Differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes between COVID-19 and influenza in critically ill adult patients: A national database study.

OBJECTIVE: Prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, influenza was the most frequent cause of viral respiratory pneumonia requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Few studies have compared the characteristics and outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID-19 and influenza. METHODS: This was a French nationwide study comparing COVID-19 (March 1, 2020-June 30, 2021) and influenza patients (January 1, 2014-December 31, 2019) admitted to an ICU during pre-vaccination era. Primary outcome was in-hospital death. Secondary outcome was need for mechanical ventilation. RESULTS: 105,979 COVID-19 patients were compared to 18,763 influenza patients. Critically ill patients with COVID-19 were more likely to be men with more comorbidities. Patients with influenza required more invasive mechanical ventilation (47 vs. 34%, p < 0·001), vasopressors (40% vs. 27, p < 0·001) and renal-replacement therapy (22 vs. 7%, p < 0·001). Hospital mortality was 25% and 21% (p < 0·001) in patients with COVID-19 and influenza, respectively. In the subgroup of patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation, ICU length of stay was significantly longer in patients with COVID-19 (18 [10-32] vs. 15 [8-26] days, p < 0·001). Adjusting for age, gender, comorbidities, and modified SAPS II score, in-hospital death was higher in COVID-19 patients (adjusted sub-distribution hazard ratio [aSHR]=1.69; 95%CI=1.63-1.75) compared with influenza patients. COVID-19 was also associated with less invasive mechanical ventilation (aSHR=0.87; 95%CI=0.85-0.89) and a higher likelihood of death without invasive mechanical ventilation (aSHR=2.40; 95%CI=2.24-2.57). CONCLUSION: Despite younger age and lower SAPS II score, critically ill COVID-19 patients had a longer hospital stay and higher mortality than patients with influenza.

Trends in clinical characteristics and outcomes of all critically ill COVID-19 adult patients hospitalized in France between March 2020 and June 2021: a national database study.

INTRODUCTION: Studies regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were mainly performed in the initial wave, but some small-scale data points to prognostic differences for patients in successive waves. We therefore aimed to study the impact of time on prognosis of ICU-admitted COVID-19 patients. METHOD: We performed a national retrospective cohort study, including all adult patients hospitalized in French ICUs from March 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, and identified three surge periods. Primary and secondary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and need for invasive mechanical ventilation, respectively. RESULTS: 105,979 critically ill ICU-admitted COVID-19 patients were allocated to the relevant three surge periods. In-hospital mortality for surges 1, 2, and 3 was, respectively, 24%, 27%, and 24%. Invasive mechanical ventilation was the highest level of respiratory support for 42%, 32%, and 31% (p < 0.001) over the whole period, with a decline in the use of vasopressors over time. Adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, and modified Simplified Acute Physiology Score II at ICU admission, time period was associated with less invasive mechanical ventilation and a high risk of in-hospital death. Vaccination against COVID-19 was associated with a lower likelihood of invasive mechanical ventilation (adjusted sub-hazard ratio [aSHR] = 0.64 [0.53-0.76]) and intra-hospital death (aSHR = 0.80, [0.68-0.95]). CONCLUSION: In this large database of ICU patients admitted for COVID-19, we observed a decline in invasive mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, and RRT use over time but a high risk of in-hospital death. Vaccination was identified as protective against the risk of invasive mechanical ventilation and in-hospital death.

Impact of ICU transfers on the mortality rate of patients with COVID-19: insights from comprehensive national database in France.

