[The practice of telemedicine by French internal medicine physicians in 2019]. / La pratique de la télémédecine par les médecins internistes français en 2019.

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine has been developing in France since 2018. The objective of this survey was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, practices and training of internal physicians regarding telemedicine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A national descriptive observational study carried out between July and October 2019, via an online self-questionnaire with members of the National Society of Internal Medicine and the Association of Young Internists, included a descriptive and comparative analysis by subgroups of age. RESULTS: Analysis of 309 responses from physicians qualified in internal medicine or practicing in an internal medicine service (61,8%) and residents in internal medicine (38%) showed that 34.6% had notions or a good knowledge of regulation of telemedicine. For 62,1%, 72.5% and 74.1% respectively, it could improve patient care, access to care and exchanges between internists and other doctors. The main obstacles to this practice were the absence of face-to-face with the patient (57.3%) and computer dysfunctions (55%). Only 23.3% practiced it, including 88.9% tele-expertise. Telemedicine was performed informally (telephone and email) in 70.8% of the cases. Doctors over the age of 50 were better acquainted with the regulations and more practiced official telemedicine. In total, 54% wanted to practice telemedicine and 72.8% wanted to train there. CONCLUSION: Attitudes towards telemedicine were positive, but few internists knew about it and practiced it formally, warranting appropriate training.

[Helicobacter pylori: When to look for an infection and treat it in adults?] / Helicobacter pylori : quand rechercher une infection et la traiter chez l'adulte ?

Helicobacter pylori infection is acquired during childhood mainly within the family. It causes active chronic gastritis associated with the development of many digestive and extra digestive diseases. Its expression results from interactions between the bacteria, the host and environmental factors modulating the evolution of gastritis and acid secretion. The French recommendations for research and treatment for curative or preventive purposes were updated in 2017. These are indications with a high level of evidence for association and efficacy of the eradication treatment: peptic ulcer, taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or aspirin with an ulcer history, gastric MALT lymphoma, and localized resection of gastric cancer. The recommendations relate to other diseases with a lower level of evidence: functional dyspepsia, risk factors for gastric adenocarcinoma (family history of gastric cancer, Lynch syndrome, pre-neoplastic lesions: atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia), unexplained iron deficiency anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency, immunological thrombocytopenic purpura, bariatric surgery isolating part of the stomach. The diagnosis is made by examining gastric biopsies or by non-invasive test depending on the clinical situation. The 10-day triple therapies guided by the study of antibiotic sensitivity (proton pump inhibitors (PPI), amoxicillin, clarithromycin or levofloxacin) are recommended as first-line treatment because of the increase in resistance, allowing the reduction of the duration of treatment, the number of antibiotics and side effects. By default, probabilistic quadruple therapies of 14 days are possible and interchangeable (PPI with amoxicillin, clarithromycin, metronidazole, or a combination of bismuth salt, tetracycline and metronidazole). Eradication control is necessary.

[Chronic fatigue syndrome: A new disorder?] / Le syndrome de fatigue chronique : une nouvelle maladie ?

More than 30 years after its individualization, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remains a debilitating condition for the patient and a confusing one to the physicians, both because of diagnostic difficulties and poorly codified management. Despite the numerous work carried out, its pathophysiology remains unclear, but a multifactorial origin is suggested with triggering (infections) and maintenance (psychological) factors as well as the persistence of inflammatory (low grade inflammation, microglial activation…), immunologic (decrease of NK cells, abnormal cytokine production, reactivity to a variety of allergens, role of estrogens…) and muscular (mitochondrial dysfunction and failure of bioenergetic performance) abnormalities at the origin of multiple dysfunctions (endocrine, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, digestive…). The complexity of the problem and the sometimes contradictory results of available studies performed so far are at the origin of different pathophysiological and diagnostic concepts. Based on a rigorous analysis of scientific data, the new American concept of Systemic Disease Exertion Intolerance proposed in 2015 simplifies the diagnostic approach and breaks with the past and terminologies (CFS and myalgic encephalomyelitis). It is still too early to distinguish a new disease, but this initiative is a strong signal to intensify the recognition and management of patients with CFS and stimulate research.

Caractéristiques épidémiologiques cliniques et endoscopiques des œsophagites peptiques en République Centrafricaine : prédominance des lésions modérées chez les patients symptomatiques

Objectif : Décrire les aspects épidémiologiques, cliniques et endoscopiques des œsophagites peptiques en République Centrafricaine.Patients et méthodes : Cette étude prospective descriptive, menée pendant 18 mois dans le service d'hépato-gastroentérologie et de médecine interne de l'Hôpital Universitaire de l'Amitié de Bangui, a concerné 1376 patients ayant eu une Endoscopie Oeso-Gastro-Duodénale (EOGD) pour une symptomatologie digestive haute. La classification de Savary-Miller a été utilisée pour décrire les œsophagites peptiques.Résultats : Une œsophagite peptique a été observée chez 410 patients (29,8%) (sex-ratio Femme/Homme = 1,4). L'âge moyen des patients était de 40,3 ans (extrêmes : 16 et 86 ans). Des épigastralgies, un pyrosis et des régurgitations acides étaient signalés par les patients dans respectivement 57,3%, 53,9% et 48,3% des cas. Parmi les facteurs de risque connus d'œsophagite, la consommation d'alcool a été déclarée par 266 patients (65%), de tabac par 58 (14,1%) et la prise d'anti-inflammatoires non-stéroïdiens par 126 (30,7%). Un surpoids a été noté chez 78 patients (19%), et une obésité chez 57 (14%) tandis que 89 étaient considérés comme maigres (21,7%). Les œsophagites peptiques étaient en général modérées : stade I (n = 123, 30%), stade II (n = 256, 62,4%), stade III (n = 31, 7,6%), stade IV (n = 0). Les principales lésions associées étaient une hernie hiatale (n = 148, 36%), une gastrite congestive (n = 45, 11%) et des érosions gastroduodénales liées à la prise d'anti-inflammatoires non-stéroïdiens (n = 50, 12,2%). Conclusion : Une œsophagite peptique était mise en évidence chez près d'un tiers des patients symptomatiques ayant eu une EOGD, le plus souvent modérée. Il n'a pas été observé de sténose peptique, ni d'endo-brachyœsophage. Parmi les facteurs de risque, une surcharge pondérale, la prise d'AINS et une hernie hiatale étaient notées chacun dans environ un tiers des cas

Usefulness of the script concordance test in dermatology.

BACKGROUND: The script concordance test (SCT) measures clinical data interpretation in the context of uncertainty. To our knowledge, its feasibility has not yet been demonstrated in dermatology. OBJECTIVES: This study describes the feasibility, reliability and validity of the SCT for use in dermatology teaching to family medicine residents. METHODS: We designed an SCT for dermatology teaching, adapted to the level of family medicine students. The family medicine residents attending a dermatology lecture course and a reference panel of dermatologists underwent the test. Software available on the SCT-dedicated website was used to determine the scores. The Cronbach's α was calculated. The scores were described by means, standard deviation, and minimum and maximum scores. Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare resident and reference panel scores. RESULTS: The test contained 33 vignettes of four questions each. Cronbach's α was 0.80. Mean scores were 75.6 for the reference panel and 65.0 for the residents (P = 0.0009). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the SCT's capacity to distinguish groups on the basis of experience. This study demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of the SCT in the field of dermatology.

[Helicobacter pylori infection and antimicrobial agents resistance]. / Infection à Helicobacter pylori et résistance aux antibiotiques.

PURPOSE: Seven days triple therapies combining a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and 2 antimicrobial agents (clarithromycin [C], amoxicillin [A], metronidazole [M]), are recommended for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection. The eradication failures have increased these last years, particularly in France (about 30%). They are essentially related to the development of antimicrobial agents resistance, mainly concerning macrolides and nitro-imidazoles. CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND KEY POINTS: Primary resistance to clarithromycin is variable, but reaching now about 10% throughout the world and about 20% in France. It reduces the eradication success rate at 25%. The secondary resistance is very high, contra-indicating the use of clarithromycin in second line regimens. Primary resistance to amoxicillin has recently appeared, but remains very low until now, less than 2%, as the tetracyclin (T) resistance. Primary resistance to metronidazole is 3 times higher than macrolides resistance, but its determination is less accurate. Metronidazole resistance reduces eradication rate of about 25%, leading to the use of metronidazole in second line therapy, in increasing the triple therapy duration at 14 days (PPI-A-M), or in combination with quadruple therapy (Bismuth-PPI-T-M). Other rescue-treatments are efficacious, based on ranitidine bismuth citrate combined regimens or on rifabutine (R) based regimens (PPI-A-R). FUTURE PROSPECTS AND PROJECTS: The recent knowledge of the mutations mainly responsible for H. pylori resistance to antimicrobial agents now allows the development of detection methods based on the study of bacterial DNA. These methods have been validated for clarithromycin and should favour in the near future the determination of resistance by the use of biopsy culture or directly on the gastric biopsy.

