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Biomedical subjects

M Leclaire

Publications and source records attributed to M Leclaire.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Early continuous positive pressure in the labor room].

BACKGROUND: Indication for intubation and mechanical ventilation in premature infants may be reduced by initiating continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in delivery room. POPULATION AND METHODS: Immediately after birth, respiratory support with CPAP was given to all infants with gestational age less than 32 weeks. In case of apnea or progressing symptoms with hypoxemia or carbonic acidosis, with PCO2 increasing to more than 60 mmHg, infants were treated with nasotracheal intubation and ventilation. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty one infants, with mean gestational age 29.6 +/- 1.9 weeks and mean birth weight 1,326 +/- 378 g were delivered in the obstetrical department of Marseille. In delivery room, 63% were treated with CPAP, and only 13% with nasotracheal intubation. The need for subsequent mechanical ventilation was reduced to 40% of the population. Surfactant therapy was used in 17% of this cohort. Two infants were given surfactant and extubated. Three of 14 deaths (9.2%) were caused by respiratory disease. CONCLUSIONS: Early CPAP reduces the indication of mechanical ventilation in premature infants. Incidence of pulmonary complications such as pneumothorax or bronchopulmonary dysplasia is low among those infants who require mechanical ventilation later. Early CPAP takes place in a general policy to decrease neonatal morbidity.

Delivery Rooms

Recurrent congenital toxoplasmosis in a woman with lupus erythematosus.

We describe the case of a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus, treated by corticosteroids, who presented during two successive pregnancies with serological reactivation of toxoplasmosis associated with fetal lesions. The first infected fetus died in utero with signs of hydrops. The second fetus was treated in utero with a combination of sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine, administered to the mother, and is now well. The increasing number of immunocompromised pregnant patients with immunity to Toxoplasma gondii may lead to a higher risk of reactivation of maternal toxoplasmosis and congenital infection.

Adult

[Neonatal resuscitation and preventive continuous positive pressure ventilation].

One of the aspects of prematurity in neonates is the respiratory distress syndrome. Although treatment with mechanical ventilation reduced the mortality rate, bronchopulmonary dysplasia still develops in many neonates. We have attempted to reduce intubation and mechanical ventilation by using, in the delivery room, humidified and warmed gas with fractional inspired oxygen as low as possible to obtain SaO2 between 85 and 95%. The gas was administered with a face mask using continuous positive air pressure 3-5 cm H2O. Seventeen out of 66 premature neonates born before the 35th week of gestation were ventilated immediately (n = 11) or subsequently (n = 6). Seven out of 26 infants (27%) born between 30 and 32 weeks required mechanical ventilation. In contrast, ventilation was necessary for eight out of 16 premature neonates born before the 29th week of gestation. Mortality rate was 6% (4/66) in the latter group (< 29 weeks), and only one neonate developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Birth Weight

[HIV infection in the child after materno-fetal transmission: early treatment with azidothymidine and prevention of secondary infectious complications].

Twenty-four perinatally HIV infected children received early treatment as soon as the diagnosis of viral contamination was established. In 13 cases (group 1), this diagnosis was based on a viremia and/or antigenemia during the first 6 months of life. In 11 cases (group 2), children were more than 15 months-old and had a positive HIV antibody test. Therapy included azidothymidine (AZT, 400 mg/m2/d) and the prevention of secondary infectious complications with intravenous immunoglobulin and cotrimoxazole. With a median follow-up of 26 months, we reported no case of severe secondary infection and no case of encephalopathy. Hematological side effects of AZT were rarely observed. Only one patient developed anemia. In all other cases, the only hematological abnormality was macrocytosis of red blood cells. Before treatment, the mean value of T4 cells age-adjusted count was 96, 86 and 91%, respectively, for groups 1, 2 and the entire study group. At the time of analysis, these values were 64, 62 and 63% respectively. This decrease was statistically significant for group 1 and for the entire study group, but did not reach statistical significance for group 2. These data show that AZT is probably insufficient as a long-term therapy for HIV infected children. Other therapeutic approaches need to be developed in the future, notably the combination of anti-retroviral drugs.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections

Change in bile salt dependent lipase in human breast milk during extended lactation.