BACKGROUND: The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic confronted healthcare systems around the world with unprecedented organizational challenges, particularly regarding the availability of intensive care unit (ICU) beds. One strategy implemented in France to alleviate healthcare pressure during the first COVID-19 wave was inter-hospital transfers of selected ICU patients from overwhelmed areas towards less saturated ones. At the time, the impact of this transfer strategy on patient mortality was unknown. We aimed to compare in-hospital mortality rates among ICU patients with COVID-19 who were transferred to another healthcare facility and those who remained in the hospital where they were initially admitted to. METHOD: A prospective observational study was performed from 1 March to 21 June 2020. Data regarding hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were collected from the Ministry of Health-affiliated national SI-VIC registry. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: In total, 93,351 hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients were registered, of which 18,348 (19.6%) were ICU admissions. Transferred patients (n = 2228) had a lower mortality rate than their non-transferred counterparts (n = 15,303), and the risk decreased with increasing transfer distance (odds ratio (OR) 0.7, 95% CI: 0.6-0.9, p = 0.001 for transfers between 10 and 50 km, and OR 0.3, 95% CI: 0.2-0.4, p < 0.0001 for transfer distance > 200 km). Mortality decreased overall over the 3-month study period. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that the mortality rates were lower for patients with severe COVID-19 who were transferred between ICUs across regions, or internationally, during the first pandemic wave in France. However, the global mortality rate declined overall during the study. Transferring selected patients with COVID-19 from overwhelmed regions to areas with greater capacity may have improved patient access to ICU care, without compounding the short-term mortality risk of transferred patients.

[Suicidal behaviors in France: still a public health issue]. / Les conduites suicidaires en France : toujours un problème de santé publique.

Suicidal behaviors in France: still a public health issue. In 2015, 9,109 deaths by suicide were counted in France, representing 13.7 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants. This rate has been declining for 30 years as in many countries. A significant underestimation is however suggested for various reasons. The risk of suicide is three times higher for men than for women. Suicide rates increase among those over 75 years of age, mostly for men, while the highest suicide frequencies are found among those aged 35-65, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults. More than half of suicides are by hanging. Suicide attempts are 10 to 20 times more frequent than suicide, about 100 to 200,000 acts each year, and are also decreasing over the last years. In 2017, 88,712 hospitalizations for suicide attempts were recorded in France. Suicide attempts are associated with an increased risk of death, by suicide in particular, but also by somatic disease. The prevalence of suicidal ideation, appreciated through surveys in the general population, is high, estimated at about 5%. Many suicidal risk factors have been identified with a recognized lack of individual predictive ability. These data are crucial for guiding prevention actions and measuring their effects.

Les conduites suicidaires en France : toujours un problème de santé publique. En 2015, 9 109 décès par suicide ont été dénombrés en France, soit un taux de décès de 13,7 pour 100 000 habitants. Ce taux, qui tend à diminuer depuis 30 ans comme dans beaucoup de pays, est toutefois probablement sous-estimé. Le risque de suicide est 3 fois plus élevé chez les hommes que chez les femmes. Les taux de suicide augmentent chez les sujets âgés de plus de 75 ans, essentiellement chez les hommes, tandis que les fréquences de suicide les plus importantes sont retrouvées chez les 35-65 ans et que le suicide est la deuxième cause de mortalité chez les adolescents et adultes jeunes. Plus de la moitié des suicides se font par pendaison. Les tentatives de suicide sont 10 à 20 fois plus fréquentes que le suicide abouti, soit environ 100 000 à 200 000 actes par an, un chiffre également en baisse. En 2017, 88 712 hospitalisations pour tentatives de suicide ont été comptabilisées en France. Les tentatives de suicide sont associées à un risque accru de décès ultérieur, par suicide en particulier mais aussi par maladie somatique. La prévalence des idées suicidaires, appréciées via des enquêtes en population générale, est élevée, estimée à environ 5 %. De nombreux facteurs de risque suicidaire ont été identifiés qui manquent de capacité prédictive individuelle. Ces données sont capitales pour guider les actions de prévention et en mesurer les effets.

Factors associated with inappropriate use of emergency departments: findings from a cross-sectional national study in France.

