Use of medicinal plants in rheumatology

Objective: The use of medicinal plants by patients in the treatment of chronic diseases (diabetes mellitus, hypertension) is common in Morocco. Rheumatic diseases do not except from this informal and yet unknown therapeutic way. The objective of this work is to study the prevalence of the use of herbal medicines in rheumatology and the factors associated with this practice in the population of the region of Marrakech. Patients and methods: This is a prospective study, 200 patients attending to two hospitals in Marrakech, for various inflammatory and degenerative rheumatic diseases were included, between August 2010 and March 2011. Hetero-administered questionnaire was used, including demographic data, type of plants used and the terms of their uses. Results: Patients were represented by 163 women and 37 men. The use of medicinal plants was found in 78 patients (39%), including 60 women and 18 men, with a mean age of 50 years. We identified 49 different plants. Most used ones were the Olea Europaea L . Nigella sativa L. Lavandula angustifolia Mill. The information on these plants was given by friends and neighbours in most cases, the main expected effect was analgesic and the efficacy of these products was reported in 47.4% of cases. Plants were prepared by the patients themselves in 73% of cases, without prior instruction or knowledge of the terms of use. Adverse events were noted in 24.4% of cases. The use of plants was significantly higher in elderly patients, with more children out of school and having a major pain in the visual analogue scale (VAS). Conclusion: The use of medicinal plants is quite common in rheumatology. However, we did not find an association between this practice and educational, social or economical levels of patients

Les facteurs prédictifs de morbimortalité chez les patients sous ballon de contre pulsion intra-aortique en chirurgie cardiaque

Le ballon de contre pulsion intra-aortique (BCPIA) est fréquemment utilisé en chirurgie cardiaque, comme moyen d'assistance circulatoire en cas de bas débit cardiaque. Il est d'intérêt clinique de déterminer les facteurs pronostiques chez les patients porteurs d'un BCPIA en chirurgie cardiaque, et qui restent un sujet rarement élucidé dans la littérature. L'objectif de notre travail est de déterminer les facteurs prédictifs de morbimortalitéchez les patients sous ballon de contre pulsion intraortique en périopératoire d'une chirurgie cardiaque. Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective portant sur l'ensemble des patients opérés en chirurgie cardiaque sous circulation extracorporelle, et ayant bénéficiés de la mise en place d'un ballon de contre pulsion intra-aortique en périopératoire, au service de chirurgie cardiovasculaire de l'Hôpital Militaire Mohamed V de Rabat, entrele mois de janvier 2005 et le mois d'aout 20014. Soixante dix patients ont été inclus dans notre étude. En analyse univariée l'âge, la dyspnée de stade III et IV, l'insuffisance cardiaque, la présence d'un infarctus du myocarde, d'une coronaropathie mono et bitronculaire, les anomalies du doppler de trons supra-aortique et du membre inférieur, le caractère urgent de la chirurgie, la durée de la circulation extracorporelle, l'instabilité hémodynamique postopératoire, le saignement et l'insuffisance rénale postopératoire étaient statistiquement associés à une mortalité postopératoire élevée. La dyskinésie préopératoire et la sortie de circulation extracorporelle sous drogues étaient associées à une morbidité globale élevée. En analyse multi variée, seule l'âge, constituait un facteur de risque indépendant de mortalité dans notre série avec un Odds Ratio (OR): 1,89 ; un Intervalle de Confiance (IC) 95% de (1,52-4,97) et un p =0,045. Au terme de notre étude, le taux de mortalité était de 48,57% et de morbidité globale était de 87,1%. Il nous parait donc nécessaire pour diminuer l'incidence de cette morbimortalité dans notre population, d'agir sur les facteurs que nous jugeons modifiables tels l'amélioration de la fonction cardiaque préopératoire, l'optimisation de la fonction rénale, la réduction de la durée de CEC et le contrôle du saignement

Deep Brain Stimulation in Moroccan Patients With Parkinson's Disease: The Experience of Neurology Department of Rabat

Introduction: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is known as a therapy of choice of advanced Parkinson's disease. The present study aimed to assess the beneficial and side effects of STN DBS in Moroccan Parkinsonian patients.Material and Methods: Thirty five patients underwent bilateral STN DBS from 2008 to 2016 in the Rabat University Hospital. Patients were assessed preoperatively and followed up for 6 to 12 months using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale in four conditions (stimulation OFF and ON and medication OFF and ON), the levodopa-equivalent daily dose (LEDD), dyskinesia and fluctuation scores and PDQ39 scale for quality of life (QOL). Postoperative side effects were also recorded.Results: The mean age at disease onset was 42.31 ± 7.29 years [28–58] and the mean age at surgery was 54.66 ± 8.51 years [34–70]. The median disease duration was 11.95 ± 4.28 years [5–22]. Sixty-three percentage of patients were male. 11.4% of patients were tremor dominant while 45.71 showed akinetic-rigid form and 42.90 were classified as mixed phenotype. The LEDD before surgery was 1200 mg/day [800-1500]. All patients had motor fluctuations whereas non-motor fluctuations were present in 61.80% of cases. STN DBS decreased the LEDD by 51.72%, as the mean LEDD post-surgery was 450 [188-800]. The UPDRS-III was improved by 52.27%, dyskinesia score by 66.70% and motor fluctuations by 50%, whereas QOL improved by 27.12%. Post-operative side effects were hypophonia (2 cases), infection (3 cases), and pneumocephalus (2 cases).Conclusion: Our results showed that STN DBS is an effective treatment in Moroccan Parkinsonian patients leading to a major improvement of the most disabling symptoms (dyskinesia, motor fluctuation) and a better QOL