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P F Dequin

Publications and source records attributed to P F Dequin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Outbreak in France of Neisseria meningitidis B:15:P1.12 belonging to sequence type 1403.

This report describes a meningococcal outbreak in France caused by Neisseria meningitidis B:15:P1.12 of sequence type 1403, which affected eight young patients, between November 2000 and February 2002. Epidemiological typing confirmed that a single strain was responsible. Favourable outcome, sequelae or death resulted in similar proportions as in other cases of meningococcal disease in France during the same period, but purpura was observed in all eight cases. The patients were aged between 14 and 28 years, whereas the median age of patients affected by other meningococcal strains during this period in the same area was 60.4 years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Outcome of older patients requiring ventilatory support in intensive care: impact of nutritional status.

OBJECTIVES: To determine predictors of mortality in the intensive care unit (ICU) and at 6 months after discharge; to assess the lifestyles of survivors 6 months after discharge. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study of patients screened upon admission and 6 months after discharge from the ICU. SETTING: The ICU of a university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred sixteen consecutive patients age 70 and older admitted to the ICU and treated by mechanical ventilation for at least 24 hours. MEASUREMENTS: A comprehensive medical, functional, nutritional, and social assessment was undertaken for each patient upon admission to the ICU. Functional status and residence were recorded for patients still living 6 months after discharge from the ICU. RESULTS: Mortality in the ICU and 6 months after discharge was 31% and 52%, respectively. The predictors of in-ICU mortality on multivariate analysis were a high omega score per day in the ICU and a high simplified acute physiologic score corrected for points related to age (SAPS IIc). The predictors of mortality at 6 months were a high omega score per day in the ICU, a high SAPS IIc, and a mid-arm circumference (MAC) under the 10th percentile for the older French population in good health. Six months after discharge from the ICU, 91% of the surviving patients had the same residential status and 89% had a similar or improved functional status compared with pre-admission status. CONCLUSIONS: Although severity of illness remains an important predictor of in-ICU mortality and mortality at 6 months after release from ICU, we found that impaired nutritional status upon admission was related to 6-month mortality. These results emphasize the need for a systematic nutritional assessment in older patients admitted to the ICU and treated by mechanical ventilation.

APACHE↗
PubMed2001

Aerosols and anti-infectious agents.

Anti-infectious agents such as pentamidine, antibiotics (mainly colistine and aminoglycosides), and amphotericin B can be administered by aerosol. Apart from pentamidine and Tobi, this route of administration is not officially approved and it constitutes an empirical approach, which has benefited from recent research summarized hereafter. The most fundamental question is related to the potentially deleterious effects of nebulization processes, especially ultrasound, on the anti-infectious properties of the drugs. Colimycin, which was chosen as a reference because its polypeptide structure makes it unstable a priori, proved to be resistant to high frequency ultrasound, which is encouraging for other molecules such as aminoglycosides or betalactamins. The nebulizer characteristics also have to be taken into account. An aerosol can be produced from an amphotericin B suspension and from colistine using both an ultrasonic nebulizer and a jet nebulizer. Differentiating between good and bad nebulizers is not dependent upon the physical process involved to nebulize the drug, but on the intrinsic characteristics of the device and its performance with a known drug. The inhaled mass of an aerosol in the respirable range must be high and dosimetric nebulizers represent significant progress. Finally, administration of anti-infectious aerosols requires a new pharmacological approach to monitor treatment, and urinary assays are promising for this purpose.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed2001

Urinary excretion reflects lung deposition of aminoglycoside aerosols in cystic fibrosis.

