Serum progesterone level and ongoing pregnancy rate following frozen-thawed embryo transfer after artificial endometrial preparation: a monocentric retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION: In some studies, early pregnancy loss (EPL) rate is higher with artificial cycle (AC) endometrial preparation for frozen-thawed embryo (FET) transfer than with other protocols, even though pregnancy rates are similar. An inadequate luteal phase support could explain these findings. The aim of this study was to compare, among the patients who had a pregnancy after FET with AC endometrial preparation, serum progesterone (PG) levels between those who experienced an EPL or an ongoing pregnancy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A monocentric retrospective cohort study, conducted at a University affiliated fertility center, studied 130 FET cycles with AC endometrial preparation between June 2016 and July 2017. Serum PG rates were compared according to reproductive outcomes and to endometrial preparation protocol on day 10 or 12 after FET (PG0) according to the embryo stage, and every 48h in case of pregnancy (i.e. PG1; PG2). RESULTS: Among patients who had a pregnancy after FET with AC (n=33), serum PG levels were higher in case of an ongoing pregnancy than EPL, only significantly at PG1 (PG0 12.4ng/mL [7.5-14.6] vs 8.2ng/mL [6.0-13.0], p= 0.320; PG1 15.0 ng/mL [14.0-15.9] vs 8.5ng/mL [5.9-13.8], p= 0.048). DISCUSSION: We found that serum PG level was lower in women experiencing early pregnancy loss after FET with AC endometrial preparation, potentially reflecting a lack of appropriate luteal phase support with PG. A cycle AC test, monitoring serum PG levels after its steady state, could detect this lack of PG, allowing physicians to adapt PG supplementation.

Functional analysis of young patients with desmoid-type fibromatosis: Initial surveillance does not jeopardize long term quality of life.

BACKGROUND: With recent conservative strategies, prognosis of patients with desmoid-type fibromatosis (DTF) is about function preservation. We analyzed the long-term quality of life (QoL) of pediatric patients with DTF. METHODS: All French young patients (<21years) treated between 2005 and 2016 for a DTF in the EpSSG NRSTS-05 study were analyzed. A first wait-and-see strategy was recommended. Patients' QoL was analyzed with the internationally validated Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ). We focused on the relevant subscales scores: physical functioning (PF), role social limitations physical (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health perception (GH) and physical (PhS) and psychosocial (PsS) summary measures. RESULTS: Among the 81 patients, 52 families answered the CHQ (median delay since diagnosis = 6.2years; min2.2-max13.3 years). Median age at diagnosis was 11.5 years. Primary site: limbs (52%), head/neck (27%), or trunk (21%). Five year-Progression Free Survival was 39.1% (95%CI: 27.7-50.5%). As initial management for these 52 patients, 30 patients were first observed (57%), 13 had surgery (25%) and 9 received chemotherapy (18%). Total burden of therapy was exclusive surgery (9pts/18%), exclusive chemotherapy (18pts/35%), surgery + chemotherapy (13pts/25%), chemotherapy + radiotherapy (1 pt), surgery + chemotherapy + radiotherapy (1 pt), wait and see (10 pt). Regarding the parent forms, patients have significant lower PF (86.0vs.96.1; p = 0.03), RP (82.0vs.93.6; p = 0.04), GH (60vs.73; p < 0.005) and PhS (46.2 vs.53; p = 0.02) scores compared to healthy population. Comparison of QoL subscales scores according to initial strategy (wait-and-see vs.surgery/chemotherapy) did not reveal any difference (PF = 87.3vs.84.9; p = 0.80/RP = 83.4vs.78.7; p = 0.72/BP = 78.9vs.78.2; p = 0.95/GH = 59.7vs60; p = 0.97). Similar results were found using the children or adult forms. CONCLUSIONS: Initial wait-and-see strategy does not affect long term functional impairment.

[Therapeutic patient education in chronic hand dermatitis]. / Éducation thérapeutique du patient dans l'eczéma chronique des mains.