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate visits to emergency departments (EDs) could represent from 20% to 40% of all visits. Inappropriate use is a burden on healthcare costs and increases the risk of ED overcrowding. The aim of this study was to explore socioeconomic and geographical determinants of inappropriate ED use in France. METHOD: The French Emergency Survey was a nationwide cross-sectional survey conducted on June 11 2013, simultaneously in all EDs in France and covered characteristics of patients, EDs and counties. The survey included 48 711 patient questionnaires and 734 ED questionnaires. We focused on adult patients (≥15 years old). The appropriateness of the ED visit was assessed by three measures: caring physician appreciation of appropriateness (numeric scale), caring physician appreciation of whether or not the patient could have been managed by a general practitioner and ED resource utilisation. Descriptive statistics and multilevel logistic regression were used to examine determinants of inappropriate ED use, estimating adjusted ORs and 95% CIs. RESULTS: Among the 29 407 patients in our sample, depending on the measuring method, 13.5% to 27.4% ED visits were considered inappropriate. Regardless of the measure method used, likelihood of inappropriate use decreased with older age and distance from home to the ED >10 km. Not having a private supplementary health insurance, having universal supplementary health coverage and symptoms being several days old increased the likelihood of inappropriate use. Likelihood of inappropriate use was not associated with county medical density. CONCLUSION: Inappropriate ED use appeared associated with socioeconomic vulnerability (such as not having supplementary health coverage or having universal coverage) but not with geographical characteristics. It makes us question the appropriateness of the concept of inappropriate ED use as it does not consider the distress experienced by the patient, and segments of society seem to have few other choices to access healthcare than the ED.

The French Emergency National Survey: A description of emergency departments and patients in France.

INTRODUCTION: Some major changes have occurred in emergency department (ED) organization since the early 2000s, such as the establishment of triage nurses and short-track systems. The objectives of this study were to describe the characteristics of French EDs organization and users, based on a nationwide cross-sectional survey. METHODS: The French Emergency Survey was a nationwide cross-sectional survey. All patients presenting to all EDs during a 24-hr period of June 2013 were included. Data collection concerned ED characteristics as well as patient characteristics. RESULTS: Among the 736 EDs in France, 734 were surveyed. Triage nurses and short-track systems were respectively implemented in 73% and 41% of general EDs. The median proportion of patients aged > 75 years was 14% and median hospitalisation rate was 20%. During the study period, 48,711 patients presented to one of the 734 EDs surveyed. Among them, 7% reported having no supplementary health or universal coverage (for people with lower incomes). Overall, 50% of adult patients had been seen by the triage nurse in less than 5 minutes, 74% had a time to first medical contact shorter than one hour and 55% had an ED length of stay shorter than 3 hours. CONCLUSION: The French Emergency Survey is the first study to provide data on almost all EDs in France. It underlines how ED organization has been redesigned to face the increase in the annual census. French EDs appear to have a particular role for vulnerable people: age-related vulnerability and socio-economic vulnerability with an over-representation of patients without complementary health coverage.

[Characteristics of patient management in emergency departments]. / Caractéristiques de la prise en charge des patients aux urgences.

A national survey carried out in France in June 2013 studied for the first time all emergency department attendances over a 24-hour period. It enables patients' pathways through the emergency department to be described in detail, from their conditions of arrival through to the follow-up care downstream of their attendance.

Did case-based payment influence surgical readmission rates in France? A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether implementation of a case-based payment system changed all-cause readmission rates in the 30 days following discharge after surgery, we analysed all surgical procedures performed in all hospitals in France before (2002-2004), during (2005-2008) and after (2009-2012) its implementation. SETTING: Our study is based on claims data for all surgical procedures performed in all acute care hospitals with >300 surgical admissions per year (740 hospitals) in France over 11 years (2002-2012; n=51.6 million admissions). INTERVENTIONS: We analysed all-cause 30-day readmission rates after surgery using a logistic regression model and an interrupted time series analysis. RESULTS: The overall 30-day all-cause readmission rate following discharge after surgery increased from 8.8% to 10.0% (P<0.001) for the public sector and from 5.9% to 8.6% (P<0.001) for the private sector. Interrupted time series models revealed a significant linear increase in readmission rates over the study period in all types of hospitals. However, the implementation of case-based payment was only associated with a significant increase in rehospitalisation rates for private hospitals (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: In France, the increase in the readmission rate appears to be relatively steady in both the private and public sector but appears not to have been affected by the introduction of a case-based payment system after accounting for changes in care practices in the public sector.