Using nebulization to deliver aminoglycosides may be of benefit in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, one problem with this route is the absence of clinical parameters allowing estimation of the mass of drug deposited in the lungs (MDL). The aim of this study was to assess whether aminoglycoside excretion in the urine reflects the MDL. Fourteen studies were performed in seven CF patients. Amikacin was mixed with albumin labelled with 99mTc and nebulized with an ultrasonic nebulizer. The MDL was determined by the mass-balance technique. Urine was collected during the 24 h following inhalation and was assayed for amikacin by fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA). The mean+/-SEM MDL was 14.0+/-2.2% of the nebulizer charge. The mean+/-SEM amount of amikacin excreted in the urine was 20.9+/-4.5 mg and correlated with the MDL (r=0.93; p=0.0001). There was, however, wide intersubject variability in both deposition and excretion in the urine. Monitoring excretion of aminoglycosides in the urine allows noninvasive estimation of the mass of drug deposited in the lung in cystic fibrosis patients, which might be useful to assess the dose-response relationship in groups of patients, but intersubject variability prevents its use for individual follow-up.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed2000

[Microbial infection documented on admission to the intensive care unit for post-chemotherapy neutropenia after empiric antibiotic therapy].

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a systematic strategy of multiple microbiological samples for all adult patients with neutropenia admitted to an intensive care unit could document sepsis despite prior empiric antibiotic therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All adults admitted to the intensive care unit with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (WBC < 500/mm3) were included in the study. Microbiological samples were systematically obtained in all patients: 6 blood, 1 stool, 1 urine, 1 nasal swab. Data were analyzed for 54 consecutive patients: 22 men, 32 women, 42 with hematology diseases and 12 with solid tumors, mean age 46.6 +/- 14.4 years. Assessment of disease severity showed: simplified gravity index = 256 +/- 17; organ system failure score on day 1 = 2.42 +/- 1.1; 26 cases of septic shock among 47 cases of sepsis. Mortality was 50%. Within 48 h, bronchioalveolar lavage samples were obtained in 48 patients, and there were 12 spinal taps, 3 laparotomies, 3 skin biopsies and 6 sinus punctures. RESULTS: A microorganism was isolated in 39 patients (70%): 12 Gram negative, 12 Gram positive, 11 mycoses, 3 cases of herpes. Positive cultures were found for 31 blood, 1 bronchioalveolar lavage, 2 surgical, 5 serous and 22 oral or digestive tract samples. Documented microbial infection did not have prognostic value. Septic shock at admission was predictive of poor outcome. DISCUSSION: Despite prior antibiotic therapy in 46 patients, with a theoretically active drug in 37 cases, a systematic strategy of multiple deep samples increased the number of documented cases of infection in neutropenic patients. Oral and digestive tract infections predominated despite selective decontamination of the digestive tract.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Right-to-left interatrial shunt in ARDS: dramatic improvement in prone position.

The mechanisms leading to shunting through a patent foramen ovale include high right-sided cardiac pressures and respiratory factors due to mechanical ventilation and also anatomical changes in the right atrium as described in the platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome. We report a patient with the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who had a right-to-left atrial shunt which decreased in the prone position, after which oxygenation improved. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit because of ARDS due to an invasive fungal infection. He had a history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and paradoxical embolisms through a patent foramen ovale. Despite mechanical ventilation and antifungal treatment he developed severe ARDS. He was therefore turned to the prone position. Blood gas values improved dramatically (arterial oxygen tension/fractional inspired oxygen ratio increasing from 59 to 278 torr). Transcranial Doppler sonography was performed with bubble study, which confirmed a massive right-to-left shunt in the supine position and which instantaneously decreased in the prone position. This case suggests that a decrease in right-to-left shunt in patients who have a patent foramen ovale could partly explain the improvement in hypoxemia in the prone position.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Severe non-infectious circulatory shock related to hypopituitarism.

