: The specialist's presence at the patient's bedside has an impact on staff adherence to recommendations. These specialists play a vital role in managing nosocomial infections, which account for more than a third of these intrahospital' consultations.