Antibiotic therapy duration for prosthetic joint infections treated by Debridement and Implant Retention (DAIR): Similar long-term remission for 6 weeks as compared to 12 weeks.

BACKGROUND: The required duration of antibiotic treatment for prosthetic joint infections (PJI) with debridement and retention of the implant (DAIR procedure) is unknown. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective study emphasizing the duration of antibiotic therapy in patients treated with by DAIR. RESULTS: We included 87 hip or knee PJI episodes in 87 patients from three university hospitals in France and Switzerland. All debridements were performed within 3 weeks of symptom onset. After a mean follow-up of 52.1 months, 60 patients with PJI (69%) remained in remission, with no significant difference between hip and knee cases (73.3% vs. 59.3%, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.20-1.38), or between patients receiving 6 compared with 12 weeks of antibiotic treatment (70.5% vs.67.4%, 95%CI 0.27-2.10, p=0.60). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 13.8% of infections and this was the only variable associated with a poorer outcome (remission in 41.7% vs. 73.3% for those with other pathogens, 95%CI 0.05-0.77, p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing DAIR for hip or knee PJI, the likelihood of long-term remission was not significantly different for those receiving 6 versus 12 weeks of antibiotic therapy. Prospective randomized trials are required to confirm this observation.

Two consecutive deep sinus tract cultures predict the pathogen of osteomyelitis.

OBJECTIVES: The value of non-bone microbiological cultures in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis with sinus tract is not clear. We aimed to establish the concordance between deep sinus tract cultures and bone cultures in cases of osteomyelitis with a cutaneous fistula. METHODS: This was a non-randomized, prospective diagnostic trial at the Orthopedic Service of the University Hospital of Geneva. Each patient with osteomyelitis with a cutaneous sinus tract had four microbiological samples taken: two consecutive sinus tract cultures with bone contact at different times (samples A-1 and A-2), surgical bone biopsy performed through the sinus tract (sample B), and a surgical bone biopsy performed through an uninfected area outside the sinus tract (sample C), the latter considered as the 'gold standard'. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-one patients with 154 episodes of osteomyelitis were included in the study. When both sinus tract cultures yielded the same microorganism (86.4%), the concordance between both samples A and sample C was 96%. In the case of identical sinus tract culture infections, sensitivity was 91%, specificity 86%, and accuracy 90%. The accuracy in monomicrobial infections (50%) was higher than in polymicrobial infections (94.3% vs. 78.9%, respectively; p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In cases of monomicrobial osteomyelitis with sinus tract, two concordant tract cultures with bone contact accurately predict the pathogen.

Accuracy of bedside glucometry in critically ill patients: influence of clinical characteristics and perfusion index.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the accuracy of bedside glucose strip assay on capillary blood and on whole blood and to identify factors predictive of discrepancies with the laboratory method. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective 3-month (July 1-September 30, 2003) study in 85 consecutive patients who required blood glucose monitoring. Values obtained with a glucose test strip on capillary blood and on whole blood were compared with those obtained in the laboratory during serial blood sampling (up to 4 samples per patient). The test strip values were considered to disagree significantly with the laboratory values when the difference exceeded 20%. Clinical and biological parameters and the perfusion index, based on percutaneous oxygen saturation monitoring, were recorded when each sample was obtained. RESULTS: Capillary glucose values conflicted with laboratory reference values in 15% of samples. A low perfusion index was predictive of conflicting values (P=.04). Seven percent of values obtained with glucose strip on whole-blood samples conflicted with laboratory reference values; factors associated with these discrepancies were mean arterial hypotension (P=.007) and generalized mottling (P=.04). CONCLUSION: Bedside blood glucose values must be interpreted with care in critically ill patients. A low perfusion index, reflecting peripheral hypoperfusion, is associated with poor glucose strip performance. Bedside measurements in whole blood seem to be most reliable, except in patients with arterial hypotension and generalized mottling.