The authors report a case of refractory non-infectious circulatory shock with catecholamine and massive fluid loading-resistant features related to hypopituitarism. A 76-year-old man was admitted for shock after suffering from gastroenteritis for 3 days. He was pale and had sparse axillary and pubic hair and small testes. Right catheterization showed shock with low preload pressure and a low oxygen extraction ratio relevant for septic shock. Ultrasound tomography revealed a distended gallbladder due to a stone without peritoneal effusion. A non-inflammatory hydrops of the gallbladder was removed surgically. No microorganism was isolated. Cerebral computed tomography (CT) scan showed a pituitary mass. In the post-surgical period the shock became uncontrollable. Cortisol replacement therapy was instituted and clinical and hemodynamic improvement occurred after 2 h. Hormonal screening on admission before catecholamine administration showed a major decrease in all the hypothalamic-pituitary hormone concentrations. The patient died on day 15 with multiple organ failure. Hypopituitarism, probably owing to pituitary adenoma, was the only disease identified in this case. Hormone replacement therapy dramatically improved the clinical and hemodynamic status, although the role of an abdominal sepsis could not be eliminated. Arguments that pituitary hormone deficiency might increase the hemodynamic consequences of adrenal deficiency are discussed.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1999

Inhaled fenoterol-ipratropium bromide in mechanically ventilated patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In 18 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease intubated and mechanically ventilated, we prospectively randomized 200 micrograms fenoterol-80 micrograms ipratropium bromide (four puffs) from a metered-dose inhaler (MDI) versus 1.25 mg fenoterol-500 micrograms ipratropium bromide in 5 ml saline from a nebulizer (NEB). Respiratory mechanics were assessed before and 30 min after the end of each delivery by the rapid end-inspiratory airway occlusion technique. We did vary on single breaths the inflation flow (V) from 0.2 to 1.2 L. s-1, at constant inflation volume. The total respiratory resistance of the respiratory system (Rrs) was partitioned into airway (Rint,rs) and tissue (DeltaRrs) resistances. We found that Rrs was equivalently reduced, from 16.49 +/- 1.37 to 14.85 +/- 1.88 cm H2O. L-1. s with MDI (p < 0.05) and from 18.04 +/- 1.85 to 15.15 +/- 1.33 cm H2O. L-1. s with NEB (p < 0.01). Whereas the prevailing effect of MDI was to reduce Rint,rs, that of NEB was to decrease DeltaRrs. In addition, the V resistance of the respiratory system over the whole range of V was significantly affected by NEB but not by MDI.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1999

[Weber-Rendu-Osler disease: pulmonary arterio-venous malformation with shunt disclosed after 5 occurrences of purulent meningococcal encephalitis].

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangectasis or Weber-Rendu-Osler disease is associated with the presence of capillary malformations with pulmonary visceral shunts. These shunts are the cause of recurrent infections of the nervous system by loss of the anti-infectious lung filter. Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasis was diagnosed in a 68-year-old woman with a history of epistaxis, cutaneous telangectasis, purulent and pyogenic brain abscesses and meningitis. Outcome was favorable with antibiotic therapy. Ventilation as well as chest x-ray, brain scan and liver ultrasongraphy were normal. Blood gases showed a PO2 at 63 mmHg in ambient air and 62 mmHg with FiO2 = 1. There was no dyspnea or cyanosis nor any apparent polycythemia. Pulmonary angiography showed and arteriovenous malformation in the lower right lobe. Endovascular embolization was achieved with coils and N-butyl-cyano-acrylate glue which enabled angiographic occlusion and normalization of gas exchange: on ambient air the PaO2 = 71 mmHg and on FiO2 = 1, PaO2 was 359 mmHg. A true shunt was suspected on account of the association of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasis and recurrent meningitis. The diagnosis was suspected on blood gases alone.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

[Anti-infective aerosols].