Two hundred eighty-one milk samples collected from Zaïrian nonprivileged, undernourished mothers, in series of nine groups from 1 month to 18 months after parturition, and 66 milk samples collected from French privileged mothers in series of four groups from 2 days to 16 months postpartum, were analyzed for their lactose, lipid and protein contents. In addition, the activity of bile salt-dependent lipase (esterase), which may play an important role in the newborn infant's lipids digestion, was measured. After the first month postpartum, independent of the nutritional state of the mother, sugar and protein concentrations were identical. Lipid content of French mothers' milk was lower in transitional milk, but appeared constant in mature milk with an average value of 29.1 +/- 5.8 mg/mL of milk. In Zaïrian mothers' milk, the lipid content of mature milk plateaued at around 50-55 mg/mL independent of the stage of lactation. Bile salt-dependent lipase showed constant esterase activity within the lactation stage in privileged mothers' milk, but decreased by almost 80-90% during the first four months of lactation in undernourished mothers. The data suggest that milk from nonprivileged mothers may lose some of its ability to hydrolyze milk lipid esters, which could also be of consequence to the infant's normal growth in view of its effect on the esters of the lipid-soluble vitamins A, E and D.

Adult

[Obstetric and neonatal consequences of urinary infection during pregnancy].

In this article, the authors study the real obstetrical and neonatal effects of urinary infection in pregnant women. Basing themselves on 225 cases of gravidic urinary infection, the authors discuss asymptomatic bacteriuria, the need of early diagnosis in risk patients, and the use of regular post-treatment monitoring, in view of the fact that, even when well-treated, this complaint is apt to recur.

Bacteriuria

[Idiopathic thrombopenic purpura and pregnancy].

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura occurring in pregnancy has a risk for the fetus of severe thrombocytopenia. The handling of these cases obstetrically is controversial. Our experience and that derived from reading the literature suggests that counting the number of maternal platelets does not reflect on the risk for the fetus and the neonate. On the other hand it does seem that estimating the levels of circulating platelet antibodies in the maternal plasma does give an indication of platelet destruction in the fetus. Corticosteroid treatment improves greatly the number of maternal platelets and is probably good treatment for the fetus in utero. Giving gamma-globulins intravenously to the pregnant woman or to the newborn is an interesting therapeutic measure seeing how it is free of danger. How useful this treatment is in pregnancy has yet to be determined.

Antibodies

[Neonatal consequences of cesarean section on the presumably healthy infant].

The authors studied the effects on the child of 196 caesarian sections performed in the absence of foetal distress. The following were noted for each child: the time before the first cry, the Apgar score, pH and the need or not for resuscitation techniques. Each feature was studied in terms of different factors: foetal, obstetric, anaesthetic and surgical. The conclusions were as follows: caesarian section, which remains the best means of preventing obstetric trauma, has its own direct complications which are linked to the conditions in which the operation takes place. These can be reduced to a minimum or even completely suppressed if the caesarian section is performed under ideal conditions: few or no depressant drugs before the operation (the use of diazepam for induction should be abandoned); inclined position of 15 degrees, even of the mother has never suffered from utero-caval syndrome and if possible on a heated mattress; extraction of the infant between the 5th and 15th minutes; finally, and above all, prior labour is desirable whenever obstetric conditions permit.

Amniotic Fluid

[PAH clearance measurement without urine samples in the newborn infant with respiratory distress].

PAH clearance was carried out in 12 newborns, hospitalized in the infantile resuscitation unit for respiratory distress. 6 of these children weighed less than 2.5 kg, 4 had hyaline membrane disease, 6 had either amniotic abnormalities or transitory tachypnea, 2 were surgical patients: one right diaphragmatic hernia, one post-operative respiratory complication after intervention for neonatal occlusion. In 9 cases the newborn was under controled artificial ventilation associated with PEEP at 5 to 7 cm of water. In all of the cases, the hemodynamic, metabolic and blood gas conditions were normal. A control series of 11 newnorn was carried out in a pediatric unit, the clearance was done without urine samples, the rough value of the figures found varied from 5.5 ml per minute to 30 ml per minute in the respiratory distress series and 16 to 62 ml per minute in the control series. The analysis of these results in rendered difficult by the juxtaposition of several factors: Choice of a reference criterion: body surface area, PAH space, patient's weight theoretical weight of the kidneys. The factor of prematurity. The problem of the date of the investigation in comparison with the date of birth.

Aminohippuric Acids

Fetal chest wall hamartoma: a case report.

A fetal chest wall hamartoma successfully treated by surgical resection after birth is described. Ultrasonography showing a heterogeneous partially calcified thoracic tumor allowed in utero diagnosis.

Adult