Initial efficacy and tolerability of early enteral nutrition with immediate or gradual introduction in intubated patients.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the initial (D7) calorie intake and tolerability of two early enteral nutrition protocols in which the optimal flow rate was introduced either immediately or gradually. DESIGN: Open, prospective, randomized study. SETTING: Two medical-surgical intensive care units. PATIENTS: One hundred consecutive intubated and mechanically ventilated patients. INTERVENTIONS: Early enteral nutrition was started within 24 h following intubation, and the optimal flow rate (25 Kcal/kg day(-1)) was either introduced immediately or reached in increments. Flow rate of the nutritional solution was adapted to the residual gastric volume, measured every 8 h, and the use of prokinetic agents was encouraged. Vomiting, regurgitation, colectasia, and suspected aspiration were defined as serious adverse events requiring withdrawal of enteral nutrition. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: When introduced immediately at optimal flow rate, early enteral nutrition led to a significant improvement in actual calorie supply (p < 0.0001). Although high residual gastric volume (>300 ml) was more frequent when optimal flow rate was introduced immediately (p=0.04), frequency of serious adverse events necessitating withdrawal of enteral nutrition was similar in the two groups (p=0.64). CONCLUSIONS: When residual gastric volume is measured regularly and prokinetic agents are used, enteral nutrition can be started early and be introduced at optimal dose regimen, thereby providing better calorie intake. Serious adverse events required early enteral nutrition withdrawal in only 15 patients, with no difference in frequency between the groups.

Acute poststernotomy mediastinitis managed with debridement and closed-drainage aspiration: factors associated with death in the intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is to describe an intensive care unit's experience in the treatment of poststernotomy mediastinitis and to identify factors associated with intensive care unit death. METHODS: Over a 10-year period, 316 consecutive patients with mediastinitis occurring less than 30 days after sternotomy were treated in a single unit. First-line therapy was closed-drainage aspiration with Redon catheters. Variables recorded, including patient demographics, underlying disease classification, clinical and biologic data available at intensive care unit admission and day 3, and their association with intensive care unit mortality, were subjected to multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Intensive care unit mortality (20.3%) was significantly associated with 5 variables available at admission: age greater than 70 years (odds ratio, 2.70), operation other than coronary artery bypass grafting alone (odds ratio, 2.59), McCabe class 2/3 (odds ratio, 2.47), APACHE II score (odds ratio, 1.12 per point), and organ failure (odds ratio, 2.07). After introducing day 3 variables into the logistic regression model, independent risk factors for intensive care unit death were as follows: age greater than 70 years, operations other than coronary artery bypass grafting alone, McCabe class 2/3, APACHE II score, mechanical ventilation still required on day 3, and persistently positive bacteremia. For patients receiving mechanical ventilation for less than 3 days, mortality was very low (2.4%). In contrast, for patients receiving mechanical ventilation for 3 days or longer, mortality reached 52.8% and was associated with non-coronary artery bypass grafting cardiac surgery, persistently positive bacteremia, and underlying disease. CONCLUSIONS: In patients requiring intensive care for acute poststernotomy mediastinitis, age, type of cardiac surgery, underlying disease, and severity of illness at the time of intensive care unit admission were associated with intensive care unit death. Two additional factors (mechanical ventilation dependence and persistently positive bacteremia) were identified when the analyses were repeated with inclusion of day 3 patient characteristics.

High versus standard dose vancomycin for osteomyelitis.