Second-line treatment for failure to eradicate Helicobacter pylori: a randomized trial comparing four treatment strategies.

AIM: To compare the efficacy of different regimens in patients in whom previous Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy has failed. METHODS: In this study named StratHegy patients (n=287) were randomized to receive one of three empirical triple therapy regimens or a strategy based on antibiotic susceptibility. The empirical regimens were omeprazole, 20 mg b.d., plus amoxicillin, 1000 mg b.d., and clarithromycin, 500 mg b.d., for 7 days (OAC7), clarithromycin, 500 mg b.d., for 14 days (OAC14) or metronidazole, 500 mg b.d., for 14 days (OAM14). In the susceptibility-based strategy, patients with clarithromycin-susceptible strains received OAC14, whilst the others received OAM14. The 13C-urea breath test was performed before randomization and 4-5 weeks after eradication therapy. RESULTS: In the intention-to-treat analysis, the eradication rates for empirical therapies were as follows: OAC7, 47.4% (27/57); OAC14, 34.5% (20/58); OAM14, 63.2% (36/57); it was 74.3% (84/113) for the susceptibility-based treatment (P<0.01 when compared with OAC7 and OAC14). In patients receiving clarithromycin, the eradication rates were 80% for clarithromycin-susceptible strains and 16% for clarithromycin-resistant strains; in patients receiving OAM14, the eradication rates were 81% for metronidazole-susceptible strains and 59% for metronidazole-resistant strains. CONCLUSIONS: Eradication rates of approximately 75% can be achieved with second-line triple therapy based on antibiotic susceptibility testing. If susceptibility testing is not available, OAM14 is an appropriate alternative.

[Implication of emergency departments in the regulation of public hospitalizations]. / Place des services d'urgences dans la régulation des hospitalisations publiques.

PURPOSE: Emergency departments become a useful way to access to hospital care. Since these last years difficulties of hospitalization, mainly of the elderly, after visit to the emergency department, are on the increase. CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND KEY POINTS: Emergency departments are an important mode of recruitment for hospital units, 4 patients to 10 are hospitalized from emergency departments. The difficulties of hospitalization starting at the emergency department are more important for the elderly. Actually, there are 2 type of hospital care, planed and non planed care. The development of observation units specific to the emergency departments allowed to resolve some of these difficulties. But they are limited by their small number of beds and the duration of hospitalization below to 36 h. Some hospitals developed polyvalent emergency short stay unit to hospitalize patients who visited emergency department without necessity to give them a specialized care. FUTURE PROSPECTS AND PROJECTS: This situation must allow us to purpose a better regulation of hospitalizations which includes emergency departments in a network system including the different hospital ways of taking care. A downstream way of care adapted to the emergency hospitalizations would be developed. This could include the emergency department, the observation unit and the emergency short stay unit in interface with internal medicine and general medicine units, geriatric unit and specialized units, all of them will be included in a town-hospital care network.

[Eradication of Helicobacter pylori. Is it necessary to eradicate Helicobacter pylori in gastric reflux?]. / Eradication d'Helicobacter pylori. Faut-il éradiquer Helicobacter pylori en cas de pathologie de reflux?

POTENTIAL PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF H. PYLORI: Epidemiological studies have not demonstrated an association between H. pylori infection and symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux, reflux esophagitis, or Barrett's esophagus with or without dysplasia or esophageal adenocarcinoma. On the contrary, an apparently favorable negative association has been identified suggested a potential protective effect of H. pylori. An inverse association is also observed between the severity of reflux complications and infection by strains of H. pylori expressing certain virulence markers (cogA) associated with the more severe gastric lesions. The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux-related disease has increased steadily for more than fifty years while the incidence of H. pylori infection has decreased in developed countries. This observation might suggest that H. pylori infection plays a protective role. In addition, eradication of H. pylori could favor he development of gastroesophageal reflux or reflux esophagitis. The degree of risk is unknown. Pangastritis with significant lesions of the gastric body leading to a reversible decrease in the secretion of acid after H. pylori eradication might lower the risk of gastroesophageal reflux. POTENTIAL PROMOTION EFFECT: The relations between H. pylori and gastroesophageal reflux are complex. Reflux associated with duodenal ulcer appears to be improved by eradication of H. pylori suggesting that infection might promote the development of reflux. The causal mechanism would be increased acid secretion induced by antral gastritis predominantly resulting from the H. pylori infection. Further work is needed to determine the exact role of gastritis and perturbed acid secretion. PERSPECTIVES: Data on the role of H. pylori in transient relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter, implicated in the pathogenesis of gastroesophageal reflux, are lacking. Antisecretion treatments reduce the quantity of gastric acid favoring H. pylori colonization of the fundic mucosa and possibly aggravating fundic gastritis. The risk of progression from H. pylori gastritis to atrophy or intestinal metaplasia of the fundus under prolonged proton pump inhibitor treatment remains to be determined. Eradication of H. pylori reduces the efficacy of antisecretory drugs according to poorly understood mechanisms. The potential effect of gastroesophageal reflux on the transmission of H. pylori infection remains to be established. PRACTICAL ATTITUDE: Much remains to be learned concerning the beneficial or deleterious effects of eradication of H. pylori on the course of gastroesophageal reflux. In clinical practice, eradication of H. pylori is not useful for patients with gastroesophageal reflux.

[Gastritis, dyspepsia and Helicobacter pylori]. / Gastrite, dyspepsie et Helicobacter pylori.

Helicobacter pylori is a major culprit in chronic gastritis. Interactions between the infected host, the bacteria and the environment, influence the type of gastritis and the occurrence of specific diseases (peptic ulcer, gastric lymphoma and adenocarcinoma) associated with the infection in a minority of cases. The benefit of H. pylori eradication is not proved in isolated gastritis, except for rare forms such as hypertrophic or lymphocytic gastritis. In spite of a high prevalence in functional dyspepsia with normal gastroduodenal endoscopy, H. pylori is not the main cause of symptoms in dyspeptic patients, but the gastritis could be involved in the appearance of ulcer-like symptoms. Strategies for non-invasive H. pylori detection for primary eradication are developed to reduce the endoscopy workload in the management of uninvestigated dyspepsia.

Performance of native and recombinant antigens for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of three antigenic preparations for serological diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection: (i) native antigens from Helicobacter pylori strain N6 or its aflagellated isogenic mutant N6flbA-, or an acellular extract (antigen AgFA) from a pool of six clinical strains; (ii) recombinant antigens consisting of CagA fused to MS2 polymerase and HspA or recombinant UreA and UreB fused to the maltose-binding protein, and (iii) the preparations provided with two commercial kits, the Cobas Core (Roche Diagnostic Systems, France) and the Pylori Stat (BioWhittaker, Belgium). All preparations were used in an enzyme immunoassay to test 92 sera from dyspeptic patients for whom the status of Helicobacter infection was established. Sensitivities were higher (90 to 100%) for the native antigens and the commercial kits than for the recombinant antigens. Specificities were higher than 90%, except with UreA + UreB (42%). The most useful antigens were those extracted from strains N6 and N6flbA-.

Evaluation of a new serologic test for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in children.

A new semiquantitative enzyme immunoassay (Platelia Helicobacter pylori; Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, France) was evaluated and compared with two other serological assays (Gap-test IgG; Bio-Rad, France; and Cobas Core; Roche, Switzerland) for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in children. The three tests were compared with the examination of biopsy samples obtained from 160 dyspeptic subjects (mean age, 9 +/- 4.7 years). Discrepant results were studied using an immunoblot technique. The response obtained for the Platelia assay in children was significantly lower than that obtained in a previously described population of 92 adults (Helicobacter pylori-negative mean ratios, 0.376 vs. 0.504, P<0.000783; Helicobacter pylori-positive mean ratios, 1.95 vs. 2.67, P<0.000003). Thus, the optimal cut-off for children (0.80) was lower than the one recommended for adults (1.10). According to the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and to the Wilcoxon value, the Platelia and Cobas Core assays showed the highest discriminatory properties (Wilcoxon value, 0.94 for both) compared with the Gap-test IgG (Wilcoxon value, 0.91). When the newly established cut-off value (0.80) was used, the performance of Platelia was equivalent to that of Cobas Core (sensitivity: 94.4% for each; respective specificities, 86.8% and 90.6%). The Gap-test IgG had a lower sensitivity (maximum, 79%) and a higher specificity (maximum, 95.3%), but there were difficulties in interpretation because its grey zone encompassed 12% of the sera. In conclusion, the results showed good performance of the Platelia Helicobacter pylori assay and confirmed the merit of a specific cut-off value for use of this test in children.