Deprivation and health risk indicators in full-time permanent workers.

BACKGROUND: Association between deprivation and health is well established, particularly among unemployed or fixed-term contract or temporary contract subjects. This study aimed to assess if this relationship existed as well in full-time permanent workers. METHODS: Biometrical, biological, behavioural and psychosocial health risk indicators and an individual deprivation score, the Evaluation of Precarity and Inequalities in Health Examination Centres score, were recorded from January 2007 to June 2008, in 34 905 full-time permanent workers aged 18-70 years, all volunteers for a free health examination. Comparisons of the behavioural, metabolic, cardiovascular and health risk indicators between quintiles of the deprivation score with adjustments on age and socioeconomic categories were made by covariance analysis or logistic regression. RESULTS: For both genders, degradation of nutritional behaviours, metabolic and cardiovascular indicators and health appeared gradually with deprivation, even for deprivation score usually considered as an insignificant value. The absence of only one social support or one social network was associated with a degradation of health. Full-time permanent workers with the poorest health risk indicators had more frequent social exclusion signs. These results were independent of socioeconomic categories and age. CONCLUSION: Understanding how deprivation influences health status may lead to more effective interventions to reduce social inequalities in health. The deprivation Evaluation of Precarity and Inequalities in Health Examination Centres score is a relevant tool to detect subjects who could benefit from preventive interventions. Our findings suggest that this deprivation score should be used as a health risk indicator even in full-time permanent workers. Assessing deprivation is useful to design and evaluate specific intervention programmes.

A preoperative stay in an intensive care unit is associated with an increased risk of surgical site infection in neonates.

BACKGROUND: Neonates are considered as immunologically immature. There are no specific guidelines for surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in this population since data concerning the risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) are lacking. METHODS: A 40-month retrospective single-center study that included all consecutive neonates undergoing surgery was performed. The variables that could influence the rate of SSI were analyzed by multivariate analysis in order to determine the independent risk factors for SSI. RESULTS: The survey included 286 neonates (91 F/195 M). Median age, term, and weight were 10 (0-19) days, 38 (37-39) weeks, 3 (2.7-3.5) kg, respectively. Sixteen percent of the neonates were premature. Surgery was mostly abdominal (71%). Prophylactic antibiotic was given in 66.4% of the cases and was highly variable (amoxicillin-clavulanate 20.3%, first generation cephalosporin 26.2%, second generation cephalosporin 11.9%, imidazole derivatives 13.6%, aminoglycosides 12.6%, vancomycin 0.7%, and ticarcillin-clavulanate 3.1%). The rate of SSI was 3.8%. Only two variables were identified as independent risk factors for SSI: gestational age OR: 0.821 (0.690-0.977) and preoperative hospitalization in an intensive care unit OR: 8.433 (1.031-69.005). CONCLUSION: Preoperative stay in an intensive care unit and, to a lesser degree, low gestational age are associated with an increased SSI rate.

[Good reproducibility and validity of a self-administered questionnaire evaluating adherence to the French national nutrition and health program recommendations]. / Reproductibilité et validation satisfaisantes d'un auto-questionnaire pour évaluer l'atteinte des repères du Programme National Nutrition Santé

OBJECTIVES: To study the reproducibility and validity of a French self-administered questionnaire (NAQAPNNS) evaluating the adequation of a subject with the French national nutrition and health program recommendations. METHODS: The reproducibility was estimated by weighted kappa in 48 subjects working in the administrative departments of the head office of the Institut Inter Régional pour la Santé in Tours aged from 21 to 63 years who filled the questionnaire NAQAPNNS twice with a two weeks interval. The validity was assessed in 524 hyperglycaemic subjects (fasting plasma glucose between 1.10g/l and 1.25g/l) aged from 25 to 70 years against a seven-day dietary recall using the Kruskall-Wallis test. Agreement between self-administration of the questionnaire and dietetic interview was evaluated by weighted kappa. RESULTS: The reproducibility was "good" (kappa≥0.67) except for recommendations on breads, cereals, potatoes and legumes (kappa=0.50) and sweetened foods consumption (kappa=0.54) which showed only "satisfactory" reproducibility. For each recommendation, subjects who reached it had dietary intakes closer to dietary references intakes (P<0.03). The agreement between self-administration and dietetic interview was "good" (kappa≥0.63) except for recommendations on added fats (kappa=0.41) and salt (kappa=0.50) consumption which were only "satisfactory". DISCUSSION: The NAQAPNNS questionnaire is a consistent and reproducible tool to evaluate adequation of a subject with French national nutritional recommendations. CONCLUSION: The self-administered questionnaire NAQAPNNS can be used in clinical practice or in epidemiological studies to detect subjects with a food imbalance and needing specific care.

An opioid-free anaesthetic using nerve blocks enhances rapid recovery after minor hand surgery in children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this prospective randomized study was to evaluate the quality of analgesia, postoperative comfort and subsequent duration of hospitalization after distal hand surgery and peripheral nerve block at the wrist for paediatric outpatients. METHODS: Sixty consecutive ASA I or II children were randomly assigned to the following groups: in group B (block), intraoperative and postoperative analgesia was provided by peripheral nerve block; and in group O (opioids), intraoperative and postoperative analgesia was provided by intravenous opioids. The patients' age, sex and type of surgery were recorded as were the postoperative pain management and postoperative vomiting. Time to discharge from the recovery room, the postoperative ward and the time to discharge home were also noted. RESULTS: The two groups were similar with respect to age, sex, ASA physical status, weight, height and types of injuries. The incidence of postoperative pain (CHEOPS score >or=7) and the incidence of postoperative vomiting were significantly higher in group O than in group B: 26.6 versus 3.3%; P = 0.025, and 33.3 versus 6.6%; P = 0.011, respectively. The time before oral intake was significantly longer in group O than in group B [187 (75-265) min versus 60 (32-125) min, respectively, P = 0.0002]. The time to meet discharge home criteria was 277 (230-330) min in group O versus 210 (145-260) min in group B (P = 0.0039). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates for the first time that, after distal hand surgery in children, peripheral nerve block improves pain management, opioid analgesia-induced side effects and provides a shorter postoperative recovery time than systemic analgesia with opioids.

Effects of perioperative intravenous low dose of ketamine on postoperative analgesia in children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Low dose of ketamine reduces postoperative pain and opioid consumption in adult studies. However, there are only a few data with controversial results in the paediatric population. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the use of low doses of intravenous ketamine on postoperative pain in children after surgery on the lower part of the body. METHODS: Thirty-seven children with ASA 1 or 2 from 6 to 60 months of age, undergoing scheduled surgery, were prospectively enrolled in a double blind sequential trial using a triangular test, with analysis every 10 patients treated. The children were randomly assigned to intravenously receive saline or 0.15 mg kg(-1) ketamine before surgery, followed by a continuous infusion of 1.4 microg kg(-1) min(-1) over 24 h. After sevoflurane induction and tracheal intubation, a caudal anaesthesia was performed in all children (1 ml kg(-1) of bupivacaine 0.25% with epinephrine). The postoperative analgesic technique was standardized with intravenous paracetamol 15 mg kg(-1) 6 h(-1), rectal morniflumate (20 mg kg(-1) 12 h(-1)) and intravenous nalbuphine infusion 1.2 mg kg(-1) 24 h(-1) for 24 h. The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS) scores, additional bolus of nalbuphine (if CHEOPS >7) and side effects were recorded from eye opening every 2 h over 24 h. The primary endpoint was the CHEOPS area under the curve. RESULTS: There was no difference in terms of additional bolus of nalbuphine as well as CHEOPS score area under the curve between groups, that is, 76 +/- 10 in the ketamine group versus 74 +/- 7 in the control group. No psychomimetic side effects were noted. CONCLUSION: The study failed to show any evidence of benefit of ketamine to improve analgesia in children when given in addition to a multimodal analgesic therapy with paracetamol, a NSAID and an opiate.

Is haemostasis biological screening always useful before performing a neuraxial blockade in children?

BACKGROUND: Because of the lack of controlled studies, there is no consensus of opinion about the practice of routine haemostasis tests before neuraxial blockade in children. The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of two different strategies of coagulation evaluation on the incidence of diagnosed coagulopathies leading to a modification of the preoperative or anaesthetic management in children who were scheduled for caudal, epidural or intrathecal block. METHODS: For a 24-month period (period 1, retrospective study, n=751), haemostasis screening was undertaken only after family and personal history and physical examination in all patients. For the following 24 months (period 2, prospective study, n=958), a standardized questionnaire was used. In addition, routine tests (prothrombin, partial thromboplastin time, platelet count) were performed in children who where not yet walking. In older children, coagulation tests were undertaken as in period 1. RESULTS: Overall, 26 significant abnormalities were diagnosed. Coagulation tests were performed in 16.2% (period 1) and 78.2% (period 2) of the children, who were not yet walking. Routine tests did not improve the diagnosis of haemostasis abnormalities justifying a modification of the preoperative and anaesthetic management (2.2% from 406 children in period 1 vs 4.1% from 266 children in period 2). The predictive positive value of routine tests (period 2) was 19%, vs 45% for specific tests (period 1) (P < 0.001). In older children, the use of a standardized form increased the number of haemostasis screenings without improvement of diagnosis leading to modified preoperative management (0.3% from 315 children in period 1 vs 0.5% from 628 children in period 2). CONCLUSIONS: When routine testing is performed in nonwalking children, the screening number increases without leading to a higher number of anaesthetic management changes, suggesting that routine testing does not seem to provide much extra information in the absence of a positive history.