It is important to identify the optimal dosage and best method of infusion of parenteral vancomycin to be used over a several week period for the treatment of osteomyelitis. A retrospective study was undertaken to compare a high dose vancomycin treatment (HD: 40 mg/kg/d) with a standard dose treatment (SD: 20 mg/kg/d), and also to compare the modality of infusion using either intermittent vancomycin infusion (IVI) or continuous vancomycin infusion (CVI). 89 patients with Gram-positive cocci osteomyelitis requiring vancomycin treatment were followed, and the outcome and therapeutic safety were compared. There were significantly more adverse drug reactions (acute renal failure) in the IVI subgroup (HD-IVI vs SD-IVI, p-value 0.007). No cases of renal failure were found in the HD-CVI subgroup. The best outcome was found in the subgroup of patients who received HD-CVI (HD-CVI vs SD-IVI, overall log rank p-value 0.02). HD-CVI treatment appears to provide an improved outcome with fewer adverse drug reactions.

Effect of vancomycin therapy for osteomyelitis on colonization by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: lack of emergence of glycopeptide resistance.

BACKGROUND: In treating orthopedic infections, the long-term impact of vancomycin therapy on colonization by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the emergence of vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus is unknown. DESIGN: Prospective surveillance of the effect of long-term vancomycin therapy on colonization by MRSA and the emergence of vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus. METHODS: Thirty-four patients with MRSA osteomyelitis that was microbiologically documented were longitudinally observed for the emergence of vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus at 3 body sites (wound, anterior nares, and groin) during the initial period of vancomycin therapy and at the 2-month follow-up. Twenty patients received the standard dose (20 mg/kg/d) for 34 +/- 6 days and 14 patients received a high dose (40 mg/kg/d) of vancomycin for 37 +/- 9 days. RESULTS: During vancomycin treatment, global MRSA carriage (all body sites) fell from 100% to 25% in the group of patients receiving the standard dose of vancomycin, and from 100% to 40% in the group receiving the high dose. During the 2-month follow-up period after vancomycin therapy, global MRSA carriage increased from 25% to 55% in the group receiving the standard dose and decreased from 43% to 36% in the group receiving the high dose. CONCLUSION: Therapy with a high dose of vancomycin contributes to the sustained eradication of MRSA carriage without promoting the emergence of glycopeptide resistance.

Relationship between levels of indinavir in hair and virologic response to highly active antiretroviral therapy.

BACKGROUND: Suboptimal levels of antiretroviral drugs result in virologic failure in HIV-infected patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between levels of indinavir in hair and virologic outcome. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: 7 AIDS clinics in France. PATIENTS: 89 HIV-infected patients who received HAART that included indinavir. MEASUREMENTS: Patients were classified as responders or nonresponders on the basis of viremia at the time of hair collection. In nonresponders, levels of indinavir in hair and resistance mutations in the protease gene were assessed at baseline and at the time of indinavir measurement. RESULTS: Mean indinavir levels (+/-SD) were significantly higher in the 65 responders than in the 24 nonresponders (24.4 +/- 16 microg/g vs. 12.9 +/- 8.6 microg/g) (P < 0.001). Nonresponders with intermediate levels of indinavir in hair had more mutations in the protease gene than did nonresponders with low levels of indinavir in hair. CONCLUSION: Indinavir levels in hair are associated with virologic outcome in patients receiving HAART.

Anal fissure and thrombosed external hemorrhoids before and after delivery.

PURPOSE: Thrombosed external hemorrhoids and anal fissures are common and are responsible for severe discomfort during childbirth. However, the real incidence of these lesions is unknown. The aim of our study was to evaluate their incidence and the risk factors for these lesions during childbirth. METHODS: A prospective study with proctologic examination during the last 3 months of pregnancy and after delivery (within 2 months) was performed in 165 consecutive pregnant females. RESULTS: Fifteen females (9.1 percent) with anal lesions (13 thrombosed external hemorrhoids and 2 anal fissures) were observed during pregnancy. Fifty-eight females (35.2 percent) with anal lesions (33 thrombosed external hemorrhoids and 25 anal fissures) were observed during the postpartum period. Ninety-one percent of thrombosed external hemorrhoids were observed during the first day after delivery, whereas anal fissures were distributed, with no peak, over the two months after delivery. The 2 independent risk factors for anal lesions (among obstetric, baby's, and mother's information) were dyschezia, with a 5.7 odds ratio (95 percent confidence interval, 2.7-12), and late delivery, with a 1.4 odds ratio (95 percent confidence interval, 1.05-1.9). Furthermore, many thrombosed external hemorrhoids were observed after superficial perineal tears and heavier babies (P < 0.05). Only 1 of the 33 patients with thrombosed external hemorrhoids who were observed underwent a cesarean section. CONCLUSION: One third of females have thrombosed external hemorrhoids or anal fissures in the postpartum period. The most important risk factor is dyschezia. Traumatic delivery appears to be associated with thrombosed external hemorrhoids.

