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Biomedical subjects

M Frossard

Publications and source records attributed to M Frossard.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Course of blood pressure within the first 12 h of hypertensive urgencies.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the course of blood pressure within 12 h of a hypertensive urgency with or without oral antihypertensive treatment prior to discharge of patients from hospital. DESIGN: A prospective, double-blinded, placebo-controlled and randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Department of Emergency Medicine in a 2000-bed inner city hospital. PATIENTS: Forty patients successfully treated for a hypertensive urgency with intravenous administration of urapidil. INTERVENTIONS: We administered 60 mg urapidil orally or placebo prior to discharge of patients from hospital and evaluated the course of blood pressure within 12 h of the urgency by use of an ambulatory blood pressure measurement unit. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures within the first 12 h of a hypertensive urgency and the number of hypertensive and hypotensive episodes. RESULTS: Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly lower in members of the urapidil group than they were in members of the placebo group (132 +/- 14 versus 147 +/- 18 mmHg, P = 0.003; 79 +/- 12 versus 87 +/- 14 mmHg, P = 0.047, respectively). The number of hypotensive episodes was similar for these two groups (three versus one, P = 0.32), whereas the number of hypertensive episodes was significantly lower for the urapidil group (13 versus 34, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Oral medication with urapidil prior to discharge results in lower overall blood pressure levels and reduces the risk of hypertensive episodes recurring within 12 h of a hypertensive urgency. Therefore, we recommend this therapeutic approach for patients with hypertensive urgencies, who are treated with an intravenous antihypertensive drug.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1997

Asystole during dipyridamole infusion in patients without coronary artery disease or beta-blocker therapy.

The authors report two patients without coronary artery disease who experienced asystole during the IV infusion of dipyridamole on routine TI-201 myocardial perfusion imaging and review the literature for possible explanations of this rare side effect. Until now, this side effect was only reported in patients with coronary artery disease or beta-blocker therapy. Yet, the cases lacked both concomitant factors and autonomic dysregulation is suggested as a cause for asystole.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1997

Severity assessment of acute pulmonary embolism with spiral CT: evaluation of two modified angiographic scores and comparison with clinical data.

Spiral computed tomography (CT) has shown promising results in the detection of acute pulmonary embolism. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the severity of acute pulmonary embolism could be quantitatively assessed with spiral CT examinations and to test the potential clinical impact of this information. In a consecutive series of 123 patients screened with spiral CT for suspected acute pulmonary embolism, 31 patients (25%) had evidence of emboli. The severity of pulmonary arterial obstruction in those 31 spiral CT examinations was evaluated by two independent observers using angiographic scores previously described by Walsh (29) and Miller (30), adapted to the needs of spiral CT. Clinical patient subgroups were defined according to oxygen saturation, heart rate, and echocardiographic signs of right ventricular strain. CT severity scores were then correlated to each other and to clinical parameters using the Spearman rank test. Interobserver agreement was calculated using the analysis of variance. Both modified Walsh and Miller scores were readily reproducible and showed interobserver agreements of 0.85 and 0.96, respectively (p = 0.001). Patients with mild and marked clinical abnormalities showed statistically significant differences between CT severity scores. Differences between severity scores of patients with moderate and marked clinical abnormalities were somewhat significant. No significant mean severity score differences were seen between patients with mild and moderate clinical abnormalities. Although correlations of severity scores and detailed clinical parameters within the defined subgroups were moderate to poor, threshold scores greater than 10 (Miller) and greater than 11 (Walsh) always indicated marked clinical abnormalities. The modified scores presented in this study constitute a readily reproducible method for the quantitative assessment of acute pulmonary embolism severity on spiral CT examinations.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

[Evaluation of gerontologic case management: a socioeconomic approach].

BACKGROUND: The case management approach is increasing in the elderly population. The organizations which support case management agencies now require an economic assessment. This paper presents a methodology and its test at four experimental sites, in order to measure the costs and the effectiveness of the case management and the willingness to pay of potential users of this procedure. METHODS: Costs were measured from the data collected in 4 agencies. Effectiveness was assessed on the basis of a statistical analysis of 247 care plans, and a survey among health care and social professionals, elderly people and their relatives. A mail survey was used to get data on the willingness to pay. RESULTS: The average cost of the case management was 24.50 F. Effectiveness included several dimensions: management of the available resources according to the patient's incapacity situation, effective implementation of the care plan, and collective learning leading to reduce inter-professional disagreements. Analysis of the willingness to pay indicated that Social Security and local authorities intended to be the main co-payers of case management. CONCLUSIONS: The standard framework of economic analysis is not appropriate for an assessment of case management. New instruments are proposed and results have to be validated by further research.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Conservative management of foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract.

There are at present no clear guidelines whether foreign body ingestion in the gastrointestinal tract should be managed conservatively, endoscopically or surgically. Retrospectively we have, therefore, analyzed 78 foreign body ingestion's in 42 patients (age 15-72 years) admitted to the Emergency Department of the University Hospital in Vienna. Our intention was to assess the value of a conservative management, defined as daily follow-up visits until the foreign body spontaneously appeared in the feces and to find criteria when endoscopic or surgical management is required. Of 78 foreign bodies, 67 (86%) passed the gastrointestinal tract spontaneously without complications, 9 (11%) were removed endoscopically, and only 2 (3%) required surgery. There were no gastrointestinal perforations. Even foreign bodies with a maximal length of 13.5 cm appeared in the feces spontaneously within a few days. Our data suggests that more than 80% of adults with foreign body ingestion can be managed safely as outpatients by means of conservative treatment. Endoscopic or surgical removal is only indicated in very rare circumstances.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Case management in France: an economic perspective.

Case management is currently an important issue in France. Because neither service providers nor consumers pay for case management in this country, a cost-benefit analysis is often required by the organizations that do pay. Given the context of French social policy and the current focus on justifying case management through cost-benefit analysis, we have developed a way to evaluate its costs. This article presents the limitations of standard economic choice theory, provides a methodology based on the principles of limited rationality, and gives the results of an evaluation of four case management programs. The article provides a method to measure case management costs and efficiency, as well as the willingness of consumers to pay for services.

Case Management↗
PubMed1994

[Concomitant perforated ulcer and acute myocardial infarct--a diagnostic challenge in emergency medicine].

Clinical differentiation between acute myocardial infarction and peptic ulcer perforation may sometimes be difficult. We report on a sixty-five year-old patient who presented at the Emergency Department with upper abdominal pain and local tenderness suggestive of acute perforation of a gastric ulcer. However, the initial electrocardiogram (ECG) showed acute inferior wall myocardial infarction. Although abdominal pain is a major symptom of acute inferior wall myocardial infarction the history of gastritis and abdominal findings on admission of our patient required further exploration. The first plain abdominal radiograph was inconspicuous, therefore we performed a gastroscopy, which showed a prepyloric gastric ulcer. The second plain abdominal radiograph revealed air in the peritoneal cavity as sign of perforation. Echocardiography, ECG and the increase of heart enzymes confirmed acute inferior wall infarction. After successful surgical treatment of the perforated ulcer the patient recovered and progressed satisfactorily at the intensive care unit. He was discharged after three weeks and remains in good health. This case shows that rapid diagnosis and good interdisciplinary therapeutic management prevented a fatal outcome of acute myocardial infarction and concomitant gastric ulcer perforation in an elderly patient.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

[Prevalence of alcohol drinking in Alpine skiing].

UNLABELLED: Previous investigations showed direct correlation between the degree of alcoholization and the severity of injuries after ski accidents. The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of alcohol use on slopes and on ski tours. RESULTS: The examination of breath in 414 probands proved 30% alcohol positive ski tourists. A significantly higher frequency of alcohol positive skiers was found on tours, if an open mountain hut was located on the tour, but the mean degree of alcoholization was significantly higher on slopes.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hospital strategy and regional planning in France.

Cost containment policy in health implies changes in hospital management and regional planning. There is a movement in France towards the strategic management of hospitals and towards a new way of planning. That calls for new models and the paper presents, as an example, regional arrangements of neonatal care. Hospital managers and local authorities set up a model and an information system to allow the best way possible for involving hospitals in the building of a regional scheme, leading to the negotiation of contracts. This experiment is conducted by the National School of Public Health with the aim of gaining experience in bringing together professionals and teachers, doing research and producing materials for management development.

Cost Control↗