Treatment failure and hospital readmissions in severe COPD exacerbations treated with azithromycin versus placebo - A post-hoc analysis of the BACE randomized controlled trial

Background: In the BACE trial, a 3-month (3 m) intervention with azithromycin, initiated at the onset of an infectious COPD exacerbation requiring hospitalization, decreased the rate of a first treatment failure (TF); the composite of treatment intensification (TI), step-up in hospital care (SH) and mortality. Objectives: (1) To investigate the intervention's effect on recurrent events, and (2) to identify clinical subgroups most likely to benefit, determined from the incidence rate of TF and hospital readmissions. Methods: Enrolment criteria included the diagnosis of COPD, a smoking history of ≥10 pack-years and ≥ 1 exacerbation in the previous year. Rate ratio (RR) calculations, subgroup analyses and modelling of continuous variables using splines were based on a Poisson regression model, adjusted for exposure time. Results: Azithromycin significantly reduced TF by 24% within 3 m (RR = 0.76, 95%CI:0.59;0.97, p = 0.031) through a 50% reduction in SH (RR = 0.50, 95%CI:0.30;0.81, p = 0.006), which comprised of a 53% reduction in hospital readmissions (RR = 0.47, 95%CI:0.27;0.80; p = 0.007). A significant interaction between the intervention, CRP and blood eosinophil count at hospital admission was found, with azithromycin significantly reducing hospital readmissions in patients with high CRP (> 50 mg/L, RR = 0.18, 95%CI:0.05;0.60, p = 0.005), or low blood eosinophil count (<300cells/μL, RR = 0.33, 95%CI:0.17;0.64, p = 0.001). No differences were observed in treatment response by age, FEV1, CRP or blood eosinophil count in continuous analyses. Conclusions: This post-hoc analysis of the BACE trial shows that azithromycin initiated at the onset of an infectious COPD exacerbation requiring hospitalization reduces the incidence rate of TF within 3 m by preventing hospital readmissions. In patients with high CRP or low blood eosinophil count at admission this treatment effect was more pronounced, suggesting a potential role for these biomarkers in guiding azithromycin therapy. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov number. NCT02135354. © 2019 The Author(s)

Side effects of evidence-based medicine

In the framework of an objective assessment of medical practices, it has become the rule to limit preoperative examinations, including thoracic imaging, in asymptomatic patients with a low surgical risk (that is, in “good health”). The insistence on the avoidance of “unnecessary” technical examinations in patients in seemingly good health may disregard common symptoms and lead to untoward consequences for the patients as we recently experienced in our respiratory department: two patients were admitted, one for a cavitary tuberculosis and the other one for a small cell carcinoma. These patients had uneventfully undergone in the recent weeks ear, nose and throat procedures and gynaecologic surgical procedures, respectively, without preoperative chest radiography as they were considered “asymptomatic” at the time of surgery. Retrospectively, ordinary symptoms (cough in the patient with cavitary tuberculosis and shortness of breath in the patient with lung carcinoma) were present but did not “ring a bell” during the preoperative assessment

Etude microradiographique et histologique d'un cas de dentinogenèse imparfaite de Type I