Diagnosis and follow-up of infections in intensive care patients: value of C-reactive protein compared with other clinical and biological variables.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate diagnostic and prognostic values of C-reactive protein (CRP) dosage in critically ill patients. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study. SETTING: Medical intensive care unit (ICU) in a university hospital. PATIENTS: A consecutive series of 74 patients admitted to the ICU. INTERVENTION: CRP measurements at admission and every 4 days thereafter. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: At admission, 28 patients (38%) had microbiologically proven infections. Compared with uninfected patients, their mean +/- SD CRP level was 191 +/- 123 vs. 83 +/- 91 mg/L (p < .0001), respectively, white blood cell count was 15.3 +/- 7.5 vs. 11.4 +/- 5.3 G/L (p = .01), and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) was present for 96% vs. 67% (p = .008). No threshold value could be identified to discriminate between these two populations. Multivariate analysis retained CRP and SIRS as the only variables independently associated with the presence of an infection. The combination of CRP > or = 50 mg/L with SIRS was identified as the best model to diagnose infection at admission. This multivariate model performed better than temperature, CRP alone, and white blood cell count. Among the 28 infected patients, 10 recovered; CRP values decreased significantly in this population as compared with patients with persistent infection (-130 +/- 110 vs. 12 +/- 97 mg/L, respectively; p = .004). A CRP decrease > or = 50 mg/L between admission and day 4 was the best cutoff value to diagnose recovery (sensitivity 89%, specificity 79%). CONCLUSION: CRP in combination with SIRS was useful to diagnose infection in ICU patients; a CRP decrease > or = 50 mg/L between admission and day 4 was the best predictor of recovery.

Loss-of-function polymorphism of the human kallikrein gene with reduced urinary kallikrein activity.

Kallikrein is synthesized in the distal tubules and produces kinins, which are involved in the regulation of vascular tone in the kidney. Urinary kallikrein activity has been reported to be partly inherited and to be reduced in essential hypertension. In a systematic search for molecular variants of the human kallikrein gene, nine single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified. Five of those polymorphisms, including two nonsynonymous substitutions in exon 3, i.e., Arg53His (allelic frequency in Caucasian subjects, 0.03) and Gln121Glu (allelic frequency, 0.33), were studied in a normotensive group and two independent hypertensive groups for which 24-h urinary kallikrein activity had been measured. A significant decrease in urinary kallikrein activity was observed for the subjects who were heterozygous for the Arg53His polymorphism, compared with the other subjects. This finding was consistent in the two hypertensive groups and was observed with several kallikrein enzymatic assays. The Gln121Glu polymorphism and the other polymorphisms were not associated with changes in urinary kallikrein activity. None of the polymorphisms was associated with hypertension. Recombinant kallikrein variants were synthesized and enzymatically characterized, using native kininogen and kininogen-derived synthetic peptide substrates. No important effect was observed after Gln121 mutation, but there was a major decrease in enzyme activity when Arg53 was replaced by histidine. A model of kallikrein derived from crystallographic data suggested that Arg53 can affect substrate binding. The identification of a subset of subjects with genetically reduced kallikrein activity as a result of an amino acid mutation could facilitate analysis of the role of the kallikrein-kinin system in renal and vascular diseases.