Le syndrome du canal carpien chez les patients hémodialysés chroniques

Le syndrome du canal carpien (SCC) regroupe l'ensemble des signes et symptômes liés à la compression du nerf médian dans le canal carpien. Cette manifestation de l'amylose à béta2-microglobuline est une complication fréquente de l'hémodialyse au long cours. L'objectif de ce travail est d'analyser les caractéristiques du SCC et de déterminer les facteurs liés à sa survenue chez les hémodialysés chroniques.Nous rapportons une étude transversale monocentrique, menée au 3ème trimestre de l'année 2009, portant sur les patients adultes hémodialysés chroniques au service de Néphrologie-Hémodialyse au CHU de Fès. 59 patients ont accepté de participer à l'étude. Leurs âge moyen est de 48 ± 15 ans avec un sex-ratio de 0,9. Ils bénéficient tous de l'hémodialyse intermittente à raison de 10 à 12 heures par semaine, par une membrane de dialyse en polysulfone à basse perméabilité. La durée moyenne en hémodialyse est de 83 ± 6,5 mois. La prévalence du SCC dans notre centre est de 30,5%. L'électromyogramme (EMG) a confirmé la suspicion clinique du SCC chez 11 patients et a diagnostiqué un SCC chez 8 patients asymptomatiques. La comparaison statistique entre les deux groupes de patients avec et sans SCC a démontré que la survenue de ce syndrome est liée à: l'âge actuel, l'âge avancé à la mise en hémodialyse, le sexe féminin, l'excès pondéral, et l'abord vasculaire. Le SCC est une complication fréquente de l'hémodialyse chronique. L'amélioration de la qualité de dialyse permettrait de réduire le risque de survenue du SCC.Pan African Medical Journal 2013; 14:1

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Do kidney histology lesions predict long-term kidney function after liver transplantation?

International audienceHistological renal lesions observed after liver transplantation are complex, multifactorial, and interrelated. The aims of this study were to determine whether kidney lesions observed at five yr after liver transplantation can predict long-term kidney function. Ninety-nine liver transplant patients receiving calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based immunosuppression, who had undergone a kidney biopsy at 60 ± 48 months post-transplant, were included in this follow-up study. Kidney biopsies were scored according to the Banff classification. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was assessed at last follow-up, that is, 109 ± 48 months after liver transplantation. eGFR decreased from 92 ± 33 mL/min at transplantation to 63 ± 19 mL/min after six months, to 57 ± 17 mL/min at the kidney biopsy, to 54 ± 24 mL/min at last follow-up (p < 0.0001). At last follow-up, only three patients required renal replacement therapy. After the kidney biopsy, 13 patients were converted from CNIs to mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors, but no significant improvement in eGFR was observed after conversion. Elevated eGFR at six months post-transplant and a lower fibrous intimal thickening score (cv) observed at five yr post-transplant were the two independent predictive factors for eGFR ≥60 mL/min at nine yr post-transplant. Long-term kidney function seems to be predicted by the kidney vascular lesions