Anti-infectious agents such as pentamidine, antibiotics (mainly colistine and aminoglycosides) and amphotericin B can be administered by aerosol. This route of administration is not officially approved and it constitutes an empirical approach which has benefited from recent research which is summarized hereafter. The most fundamental question is related to the potentially deleterious effects of nebulization processes, especially ultrasound, on the anti infectious properties of the drugs. Colimycin, which was chosen as a reference because its polypeptide structure makes it unstable a priori, proved to be resistant to high frequency ultrasound, which is encouraging for other molecules such as aminoglycosides or betalactamins. The nebulizer characteristics have also to be taken into account. An aerosol can be produced from an amphotericin B suspension and from colistine using both an ultrasonic nebulizer and a jet nebulizer. Distinction between good and bad nebulizers does not depend upon the physical process involved to nebulize the drug, but on the intrinsic characteristics of the device and its performance with a known drug. The inhaled mass of an aerosol in the respirable range must be high and dosimetric nebulizers represent a significant progress. Finally, adminnistration of anti infectious aerosols requires a new pharmacological approach to monitor treatment and urinary assays are promising.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1998

[Septic shock with coma revealing typhoid fever].

BACKGROUND: Typhoid fever may be difficult to distinguish from malaria. Septic shock, encephalopathy and leukopenia are common features of both diseases. CASE REPORT: A 20-year-old South Korean woman was admitted to the intensive care unit with coma and shock. Vomiting and abdominal pain were followed by headache, prostration, fever and diarrhea. Leukocytopenia, lymphocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, rhabdomyolysis and hepatitis were present. Clotting tests were normal. The thick peripheral blood film was negative. Salmonella typhi was isolated from 6 blood cultures. Treatment associated ceftriaxone 4 g per day for 5 days, colloid and crystalloid fluids and dopamine. The patient was discharged 2 weeks later. DISCUSSION: Typhoid fever should be considered as a diagnosis in patients with sepsis who come from endemic zones. Abdominal symptoms, prolonged fever, coma and delayed headache are particularly contributive signs. Specific treatment should be instituted.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

[Losing consciousness: role of the venous lactate levels in the diagnosis of convulsive crises].

OBJECTIVES: This prospective study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of venous lactate assay in the diagnosis of generalized seizures. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Over a three month period, 78 consecutive adults admitted to the emergency unit for unconsciousness were included in the study. Three study groups were defined: patients with generalized seizures (n = 22), unconscious patients without seizure (n = 34) and known epileptic patients with unexplained malaises (n = 22). Patients with a disease susceptible of increasing lactate levels were excluded. Peripheral venous blood was drawn to determine lactates, bicarbonates and pH on a blood gas analyzer. All determinations were performed within 5 minutes of blood withdrawal. CPK level was also determined with an enzymatic method. RESULTS: In patients who had seizures, venous lactate levels were higher than those in patients who had no seizures: 4.3 +/- 0.5 mmol/l in generalized seizure patients versus 1.64 +/- 0.1 and 2.2 +/- 1.39 in unconscious patients without seizure and known epileptic patients with unexplained malaise respectively. The threshold lactate level of 2.5 mmol/l given by ROC curves gave a 0.97 specificity and a 0.73 sensitivity. DISCUSSION: The acidosis observed in patients with generalized seizures results from the combined effects of respiratory and metabolic acidosis. High lactate level would be a consequence of hypoxemia, per seizure rise in catecholamines, and aerobic and anaerobic metabolism in muscles during the tonic-clonic phase. In patients presenting in an unconscious state, increased lactate levels, even when determined up to 2 hours after venous blood withdrawal, could be a useful parameter for the diagnosis of epileptic seizure.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Septicemia and meningitis due to Streptococcus zooepidemicus.

A case of septicemia and meningitis due to Streptococcus zooepidemicus in an immunocompetent patient is reported. This organism is an uncommon human pathogen that sometimes causes severe infection, usually in immunocompromised patients. In the reported case, the patient required to be mechanically ventilated for one week and was treated with intravenous ampicillin and gentamicin. He recovered and was discharged from hospital three weeks after the initial presentation. Streptococcus zooepidemicus sensitive to all penicillins, was isolated from all blood cultures and the cerebrospinal fluid.

Aged↗