Quatre dents temporaires, extraites pour des raisons d’infection périodontale, chez une fille de 53 mois atteinte d’ostéogenèse imparfaite, ont été enrobées dans du méthyl pour une analyse microradiographique et un examen microscopique en lumière ordinaire. L’émail et la dentine de trois dents, les 51, 65 et 85, ne montrent aucune particularité alors quye le cément est remarquablement mince. Les chambres pulpaires, larges, renferment un grand nombre de calcifications dont certaines présentent une striation radiaire autour d’un centre radio-transparent. Colorées au bleu de méthylène celles-ci révèlent des cellules inflammatoires ou fibroblastiques. La quatrième dent (55) fut le siège d’une surproduction dentinogénétique ayant oblitéré la majeure partie de l’espace pulpaire. La dentine y présente deux couches, d’aspects différents, séparées par une bande peu calcifiée. La périphérie renferme des canalicules sinueux dont la disposition répond au type I de la classification de SIAR (1986) alors que, dans la profonde, ils sont de très petite taille, s’unissent au fur et à mesure qu’ils se rapprochent du centre de la dent et y côtoient des inclusions cellulaires pathognomoniques de la Dentinogenèse Imparfaite. L’espace pulpaire non oblitéré renferme une calcification d’aspect radiaire et microlacunaire. Ainsi le trouble dentaire s’est manifesté de façon variable au niveau des dents 55 et 65 dont la formation est contemporaine. Par ailleurs, les calcifications intrapulpaires donc la Dentinogenèse Imparfaite ne sont pas l’apanage des seules pulpes non oblitérées.[A microradiographic and histological study of a case of dentinogenesis imperfecta type I]. Four temporary teeth, extracted for periodontal infection reasons, from a 53-months-old child with osteogenesis imperfecta, have been coated in methyl metacrylate and prepared for microradiographic analysis and light microscopic study. The enamel and dentin of three teeth (51, 65 and 85) don't show any particularity, some how the cementum is remarkably thin. Pulp chambers was large and contain a great number of calcifications. Some of them present a radial striation around a radio-transparent center, and when coloured with blue of methylen, they revealed inflammatory or fibroblastic cells. The fourth tooth (55) shows a dentinogenetic overproduction which closed the major part of the pulp chamber. The dentin presents two rows of different aspect, separated with a calcified bond. The mantle dentin contains sinuous tubules with a type I arrangement of SIAR classification (1986). But, in the deepest dentin, they are very little size and joined together while approaching the center of the tooth and coast along cellular inclusions, pathognomonic sign of dentinogenesis imperfecta. The pulpal space not obliterated contains a calcification with radial and microlacunary aspect

Irritations chimique et traumatique d'un germe de prémolaire de chien.

Un cas d’arrêt de développement d’un germe de prémolaire a été observé dans une expérimentation destinée à étudier, chez le chien, l’influence du traitement endodontique des dents temporaires sur l’éruption des définitives sous-jacentes. L’irritation chimique a été provoquée par l’irruption d’oxyde de zinc eugénol dans le sac folliculaire et le traumatisme mécanique par la molaire temporaire utilisée par l’animal pour mordre sur les barres métalliques de sa cage. Les effets de la dévitalisation ont été étudiés à l’aide des coupes épaisses, non décalcifiées, soumises à l’analyse microradiographique, avant d’être examinées en lumière ultra-violette, pour détecter les marqueurs fluorescents de la calcification, et en lumière ordinaire après coloration en surface par du bleu de méthylène. L’examen en microscopie de fluorescence a fait constater l’arrêt de croissance du germe. Du cément cellulaire a été apposé au niveau de la paroi parapulpaire de la dentine, tandis qu’il y a eu formation de cément, de tissu chondroïde, d’os fibreux réticulé et d’os lamellaire dans l’espace caméral. Cette observation recommande la prudence lors du traitement canalaire des dents temporaires, surtout celles exposées aux traumatismes mécaniques comme peuvent l’être les incisives supérieures.The arrest of a premolar bud was observed in an animal experiment that was designed to study the influence of endodontic treatment in dogs' temporary teeth on the eruption of their permanent successors. A chemical irritation was induced by the burst of ZOE (zinc oxide and eugenol) into the dental follicle. Moreover, a mechanical trauma on the temporary molar was promoted by the dog's biting on its cage metallic bars. The devitalization effects were studied in thick undecalcified ground sections which were subjected to microradiographic analysis, to UV light microscopy in order to detect the fluorescent indicators of calcification, and finally to methylene blue staining. The arrest of the bud development was noted in fluorescent microscopic examination. Cellular cementum was formed on the pulpal surface of the dentine, while cementum, chondroid tissue, woven bone and lamellar bone developed in the pulpal tissue. These observations advise caution during root canal therapy of temporary teeth, especially those that are exposed to mechanical trauma. Such as the upper incisors

Criteria for antibiotic therapy in acute exacerbations of COPD.

CommentLetterinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Validation of the French version of the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Cough is one of the three major symptoms reported by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) is a questionnaire exploring the impact of cough, but it does not exist in French. The aim of this study was to develop a French version of LCQ and to assess its psychometrics properties. A forward-backward translation process was used to develop the French version of the LCQ. COPD patients completed LCQ and Cough and Sputum Assessment Questionnaire (CASA-Q) to determine concurrent validity, content validity and internal consistency. Two weeks later, the LCQ was repeated to evaluate the reproducibility. Seventy-four COPD patients were recruited. The concurrent validity showed highly significant correlations between all scores of LCQ and CASA-Q (p < 0.001). The content validity was good with domain total scores correlations ranging from 0.918 to 0.953. The LCQ domains and total scores showed a very good internal consistency with Cronbach's α coefficients ranging between 0.802 and 0.917. The test-retest reliability was high in COPD patients with no change in cough. In conclusion, The French version of the LCQ is a valid and reliable instrument to measure health status in COPD patients

Dyspnea could be accurately assessed by a caregiver in hospitalized patients with respiratory diseases: Interrater reliability and agreement study.

BACKGROUND: The perception of dyspnea is a subjective feeling typically self-assessed by the patient. However, the assessment by a caregiver is sometimes required. OBJECTIVES: The primary aim was to compare patient self-assessment and caregiver assessment of dyspnea (interrater reliability) using the modified Borg and visual analog scale (VAS) in hospitalized patients. The secondary aim was to compare dyspnea assessment between the two scales for patients and caregiver (inter-instrument reliability). METHODS: Self-assessment of dyspnea intensity of hospitalized patients with respiratory diseases was compared with caregiver's assessment. Dyspnea intensity was measured using two scales, the modified Borg scale (0-10 scale) and the 10 cm VAS. Mean difference and 95% confidence interval (CI) between assessors (i.e. patient versus caregiver) were calculated for each scale. Inter- and intra-rater reliability was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). RESULTS: A total of 254 patients were recruited. The mean differences between patient and caregiver ratings were 0.31 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.53) for the modified Borg scale and 0.36 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.65) for the VAS scale. Interrater reliability was good for both scales with ICC of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.84) for VAS and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.86) for the modified Borg scale. The mean differences in scores between scales were 0.93 (95% CI 0.69, 1.17) for patients' ratings and 0.88 (95% CI 0.72, 1.04) for caregiver's rating. The inter-instrument reliability was moderate to good and similar for both assessors. CONCLUSION: Dyspnea can be accurately estimated by caregivers when patients with lung diseases cannot self-report. Scores on the VAS to rate dyspnea were higher than the scores on the Borg scale

Modification of COPD presentation during the last 25 years.

During the last decades progress has been made in the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). We compared a random sample of patients admitted for an exacerbation in the period 2001-2005 (n = 101), with a random sample of patients hospitalized for the same reason in the period 1980-1984 (n = 51). Patients of the 2001-2005 cohort had a lower FEV1 (48 ± 3 vs. 41 ± 2% predicted, p = 0.01) for similar mean age, gender and body- mass index when compared to the historical sample. Co-morbidities, according to the Charlson's index, were more prevalent in the 2001-2005 cohort compared to the 1980-1984 cohort, with a reduction of hemoglobin (13.9 ± 0.2 gr/dl vs. 14.9 ± 0.2, p < 0.01) and higher prevalence of anemia in the most recent cohort. We found an increase in the use of cardiovascular drugs and respiratory medications over time with exception for the long-term use of oxygen. Despite lower FEV1 and more prevalent co-morbidities, no difference in length of hospitalization (13.6 ± 1.4 days vs. 12.7 ± 0.7 days, p = 0.52) and 30 months survival post-exacerbation was noted (66.6% vs. 69.3%, p = 0.85). Over the course of 20 years, the presentation of COPD patients admitted for an exacerbation seems to be changed towards a more severe phenotype with lower FEV1 and more co-morbidities. As the length of hospitalization and the overall survival were not different between the two samples, a currently improved management of COPD can be hypothesized.Comparative StudyJournal Articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe