About the need to address pediatric health inequalities in French Guiana : a scoping review.

INTRODUCTION: French Guiana is a French overseas territory in South America, marked by poverty and inequalities. Access to different services, including healthcare, is unequal depending on where people live. Several studies showed that among adults, the most precarious individuals had greater incidences of chronic and infectious diseases. Although the median age of the population living in this territory is 25, there is no specific focus on the pediatric population although it is documented that socioeconomic inequalities have an impact on child health. The objective of this scoping review is to shed light on health challenges concerning children living in French Guiana. METHODS: A literature search was performed on PubMed to identify relevant articles, and additional references were added if within the scope of this review. RESULTS: A total of 106 publications were reviewed. Perinatal health issues were linked to a high rate of teenage pregnancies with poor medical follow-up leading to complications such as preterm deliveries and congenital malformations and abnormalities. Infectious diseases were a significant burden with worrisome vaccination coverage figures for some bacterial infections, partly explaining a high mortality rate attributable to infectious diseases. Herbicide poisoning with paraquat was reported in children, and environment-related concerns such as wild animal attacks as well as lead and mercury exposure were reported. Some children living in remote Amerindian communities had a higher suicide rate than in mainland France, and chronic diseases such as sickle cell disease were reported to have more transfusion-related complications. CONCLUSION: Children living in French Guiana have worse pediatric health indicators in comparison with children from mainland France.

[Geophagy and pregnancy: current knowledge and management. Clinical experiences of an obstetrical department in French Guiana]. / Géophagie et grossesse: état des connaissances et conduite à tenir. Expérience d'une maternité de Guyane française.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of the current state of knowledge concerning the determinants and consequences of geophagy during pregnancy. METHOD: Bibliographic searching of articles published in English or French and included in the Scopus database, and reporting of our experience with the management of geophagic pregnant women at the maternity unit of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (French Guiana). RESULTS: Geophagy is a little known practice initiated by various stimuli, including nausea and iron deficiency. Sustained geophagy during pregnancy has many consequences, due to complex ionic interactions with the digestive tract. Clay consumption may lead to iron deficiency, which may even be life-threatening in cases of post-partum haemorrhage in severely anaemic women. For the foetus, in addition to the known risk of preterm birth associated with maternal anaemia, maternal geophagy may lead to overexposure to heavy metals, including aluminium in particular. This practice should therefore be considered potentially damaging to the neurological development of the child. The ionic imbalances caused by the ingestion of clay over a long period should be systematically evaluated and corrected, given the secondary malabsorption they may cause, often necessitating parenteral feeding.

Parastomal hernia. A study of the French federation of ostomy patients.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of parastomal hernia (PSH) varies considerably in the literature. This condition impacts negatively on quality of life. Yet there is no surgical consensus concerning treatment. The aim of the study was to determine treatment and recurrence rates of PSH in a large population of ostomy patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was carried out by a self-administered questionnaire in a population drawn at random from the database of the French federation of ostomy patients (FSF). RESULTS: Seven hundred and eighty-two patients were eligible for the study. The mean duration of follow-up was 10.5 years. PSH was reported by 202 patients (25.6%) and appeared on average 18 months after creation of the stoma. In multivariate analysis, ileostomy had a lower risk of developing PSH than did colostomy; age mote than 60 years and peristomal complications at the time of stoma creation increased the risk. Only 24% of patients with PSH were free from symptoms related to the hernia. The main complaints were pain (35%), difficulties in fitting a stomal appliance with leakage (28%); 114 patients (56%) underwent operative repair. The morbidity rate of reoperation was 33%, and 57 patients (52%) had recurrence of PSH within an average of 6 months. Transposition of the stoma to another location and the use of prosthetic mesh decreased recidivism AF recurrence? CONCLUSION: PSH aggravates the inherently diminished quality of life of stoma patients. There are many proposed surgical treatments but recurrence occurs in more than half of patients. Randomized trials on the treatment of PSH are nonexistent. The use of a prosthetic mesh may reduce the risk of recurrence. The prophylactic use of prophylactic mesh at the time of initial stoma formation is a strategy worthy of consideration.