[Management of suspected meningitis in the emergency department]. / Syndrome méningé fébrile au service des urgences : prise en charge.

Febrile meningeal syndrome is a medical emergency. Lumbar puncture keeps its gold-standard status as clinical findings are neither sensitive nor specific enough. Antibiotics and steroids are ideally administered within the first 30 minutes after admission when bacterial meningitis is suspected. A cerebral CT-scan before lumbar puncture is mandatory for selected patients only. PCR for viruses in the cerebrospinal fluid can inform diagnosis and treatment. Meningitis caused by enterovirus can usually be managed at home.

Le syndrome méningé fébrile est une urgence majeure. La clinique n'étant pas suffisamment sensible ni spécifique, la ponction lombaire reste l'examen de choix pour établir le diagnostic. Lors de suspicion de méningite bactérienne, l'antibiothérapie associée à des stéroïdes doit être administrée dans les 30 minutes après l'admission. L'imagerie cérébrale n'est réalisée avant la ponction lombaire que dans des situations bien définies. Lors de méningite virale, la réalisation de PCR (polymerase chain reaction) dans le liquide céphalorachidien permet d'orienter le diagnostic et le traitement. Lorsqu'un entérovirus est identifié, la prise en charge peut habituellement se faire en ambulatoire.

Geographical variation in surveillance strategies after curative-intent surgery for upper aerodigestive tract cancer.

BACKGROUND: Analysis of geographical variation in utilization of medical resources is often used to identify regions of overutilization or underutilization. METHODS: We surveyed the membership of the American Head and Neck Society regarding their recommended frequency of office visits and 13 imaging studies and blood tests for their patients after potentially curative therapy for upper aerodigestive tract cancers. RESULTS: Of the 1322 members surveyed, 610 (46%) responded: 420 responses (32%) were assessable. Responses were compared by US Census Region, Metropolitan Statistical Area, and managed care organization penetration rate. Overseas members (16% of assessable responses) comprised a separate category for the regional analysis. There were statistically significant variations in practice patterns among Census Regions for office visits, complete blood count, computed tomography of the head, sonography, and esophagoscopy. Non-US members recommended significantly more blood tests, imaging studies, and endoscopy than US members for routine cancer surveillance. Only the frequency of office visits differed significantly among Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Surprisingly, the penetration rate of managed care organizations had no significant effect on posttreatment surveillance intensity. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis indicates that only a small portion of the wide variation in observed follow-up practice patterns can be explained by geographical determinants.

Surgical decision making in upper aerodigestive tract cancer patient follow-up.

The objective was to analyze the impact of clinical beliefs on surgical decision making in the posttreatment follow-up of patients with upper aerodigestive tract cancer. Clinical beliefs, defined as perceived benefits and risks of surveillance, were examined. All 824 members of the Society of Head and Neck Surgeons (SHNS) and 522 members of the American Society for Head and Neck Surgery, who were not SHNS members, were surveyed using TNM stage-specific clinical vignettes to measure surgical decision making in the posttreatment follow-up of patients with upper aerodigestive tract cancer. Controlling for physician demographic and practice characteristics, the relationship between clinical beliefs and diagnostic test ordering practices of surgeons was examined using Poisson and negative binomial regression analysis. Age 50 and over and South Central U.S. practice location were significant predictors of the frequency of surveillance testing in at least three TNM stage I models as was the clinical belief that no survival benefit results from the follow-up of patients with TNM stage I cancers. Less than 15% of the variability in follow-up intensity was explained by the TNM stage I models. Predictive ability was substantially improved for the TNM stage II-IV models by including lower TNM stage practice patterns as an independent variable. Most models predicted at least 50% of the variation in follow-up testing. The two clinical beliefs with the greatest impact on surgical decision making in the posttreatment follow-up of patients with upper aerodigestive tract cancer are that surveillance: i) permits palliative treatment and improves quality of life and ii) provides no survival benefit for patients with TNM stage I cancers. Knowledge of lower TNM stage practice patterns can be used to further improve predictive ability for higher stage models.