[Anti-pneumococcal vaccine coverage for hospitalized risk patients: Assessment and suggestions for improvements]. / Couverture vaccinale anti-pneumococcique chez des patients à risque hospitalisés : évaluation et propositions d'amélioration.

Streptococcus pneumoniae can cause invasive infections. Incidence and severity are linked to patients' risk factors. Due to the resistance to leading antibiotics, the anti-pneumococcal vaccination has become a major public health issue. The purpose of this survey was to evaluate the anti-pneumococcal vaccine coverage in a population of adults with risk factors. This was a prospective study that included patients with at least one recommendation for pneumococcal vaccination as indicated by the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH), to which three further US recommendations were added (diabetes, obesity and age>65years). One hundred and thirty-four patients with an average age of 70 years were included. The physician could only confirm 68 % of the patients' vaccination status. Vaccination coverage as recommended by the BEH board was 30 % (n=54). All HIV patients were vaccinated (n=2) and the vaccination coverage was 75 % (n=8) for patients treated for autoimmune diseases and only 10 % (n=20) for patients treated with chemotherapy. Patients with no vaccination didn't know the existence of the vaccine or didn't know that vaccination was recommended to them. This study has highlighted a deficit in pneumococcal vaccination coverage and a high level of ignorance of the existence of recommended vaccination. In addition to awareness campaign for patients and caregiver training, the expansion of the vaccine e-book utilization could improve the vaccination status.

[Scabies: A world plague]. / La gale : un fléau mondial.

Scabies is a ubiquitous contagious disease, and its prevalence is growing. Diagnostic difficulties vary according to the patient's age and health. Benzyl benzoate and ivermectin are the reference drugs in France. Decontamination of the patients' bedding, clothing, and environment is essential for successful treatment.

Epidemiological data of staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome in France from 1997 to 2007 and microbiological characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus associated strains.

Epidemiological data on staphylococcal scalded skin syndromes (SSSS), including bullous impetigo (BI) and generalized exfoliative syndrome (GES), are scarce. To better characterize SSSS and associated Staphylococcus aureus strains, we conducted a retrospective study of 349 cases collected in France between 1997 and 2007 by the National Reference Centre of Staphylococci. Our results showed a stationary evolution of SSSS cases, with a heterogeneous distribution of cases in France. Although notification was not exhaustive, we estimated an incidence of 0.56 cases/year/million inhabitants, in accordance with previous studies conducted in France and Europe, with a median age of 2 years old and sex ratios of 1. A seasonal effect was observed, with a higher GES/BI ratio in autumn compared with other seasons, which could be explained by the impact of viral co-infection. Genetic analysis of S. aureus strains showed that accessory gene regulator (agr) 4, exfoliative toxin A (eta) and B (etb) genes, staphylococcal and enterotoxin-like O (selo) gene and agr4 etb selo profiles were predominantly associated with GES, whereas agr2 eta and agr4 eta selo were more frequently observed with BI. Only one methicillin-resistant strain was found. Protein A (spa) typing identified two main genotypes: spa clonal complex (CC) 159/sequence-type (ST) 121 (75%) and spaCC346/ST15 (18%). spaCC159 was mainly associated with agr4 eta etb selo, agr4 eta selo and agr4 etb selo, and spaCC346 was mainly associated with agr2 eta, suggesting that French SSSS cases are caused by these two main lineages. However, in a multivariate analysis, only etb was independently associated with GES.

[Evaluation of the performance of transfer devices in a closed system using a radioactive solution of [(99m)Tc]]. / Évaluation de la performance de dispositifs de transfert en système clos au moyen d'une solution radioactive de [(99m)Tc].

INTRODUCTION: The exposure of workers to antineoplastic agents is potentially dangerous in the long term because of the teratogenic, carcinogenic and mutagenic hazardous of these products. These risks could be reduced by individual and collective shield measures. It's recommended to use transfer devices in a closed system for preparation of chemotherapy. METHOD: The aim of the survey is to analyse for five devices (four devices in a closed system transfer and a needle equipped with an air intake), the following criteria: transfer performance of a solution of a vial to another one, no leakage of the device and practicality in the use. A method implementing a radioactive solution of sodium pertechnetate [(99m)Tc] is used. RESULTS: Teva(®) and Cardinal(®) devices seem to be more efficient according to the ability to transfer one solution from a vial to another one with a low dead volume and low-level contamination in the around of the manipulation area. The Hospira(®) device appears an intermediate solution, while the Phaseal(®) device may be irrelevant for the transfer of a solution. DISCUSSION-CONCLUSION: Our study could attest that the methodology is simple to implement and cheap to compare devices on multiple selection criteria. This evaluation method is interesting because it allows a classification according to several criteria weighted according to the type of intended use. In addition to economic issues and protection of the worker, the use of such devices should be extended to other areas as the preparation of chemotherapy such as preparation of radiopharmaceuticals drugs.