[Place of coordination of complex pathways in oncology by coordinating private nurses]. / Place d'une coordination de parcours complexes en cancérologie par des infirmiers libéraux coordinateurs.

BACKGROUND: The complexity of the hospital-city care pathway is a real challenge because of the lack of coordination and communication between many stakeholders. As part of a call for projects from the General Directorate of Healthcare Provision, an experiment involving private oncology coordinating nurses was developed to address this issue. To our knowledge, there is no evaluation so far of such a protocol . METHODS: This single-center retrospective study focused on data from the ONC'IDEC program between 2015 and 2018, where 28 private nurses provided a 24/7 hotline. The objective was to qualitatively assess the coordination of this system. The nature and number of calls, patient satisfaction and medico-economic parameters were assessed. RESULTS: More than a hundred patients (n=114) were included in this device (mean age: 72 ± 12 years). The most frequent reasons for calls concerned the patient's general condition (35 %) and home treatment follow-ups (13 %) but also referrals to the primary doctor (4 %), which helped avoiding hospitalizations. The patients were satisfied with the experiment (overall score of 8.4/10). DISCUSSION: Thanks to the ONC'IDEC program, patients were able to benefit from more appropriate care through a privileged interlocutor by making their care pathway more fluid and avoiding hospitalizations. It would be interesting to confirm these results by means of a study with a higher level of evidence, by comparing this protocol to conventional hospital coordination.

Prosthesis to Enable a Patient with Above-Elbow Amputation to Resume Hunting.

BACKGROUND: Creating a custom prosthetic device is challenging. The requirements of the patient's life must be taken into consideration when manufacturing the device. After having met the requirements for an autonomous daily life, adjustments can be made for recreational activities. SUBJECT AND METHODS: A 67-year-old patient with an above-elbow amputation following a hunting accident wanted to use a rifle to hunt again. We considered her desires, the short stump, and the constraints of the type of hunting and environment, bearing in mind the safety of the patient and other hunters. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: An orthopaedic prosthetic system was developed to allow her to pick up the rifle, aim (sight), and shoot with recoil. The 2 rifle supports are fixed onto a bolero vest. The supports are made of carbon fibre, which is lightweight, and the gun can be aimed between them. Appropriate safety was achieved. The efficiency depends on the patient. There are few publications regarding amputation cases of this type, in which the specification goals were precision and the ability to walk with the prosthesis. Multi-disciplinary collaboration enabled us to create a device that met the requirements of this case.

Fatal hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn associated with anti-Jr.

BACKGROUND: Jr(a) is a high-prevalence red cell (RBC) antigen. The clinical significance of anti-Jr(a) is controversial. When hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) occurred, most reported cases were clinically mild. We report the first case of fatal HDFN due to anti-Jr(a). CASE REPORT: A 28-year-old Caucasian woman with transfusion history was monitored at the 29th week of pregnancy (G4P1). An ultrasound scan showed fetal cardiomegaly and hepatomegaly. An antibody directed against a high-prevalence antigen was detected, but without conclusive identification. An emergency cesarean section was performed at the 36th week. The newborn was hydropic and showed severe anemia. Death occurred 30 hours after birth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serologic methods were performed to investigate the mother's RBCs and serum. An in vitro functional cellular assay and semiquantitative measurement of anti-Jr(a) were used to determine the clinical significance of the antibody. RESULTS: Anti-Jr(a) was identified in the serum and Jr(a-) phenotype was confirmed. The anti-Jr(a) titer was 1024, with predominant immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 and minor IgG4 subclasses. The functional cellular assay was consistent with an antibody unlikely to cause HDFN. Semiquantitative measurement of anti-Jr(a) showed a reactivity equivalent to a 25 IU per mL (5 microg/mL) concentration of anti-D, a value associated with a significant risk of HDFN. CONCLUSION: This is the first documented case of fatal HDFN due to anti-Jr(a). Therefore, we recommend close monitoring of pregnant women with a high-titer anti-Jr(a), especially those with an incompatible transfusion history and/or multiple pregnancies. This case report provides new arguments about the clinical significance of anti-Jr(a) in the transfusion setting.