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Biomedical subjects

D Lossignol

Publications and source records attributed to D Lossignol.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Supportive and palliative care: experience at the Institut Jules Bordet.

The Supportive and Palliative Care Unit of the Institut Jules Bordet officially started its activities in February 1999. Our Unit comprises eight beds (four rooms with one bed each and two rooms with two beds each). We admit advanced cancer patients presenting with severe symptoms whose control is going to require all the expertise of a multidisciplinary team. Whilst these eight beds are identified geographically in the hospital, the team's mobility assures continuity of care for patients who wish to stay in another department. The infrastructure of the Unit and its rooms allow close family members who wish to sleep close to the patients to do so. Otherwise, visits are allowed round the clock, though always with due consideration for patients' comfort. Patients are referred either by a physician working in our Institution (medical oncologist, surgeon, or radiotherapist) or by their family physicians. Less frequently, patients themselves specifically ask to be admitted to our Unit. The activity of the Unit itself during its first year of functioning can be summarized as follows. We admitted 155 advanced cancer patients, for a total number of 210 hospitalizations. Patients were admitted a median of 35 months after their diagnosis and a median of 20 days before death. Stays were generally short (median 11 days). We systematically used quantitative assessment tools (MMSQ, MDAS,EFAT and various VAS) to detect and monitor their symptoms and any complications. The main symptoms on admission were pain, anorexia, asthenia, dyspnea and anxiety/depression. Pain, nausea/vomiting, constipation and cough were controlled in almost all patients, whereas control of asthenia and anorexia was most often insufficient. In 51% of our cases the patients could be discharged home; 40% died in the unit; 4% were transferred to long-term palliative care units and 1% to other units within our Institution (4% were still hospitalized at the time of this analysis).

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Longitudinal follow-up of TTS-fentanyl use in patients with cancer-related pain: results of a compassionate-use study with special focus on elderly patients.

GOALS OF THE WORK: This open compassionate-use prospective registration study evaluated the tolerability, ease of use and applied doses of transdermal (TTS) fentanyl in adult patients with cancer-related pain requiring strong opioid analgesia. Elderly patients were particularly focussed on. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Previous pain medication was converted to an appropriate dose of TTS-fentanyl. Immediate-release morphine rescue medication was allowed as needed for breakthrough pain. Dose adjustments of TTS-fentanyl, rescue morphine requirements, the ease of use and side-effects were assessed monthly, with special emphasis paid to the severity of constipation and the use of laxatives. MAIN RESULTS: A total of 663 patients with cancer-related pain, including 8% opioid-naive patients, were enrolled; 661 patients used at least 1 patch of TTS-fentanyl. Of these, 455 subjects were assessed at baseline and at 1 post-baseline visit at least. Individual treatment ranged from a few days to 2 1/2 years; TTS-fentanyl doses ranged from 25 to 950 microg/h. The major reason for study termination was non-drug-related death (61%). Approximately 40% of patients reported constipation. The frequency of constipation depended on the rescue morphine dose used, but no dose-relationship was found for TTS-fentanyl. Patient acceptance of the patches was high; around 85% of patients rated convenience as good to excellent The ease of use and tolerability of TTS-fentanyl in the elderly patients were comparable to that in the total population, except for a slight increase of non-serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: TTS-fentanyl can be applied as long-term therapy to patients with cancer-related pain, including the elderly.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed2002

[Euthanasia: practical implications].

Techniques used for euthanasia exist and have to be available for doctors. Their use ask for accurate information regarding schedules and pharmacology. Numerous medications may induce death at supratherapeutic doses but few are effective to ensure an end-of life without suffering, in the respect of human dignity. Some specific situation encountered in the terminal phase of life (delirium, dyspnea, bleeding) are described with their medical approaches. Terminal (or controlled) sedation and physician-assisted suicide are discussed. Two effective schedules based on the dutch experience and providing gentle and easy death are presented.

Attitude to Death↗
PubMed2001

[Terminal medical interventions: psychosocial, medical, ethical and legal aspects].

We give an overview of the available medical solutions to help a patient with refractory symptoms at the end of his life. Patient "competence" must first be evaluated and, even if their diagnosis is difficult, organic mental disorders and depression must be diagnosed and adequately treated to allow a real, personal and honest dialog. Administration of high doses of morphine is frequently used at the end of life not only to fully relieve pain but also to accelerate death, even if this is not clearly stated. This technique is not devoid of hypocrisy and high doses of morphine can have quite unpleasant side effects. Treatment withdrawal or withholding is generally not sufficient to allow a correct end of life. The arrest of ventilation, dialysis, artificial nutrition and even more hydration must often be coupled with techniques inducing unconsciousness, which makes imprecise the limits between such a "passive" ending of life and "active" euthanasia. The technique of terminal sedation, frequently based on the use of midazolam, has been more recently introduced in some palliative care units. Such a "controlled sedation" is supposed to allow a "natural" death by inducing a profound sleep. In opposition with active euthanasia, which allows a quiet and rapid death at a moment chosen by the patient himself, this technique of "sedation" has an undetermined duration, has legal implications which could be viewed as quite similar as the ones of euthanasia, and, moreover, this prolonged agony can be extremely stressful and distressing for the family. Medical-assisted suicide is allowed in The Netherlands under the same conditions as euthanasia. Death is generally obtained after a few hours but the technique is not always successful and the process of death can sometimes be prolonged and uncomfortable. This technique can nevertheless be preferred by some physicians and patients. As compared to active euthanasia, the proportion of medically-assisted suicides (1/6) is low in The Netherlands. Euthanasia is the only technique able to induce a peaceful and rapid death. The proportion of various techniques to actively induce death is probably quite similar in our country than in The Netherlands but, most of the time, these interventions occur at the very end of life when the patient is no longer able to participate in the decision process and thus occur without his explicit request. We think that, as for all medical decisions, the use of one or the other of these various techniques should be selected after a quiet and free discussion between the patient and his physician, preferably in advance and not in a situation of emergency and panic.

Belgium↗
PubMed1998

[Transdermal fentanyl].

Fentanyl is a synthetic pure opioid agonist with a selective activity on mu receptors. Its high liposolubility allows a transdermal administration, using a Transdermal Therapeutic System (TTS). The clinical efficacy is widely demonstrated in the field of cancer pain control. The side effects are those observed with morphine but with less frequent constipation. The adjonction of a short acting morphine in case of acute pain is recommended.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed1998

[Opioids in practice].

The treatment of cancer pain includes various classes of molecules. Among them, morphine and its derivatives are considered as references. The understanding of pharmacological aspects and the control of side effects lead to an adequate pain relief during the illness. The nature of the pain syndrome have basically no influence on the opioid responsiveness. Synthetic opioids are not recommended for cancer pain.

Analgesics, Opioid↗
PubMed1997

The concept of rehabilitation of cancer patients.

The scope of supportive care and cancer rehabilitation is very wide and heterogeneous. In this review we focus on nutritional aspects, sexual and gonadal function, psychological rehabilitation, treatment of cancer pain, and rehabilitation of patients with bone metastases. The anorexia-cachexia syndrome is a particularly frequent manifestation of cancer that profoundly affects body image and significantly impairs quality of life of cancer patients. However, enteral feeding through nasogastric tubes, gastrostomies, or jejunostomies is an efficient method for providing long-term enteral nutrition at home and for contributing to complete rehabilitation after cancer therapy. Recent effort has focused on nutritional pharmacology and on the optimalization of the use of appetite-stimulating drugs, such as progestational agents. The psychological components of cancer, anticancer therapy, and quality of life have now been widely recognized and studied. Effective pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions help patients and their family to better adjust to the chronic stress of cancer, but more specific determinants of psychological morbidity should be developed. In particular, the safe and efficient use of the most recent classes of antidepressants and anxiolytics should be urgently studied. More than 90% of cancer patients present one or more pain syndromes during their illness. The adequate use of drugs is the cornerstone of treatment. The development on new molecules and new routes of administration opens interesting perspectives for cancer pain control. Bone metastases are the source of considerable morbidity. Intravenous bisphosphonates have been successfully used for the treatment of the symptoms of metastatic bone disease, especially bone pain. Moreover, monthly pamidronate infusions in addition to chemotherapy reduce the mean skeletal morbidity rate by more than one third and contribute to the rehabilitation of cancer patients with bone metastases from breast cancer or with multiple myeloma.

Humans↗
PubMed1994

Phase I study of docetaxel administered as a 1-hour intravenous infusion on a weekly basis.

PURPOSE: This phase I study of Taxotere (RP 56976, NSC 628503; docetaxel, Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, Antony, France) was undertaken to determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), toxic effects, and basic pharmacokinetics of a day-1 and -8 schedule of this novel semisynthetic product related to Taxol (paclitaxel; Bristol-Myers Squibb, Wallingford, CT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-two eligible patients with refractory solid malignancies have been treated with a 1-hour infusion of Taxotere on a day-1 and -8 schedule every 3 weeks as long as patients maintained a polymorphonucleotide count > or = 1,500/microL and a platelet count > or = 100,000/microL. Dose levels tested have ranged between 20 and 110 mg/m2 per course. RESULTS: Considering 128 assessable courses, the main toxicities have been neutropenia (which was dose-limiting), asthenia, alopecia, hypersensitivity reactions, skin toxicity, and edema. No significant cardiac or platelet toxicity has been observed. Seven patients have had aggravation of preexisting paresthesias or new onset of sensory symptoms during Taxotere treatment. The MTD at this schedule appears to be 110 mg/m2 per course, with six of 10 patients at this level experiencing severe toxicity. Five partial remissions have been observed in four heavily pretreated patients with breast cancer and in one patient with adenocarcinoma of unknown origin. Two patients with ovarian cancer have had meaningful decreases in CA125 levels. CONCLUSION: Like Taxol, this novel chemotherapeutic agent appears to possess promising activity in patients with refractory breast and ovarian neoplasms, with tolerable toxicities. Using this schedule, 100 mg/m2 per course is the recommended dose for future phase II trials.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Familial clustering of malignant astrocytomas.

Three of 32 consecutive patients with astrocytomas enrolled in an experimental chemotherapy protocol had at least one first degree relative with an astrocytoma. These patients did not have family members with an excess of malignancies, known exposure to a specific environmental factor, or a recognized neurocutaneous syndrome. In all three families, the illnesses temporally overlapped and the age of the patients affected in the second generation was less than those in the first generation. An estimation of the probability of developing astrocytomas in families with one affected individual strongly suggests a familial effect. Our observations, coupled with other cases reported in the literature, suggest that familial astrocytomas occur more frequently than is currently recognized. Identification and careful study of such families may provide important clues to the etiology of these malignancies.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Diagnosis and treatment of epidural metastases.

Epidural metastases are a common complication of malignancy and are usually considered an oncologic emergency requiring hospitalization and urgent diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. However, patients at high risk for epidural cord compressions can be identified, evaluated, and treated electively before they develop serious neurological deficits. Often this can be accomplished entirely in the outpatient setting. The early diagnosis and treatment of epidural metastases is crucial in preserving ambulation and bowel and bladder function. The possibility of such metastases should be suspected in any cancer patient with back pain.

Back Pain↗
PubMed1987

[Basophil leukemia, development of a chronic myeloid leukemia. Apropos of a case and review of the literature].

Basophilic leukemia is a rare disease accounting for less than 2% of all hematopoietic malignancies and little is known about the best therapeutical approach. We report a case of basophilic leukemia occurring as an accelerated phase of chronic myelogenic leukemia in a 50 year old man with a past history of uranium and thorium exposure. He was successfully treated with intensive chemotherapy and total body irradiation followed by autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation. Such an approach has never been reported in this disease. However, the benefit on survival could not be evaluated because of a fatal opportunistic infection. The cases of basophilic leukemia reported in the literature are discussed.

Basophils↗