Hand dermatitis (HD) is usually due to a combination of various interacting factors. It involves significant impairment of the quality of life with psychological and socioeconomic impact. A therapeutic education program in HD.was elaborated by 19 health professionals (dermatologists, occupational clinical physicians, nurses, psychologists, environmental medical advisor) with experience in therapeutic education or skills in HD, according to the recommendations of Haute Autorité de Santé. The program includes an individual medical consultation to perform educational diagnostic, two collective workshops and a medical evaluation consult. Two group workshops "the disease, irritant factors and its treatments" and "the experiences and feelings" were elaborated with learning objectives and educative tools. Different scores were proposed to evaluate the program and acquired skills. Therapeutic education is an efficient way to help patients to adopt skin protection measures essential to healing. We propose a guideline of therapeutic education in HD including skills and educative tools and intended for health professionals to serve as working basis.

[Vigilance in esthetic dermatology]. / Vigilance en dermatologie esthétique et correctrice.

The creation of the thematic group "Aesthetic and Corrective Dermatology" of the French Society of Dermatology, allows to set up a system of attentiveness: VigiDEC, the objective of which is medical: it must improve the care of the treated subjects, by accelerating the circulation of the information within the group by a system of declaration of the observed unwanted or unexpected effects.

[Reporting a side effect]. / Modalités pratiques de déclaration d'un incident à la vigilance.

Encountering a side-effect when practicing aesthetic dermatology must lead French practitioners to a double report: to VigiDEC medical network, and to the French agency for sanitary security of health products.

[Peculiarities of patch testing in children]. / Particularités des tests épicutanés chez l'enfant.

Younger children tend to be seen as atopic, patch testing is infrequent, and they tend not to be seen as having contact dermatitis. However, 20% of cases of dermatitis observed during childhood are in fact contact dermatitis and children should therefore undergo patch testing. Before the age of six years, children require testing with a suitable, safe standard series. Certain sources of allergens specific for children such as connubial dermatitis must be sought in order to determine the relevance of positive tests. The concentration of metals in the ECDRG standard series makes it unsuitable for young children and open tests may be used instead.

[Patch test reading]. / Lecture des tests épicutanés.

The reading of patch tests is standardised as regards both reading time (double reading at 48 h and 72 or 96 h) and the score, which is based on the elementary lesion. Some molecules are known to produce their own reactions, either irritant (chromium or cobalt) or with late expression (corticosteroids). A late positive reaction can be due to induction of sensitization or late expression of sensitization due to decreased memory or cross reaction with an allergen that has a positive reaction with a normal reading.

[Vigilance in aesthetic dermatology]. / Vigilance en dermatologie esthétique et correctrice.

As the acts in aesthetic dermatology are medical acts, they are under vigilance, i.e. the indesirable effects have to be declared to structures which centralize them for analysing their imputability. VigiDEC have been created by the gDEC, to be one of these structures: its objective is confraternal. A precise report of the act when it is make, allows to make a right declaration of the unwanted effect using the VigiDEC file.

Recombinant proteins and peptides as tools for studying IgE reactivity with low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits in some wheat allergies.

Two genes of wheat low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GS), B16 and P73, were cloned and expressed in E. coli. They were homologous to proteins encoded respectively at Glu-B3 and Glu-D3 loci. The N-terminal and C-terminal halves of B16 (NB16 and B16C) and the two chimeras combining the halves of the two genes (B16-P73 and P73- B16) were also expressed. All these constructs were compared for their reactivity with IgE from 24 patients suffering from different forms of wheat allergies. The results confirmed that LMW-GSs bound IgE in all adult allergies tested. Strong differences in reactivity between all the constructs were observed. They were disease-dependent. In wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA), the reactivity of the constructs depended partly on common epitopes with omega-5 gliadins but also on differences in molecule conformation. The presence of NB16 in the constructs greatly influenced their IgE reactivity.

Genetic differences in omega-gliadins involved in two different immediate food hypersensitivities to wheat.

