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J Ramet

Publications and source records attributed to J Ramet.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

[Medical end-of-life decisions in neonates and infants in Flanders, Belgium; 1999/2000].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the number of medical end-of-life decisions in critically ill neonates and infants in Flanders, Belgium. DESIGN: Retrospective. METHOD: A death certificate study on all deaths of neonates and infants in the whole of Flanders was carried out over a i2-month period (August 1999-July 2000). An anonymous questionnaire was sent by mail to the attending physician of each of the 292 children who died under the age of 1 year. All physicians who had attended at least one death during the study period were included in an attitude study. RESULTS: A total of 253 (87%) of the 292 questionnaires were returned and 121 (69%) of the 175 physicians involved completed the questions on attitude. An end-of-life decision had been possible in 194 (77%; 95% CI: 70.4-82.4) of the 253 deaths for which questionnaires were returned, and such a decision was actually made in 143 cases (57%; 95% CI: 48.9-64.0). Lethal drugs were administered in 15 of 117 early neonatal deaths and in 2 of 77 later deaths (13% versus 3%; p = 0.018). The attitude study showed that 69 (58%; 95% CI: 48.1-66.5) of the 120 physicians supported a change in the law making life-termination possible in some well-defined cases. CONCLUSION: The death of neonates and infants was commonly preceded by an end-of-life decision in Flanders. The type of decision varied substantially according to the age of the child. The majority of physicians involved, favoured legalization of the use of lethal drugs in some well-defined cases.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2005

Is Europe ready to embrace a policy of universal varicella vaccination?

For the first time, a live attenuated varicella vaccine with an indication for universal vaccination is licensed in all EU countries. It is now time to consider whether in Europe there should be widespread vaccination against varicella to prevent this common and highly infectious disease. Increasing numbers of countries are adopting vaccination programmes against the disease. In those countries where a routine vaccination policy has been adopted, the success of the vaccine has been significant. The USA, which prior to the launch of a universal vaccination programme in 1995 had 4 million cases of varicella per year, has seen a dramatic reduction in varicella morbidity and mortality rates. A universal varicella vaccination policy is an option that needs to be considered for Europe not only in medical terms but also because it would be socially and economically appropriate.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

A classification of end-of-life decisions in neonates and infants.

AIM: Valid and reliable data are needed to gain insight into the decisions of paediatricians concerning the end of life of newborns and infants. Such data could throw light on the poorly documented aspects of medical practice regarding these end-of-life decisions (ELDs). In this article a classification of ELDs is developed. METHODS: The classification is developed from knowledge generated from large-scale epidemiological studies on ELDs. RESULTS: This classification sets out from considerations of the various possible medical end-of-life procedures for newborns and infants and from important ethical aspects of the decision-making process. From both ethical and legal viewpoints the life-shortening intention of the physician is a significant factor for the qualification of ELDs. Furthermore, the consultation of the parents is an important factor in absence of the possibility of the patient's self-determination. CONCLUSION: This classification has been devised with the aim of making reliable and valid descriptions of both the incidence and nature of ELDs in this specific population of newborns and infants.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1999

Orphenadrine poisoning in a child: clinical and analytical data.

Orphenadrine is an anticholinergic drug used mainly in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. It has a peripheral and central effect and a known cardiotoxic effect when taken in large doses. We report the successful outcome of the treatment of a 2 1/2-year-old girl who accidentally ingested 400 mg of orphenadrine hydrochloride (Disipal). One hour after ingestion she presented neurological symptoms: confusion, ataxic walking, and periods of severe agitation. Generalized tonic-clonic seizures appeared resistant to the administration of multiple antiepileptics. They ceased after a supplementary dose of intravenous diazepam, endotracheal intubation, and mechanical ventilation. An episode of ventricular tachycardia responded well to i. v. lidocaine. Physostigmine was administered in three successive doses. The initial orphenadrine plasma level (3,55 microg/ml) was in the toxic range, associated with high mortality. The calculated elimination half-life was 10.2 h and the molecule and/or its metabolites were found up to 90 h after ingestion.

Akathisia, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1998

Invasive sino-nasal aspergillosis: a case report.

A case of invasive sino-nasal aspergillosis in an immunocompromised child is reported. Prognosis of this fulminant disease is usually poor. This paper reviews the early symptoms, clinical manifestations, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment. Awareness of the disease and early diagnosis by histological examination is essential. Treatment should consist of early administration of i.v. Amphotericin B and extensive surgical debridement.

Anemia, Aplastic↗
PubMed1998

Successful use of an intraosseous infusion in an 800 grams preterm infant.

An intravascular access line for the administration of life support drugs and volume expanders may be particularly difficult, especially in very small premature babies. We report on the successful use of an intraosseous accessline in an 800 grams preterm infant for the administration of drugs and fluid. The use and technique of an intraosseous access is an important emergency alternative which may be lifesaving, even in very preterm babies, when other methods fail.

Atropine↗
PubMed1998

Evaluation of scoring systems in acute meningococcaemia.

Patients expected to develop life-threatening complications in acute meningococcal infections require early recognition and appropriate monitoring. Different prognostic scoring systems have been developed. Three of them, chosen according to their bedside availability, were compared with our clinical observations. Twenty consecutive cases of proven meningococcal infection were admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of the Free University of Brussels (AZ-VUB). Biological and clinical features required for prognostic scoring were evaluated as soon as possible after admission. Glasgow meningococcal sepsis prognostic score (GMSPS), Neisseria sepsis index (NESI) and Algren criteria were retrospectively calculated and evaluated for their prognostic significance. Neisseria meningitidis was cultured from blood and cerebrospinal fluid in 11 patients and from blood in only nine patients. The age of the patients was between 1 and 15 years (mean 4.1 years). All patients received the same therapy on admission. Four patients died with a multiorgan failure within 18 hours. The three scoring systems in these four patients predicted death. Overall, the GMSPS score, the NESI score and the Algren criteria predicted death in respectively 10, nine and five patients. Death was falsely predicted in six patients by the GMSPS score, in five patients by the NESI score and in one patient by the Algren criteria. The Algren criteria predicted the severity of the clinical process more accurately than did the GMSPS and NESI scores. However, such predictability should be cautiously used even when 100% mortality is predicted. It might be used in decision-making in regard to the following issues: patient transfer to tertiary centres and mode of transportation, monitoring of patients in intensive care units, early insertion of invasive cardiovascular monitoring catheters and consideration of new or even experimental therapy. However, one should be extremely cautious of taking any therapeutically or ethical decision on the basis of one or more of the described scoring system, since we showed the lack of precision concerning the outcome of paediatric patients with meningococcaemia.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1996

Gitaloxin poisoning in a child.

Gitaloxin is a digitalis glycoside used for the same indications as digoxin and digitoxin. The successful outcome for a 2 1/2-year-old boy who accidentally ingested 3 mg of gitaloxin (100 times the normal therapeutic dose) is reported. At admission the child presented with irregular heart rhythm. He subsequently started vomiting, even after continuous gastric feeding. Only 48 h after ingestion of gitaloxin he became somnolent and developed bradyarrhythmia. The symptoms disappeared 96 h later; the bradyarrhythmia, however, (second-degree atrioventricular block) decreased progressively only after 120 h. The initial clinical presentation of gitaloxin poisoning may be misleading and careful observation in a pediatric intensive care unit is mandatory. A cross-reaction between the fluorescence polarization immunoassay for digitoxin and the radioimmunoassay for gitaloxin was found and was used as a helpful, but rough, estimate of the severity of gitaloxin poisoning, in the absence of a specific measurement of gitaloxin.

Bradycardia↗
PubMed1995

Sleep apnoea in babies born after in vitro fertilization.

UNLABELLED: Babies born after in vitro fertilisation (IVF) are increasing in number, and, although these babies are considered as very precious, no data are available regarding their risk for sudden infant death or apnoea. To evaluate the respiratory maturity of IVF babies, we evaluated the incidence of apnoea during an 8-h polysomnography in 50 consecutively presented IVF babies and in a group of 50 unselected naturally conceived babies. All infants were in good health and matched for term (born > 38 weeks of gestation), birth weight, sex and age at the time of investigation (6-11 weeks post term, median 8.0). There were 24 twins in the IVF and 6 twins in the control group. The incidence of obstructive and isolated central apnoea was comparable in the IVF and control group. However, IVF babies had significantly more periodic breathing episodes than control babies (median 2.30 (range 0-15.30) in IVF, and 1.02 (range 0-11.2) in control babies; P < 0.01). This difference was not related to the higher number of twins in the IVF group. Single IVF babies had significantly more short central apnoeas (5-10 s) than IVF twins (5-10 s) (mean 38.80 +/- 18.63 and 22.33 +/- 13.35; P < 0.001). This difference between single and twin babies was not found in the control group. CONCLUSION: IVF babies have more periodic breathing episodes indicating an immature respiratory pattern than normally conceived babies.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1995

Reversible cardiac failure in an adolescent after prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide.

We describe the case of an adolescent who developed a severe but fully reversible cardiac dysfunction with low blood levels of carboxy haemoglobin (COHb = 10%) after a prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide. A 15-year-old male was admitted with a Glasgow Coma Scale of 8/15 with suspected postictal state and postanoxic encephalopathy. The cardiorespiratory failure which he developed soon after admission mandated mechanical ventilation, inotropic support and ultimately left ventricular support by intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation. The cardiac dysfunction was documented by radionuclide imaging and echocardiography. The patient fully recovered without neurological deficit. A low blood COHb concentration is a poor safety indicator since high tissue levels of accumulated carbon monoxide can be associated with coma and fulminant cardiorespiratory failure requiring advanced life support facilities.

Accidents, Home↗
PubMed1995

Effect of state of alertness on the heart rate response to ocular compression in human infants.

Because the state of alertness exerts a profound influence on autonomic cardiac control, we hypothesized, that the heart rate response to a vagal stimulus, i.e., ocular compression, may differ during different states of alertness. We studied 8 healthy infants with a postconceptional age of 35-41 weeks (mean +/- SD 37.9 +/- 2.1 weeks). They underwent a standardized ocular compression test during polygraphically controlled wakefulness, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and non-REM (NREM) sleep. The R-R intervals were measured (1) during the 60 s preceding the ocular compression test, to determine the mean control R-R interval, and (2) during compression. Percent R-R interval was defined as the longest R-R interval in milliseconds during the test divided by the mean control R-R interval and multiplied by 100. The longest R-R interval during the test was significantly greater in REM sleep than in wakefulness (p < 0.05) and in NREM sleep (p < 0.01):939 +/- 360, 623 +/- 355, and 538 +/- 60 ms, respectively. The percent R-R interval was significantly greater in REM sleep than in NREM sleep (p < 0.01):236 +/- 91 and 129 +/- 16, respectively. The time from the longest R-R interval to return to mean control R-R interval, i.e., vagal escape, was significantly shorter in REM sleep than in NREM sleep and in wakefulness (p < 0.01): 843 +/- 168, 2,131 +/- 712, and 2,078 +/- 913 ms, respectively. This study indicates that the state of alertness should be defined when performing tests on autonomic reflexes in infants.

Autonomic Nervous System↗
PubMed1995

Nosocomial pansinusitis in orotracheally intubated critically ill patients.

Nosocomial pansinusitis (N P) is most often described in nasotracheally intubated patients with craniocerebral or facial trauma. We retrospectively reviewed its occurrence and complications in the course of prolonged mechanical ventilation in orotracheally intubated patients without maxillofacial or cranial injuries. N P was deemed to be present when (1) CT scan showed opacification and/or air-fluid levels in the maxillary, ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses and (2) aspiration of both maxillary sinuses yielded pus, cultures of which revealed a high concentration of micro organisms. Nosocomial pneumonia and bacteremia were considered related to the N P if the organisms found in the sinus were identical to those recovered from the blood and/or the bronchi. During an 18-month study period, 38 cases of sinusitis were diagnosed. N P was present in 13 patients: 18 organisms (12 Gram-negative, 5 Gram-positive and 1 Candida albicans) were isolated. Pneumonia occurred in 8 patients, 6 with multi-resistant Pseudominas aeruginosa and 2 with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from the blood, lung and sinus in two patients. This study demonstrates that N P is relatively frequent in patients requiring long-term mechanical ventilation, even in the absence of predisposing factors. N P in these patients is mostly monomicrobial with multi-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus as the main causative agents.

Adult↗