BACKGROUND: Anti-gliadin IgE are expressed in patients with food allergy associated to skin immediate hypersensitivity to hydrolyzed wheat proteins (IHHWP). It is not known if they react with omega5-gliadins, the major allergens in wheat dependant exercise-induced food anaphylaxis (WDEIA), encoded on wheat chromosomes 1B. METHODS: Unmodified gliadins from 14 wheat varieties expressing most of the 1B omega-gliadin alleles, were immunoprobed after SDS-PAGE and blotting, with four sera from patients with IHHWP, and two with WDEIA. Gliadins reacting with IgE were visualized using chemiluminescence and identified according to their mobility and typical SDS-PAGE pattern. The resulting signal was also measured to compare their IgE reactivity. RESULTS: IHHWP and WDEIA sera exhibited distinct patterns of reactivity. IgE of patients with IHHWP reacted mainly with all omega-gliadins alleles and one gamma-gliadin encoded respectively on chromosomes 1D and 1B, but not with any omega5-gliadins alleles as for WDEIA. A few other reactive alleles of omega-gliadins were encoded on chromosomes 1A. Unassigned additional bands of the whole gliadin pattern were also reactive. The four patients with IHHWP exhibited almost the same pattern of reactivity. Main differences concerned band reactivity which modulated the overall reactivity of each wheat variety. CONCLUSIONS: The IgE epitopes involved in IHHWP and WDEIA are different. This suggests that the protein state and the route of exposure to very similar gluten structures, probably orientate the pattern of epitope reactivity and the wheat food allergy manifestations.

[The prospective multicenter study on standard photopatch tests by the French Society of Photodermatology from 1991-2001]. / Etude prospective multicentrique 1991-2001 de la batterie standard des photopatch-tests de la Société Française de Photodermatologie.

INTRODUCTION: To develop a standard panel of photopatch tests, the French Society of Photodermatology conducted a prospective study from 1991 to 2001 on the frequency of photoallergens encountered in France and on the relevance of the choice of the various photoallergens. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirteen photobiology centers participated in the study from 1991 to 1995, and ten centers from 1995 to 2001. A set of 3 samples of photopatch tests was applied on any patient suspected of photoallergy. On Day 2, two sets were irradiated with ultraviolet A (UVA) and total spectrum (DEM 0.75); with the third set being used as control. Readings were made on D3 and D4. RESULTS: Two thousand sixty-seven patients were tested. Eight hundred fifty-six, i.e., 41% exhibited one or several positive tests. In the majority of cases it was a photoallergy (39.7 to 60% of cases) and eczema (29.5 to 45.6%). Photoaggravation was infrequent (7.9 to 10.3%). Cases of phototoxicity were rare. Sesquiterpenic lactones constantly provoked photoallergy, with 12 cases in 10 years. Although phenothiazines were the most photosensitizing allergens up until 1995, they were then overridden by ketoprofen in 1996 with 107 cases of UVA photosensitive reactions (75 cases) and total spectrum (32 cases). These were followed closely by sun screens, benzophenone (notably Eusolex 4360 with 54 pertinent cases of photoallergy) and dibenzoylmethane (with 31 cases due to Eusolex 8020). UVB filters were all potentially photosensitizing but to a lesser degree from 1 to 5 cases). DISCUSSION: Our results differ from those of Anglo-Saxon teams in the appearance of a new photoallergen, ketoprofen, which provoked numerous photosensitivities in both UVA and UVB. This justifies the systematic addition of this substance in our prospective set. Photoallergy was relatively rare, with around 100 cases reported within 10 years. Total spectrum irradiation of the photopatch tests revealed photoallergies that would not have been found with UVA alone. CONCLUSION: Study of photopatch tests has permitted the uniformization of the methodology in France, an overview of the frequency of the photoallergens tested and the development of a new standard set.

Evaluation of a novel 308-nm monochromatic excimer light delivery system in dermatology: a pilot study in different chronic localized dermatoses.

BACKGROUND: Recently, units have been developed that are capable of delivering large fluences of narrowband ultraviolet (UV) B selectively to cutaneous lesions within a reasonable time. OBJECTIVES: To analyse the efficacy of a novel nonlaser 308-nm monochromatic excimer light (MEL) delivery system in various dermatoses usually treated by narrowband UVB phototherapy. METHODS: Fifty-four patients with chronic and resistant localized dermatoses were enrolled in a prospective study: 17 with palmoplantar pustular psoriasis, seven with plaque-type psoriasis, four with nail psoriasis, eight with chronic atopic dermatitis of the hands, 10 with chronic nonatopic dermatitis of the hands and eight with alopecia areata. The 308-nm xenon chloride MEL delivery system (Excilite; DEKA, Florence, Italy) was used to produce an average incident dose rate of 50 mW cm(-2) at a tube-to-skin distance of 15 cm and with a maximum irradiating area of 512 cm2. The initial dose was based on multiples of a predetermined minimal erythema dose (MED), and subsequent doses were based on the response to treatment. Treatments were scheduled weekly for a maximum of 10 weeks. Clinical responses were evaluated using photographic documentation and (except for alopecia areata) clinical score. RESULTS: The MED ranged from 250 to 350 mJ cm(-2) (mean +/- SD 318.2 +/- 28.4). MEL at 308 nm was the most effective for palmoplantar pustular psoriasis with a mean improvement of 79% after a mean of 5.3 treatments and a mean dose of 11.8 MED per treatment. Plaque-type psoriasis was significantly less sensitive to treatment and nail psoriasis demonstrated no benefit from treatment. Chronic palmar atopic dermatitis was cleared in two patients and the mean improvement was 54% as compared with 46% in patients with chronic nonatopic dermatitis of the hands. Four complete regrowths among the eight patients with alopecia were observed after a mean of 5.1 treatments. The percentages of improvement had significantly decreased at the 6-month visit, and only four patients (24%) with palmoplantar pustular psoriasis still demonstrated a significant improvement. Common side-effects included intense erythema and, more rarely, blisters, but these were well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary results confirm the efficacy of this novel 308-nm MEL delivery system, which appears to be effective and safe for palmoplantar pustular psoriasis. To a lesser extent, plaque-type psoriasis, chronic atopic and nonatopic dermatitis of the hands and alopecia may also benefit from this treatment.

[Contact allergy to antiseptics: 75 cases analyzed by the dermato-allergovigilance network (Revidal)]. / Allergie de contact aux antiseptiques: 75 cas analysés par le réseau Revidal de dermato-allergovigilance.

AIM: To determine the clinical features of contact dermatitis caused by antiseptics and to ascertain whether the substance responsible is the antiseptic itself or the excipients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A multicenter, retrospective study based on analysis of all cases reported over a 2-year period to the Dermato-Allergology Vigilance network known as Revidal. Each dossier contained details of the clinical characteristics of lesions, the incriminated antiseptic, the mode of exposure and the results of patch tests done with the antiseptic in question. RESULTS: 75 patients (mean age: 44 years) were sensitized to chlorhexidine (14 cases), hexamidine (20 cases), povidone iodine (14 cases), mercuric antiseptics (3 cases), triclocarban (Septivon, 17 cases), hexamidine-chlorhexidine-chlorocresol (Cytéal, 4 cases), or chlorhexidine surfactant (Hibiscrub), cetrimide or chlorhexidine digluconate (Diaseptyl) (1 case each). Exposure was therapy-related (68 cases), work-related (6 cases; 5 in health workers and 1 in a cattle farmer due to povidone-iodine) or related to cosmetics (1 case, hexamidine). The clinical features consisted mainly of localized contact dermatitis, although generalized eczema occurred in 9 cases due to hexamidine contact. Sensitization was due to the antiseptic itself (53 cases) or to the excipients alone (22 cases), particularly in the 17 cases caused by Septivon. In 27/75 cases (35%), patients exhibited polysensitization to antiseptics belonging to different chemical classes or to other topical drugs. CONCLUSION: Sensitization to antiseptics is probably not rare, with various sources of exposure being present in everyday life. Patch tests are essential for diagnosis in order to distinguish between antiseptic-related and excipient-related sensitization and to screen for polysensitization to topical drugs.