[What are the obstacles to drawing up a death certificate in a home setting ? A survey of doctors in Normandy]. / Quels freins à l'établissement du certificat de décès à domicile ? Enquête auprès de médecins sur le territoire de Normandie.

INTRODUCTION: Drafting a death certificate is an obligation for any physician called upon to note a death. It has a legal and epidemiological impact. The objective of this study is to highlight the obstacles encountered by professionals when this process takes place in a home setting. METHOD: A study was carried out by means of a questionnaire sent to doctors in the Normandy region. RESULTS: One fifth (20%) of the general practitioners (GPs), 25% of the SAMU practitioners (intervening in mobile emergency throughout the country), 27.3% of SOS doctors (intervening 24 hours a day in the deceased person's home in the absence of a GP) stated that they had at least once refused to establish a death certificate. Only 36.4% of SOS doctors, 62.5% of emergency physicians and 41% of GPs considered the drafting of a death certificate to be one of their mandatory missions. No less than 17% of GPs, 25% of SAMU doctors and 9% of SOS doctors stated that due to lack of time, they were occasionally unable to travel to fill out a death certificate, a factor causing delays that were detrimental, especially for the surviving relatives. We highlighted several other obstacles to the completion of death certificates: the difficulty of completing them accurately without knowledge of the deceased person's history, possible inability of professionals on tight schedules to deal with unforeseen requests and, more rarely, the issues raised by an absence of remuneration. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights major obstacles in the preparation of death certificates, obstacles that should be taken into consideration insofar as they affect the quality of the data collected, and entail ethical challenges.

The effect of information on prostate cancer screening decision process: a discrete choice experiment.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer screening is controversial because of uncertainty about its benefits and risks. The aim of this survey was to reveal preferences of men concerning prostate cancer screening and to test the effect of an informative video on these preferences. METHODS: A stated preferences questionnaire was sent by e-mail to men aged 50-75 with no history of prostate cancer. Half of them were randomly assigned to view an informative video. A discrete choice model was established to reveal men's preferences for six prostate cancer screening characteristics: mortality by prostate cancer, number of false positive and false negative results, number of overdiagnosis, out-of-pocket costs and recommended frequency. RESULTS: A population-based sample composed by 1024 men filled in the entire questionnaire. Each attribute gave the expected sign except for overdiagnosis. The video seemed to increase the intention to abstain from prostate cancer screening. CONCLUSIONS: The participants attached greater importance to a decrease in the number of false negatives and a reduction in prostate cancer mortality than to other risks such as the number of false positives and overdiagnosis. Further research is needed to help men make an informed choice regarding screening.

[Enzymatic release of mycobacteria in natural media]. / Débusquement enzymatique des mycobactéries dans les milieux naturels.

Polysaccharases release mycobacteria from natural environment. The enzymatic activity works both on the microbial adherence polysaccharides and on the support surfaces (cellulose). The release of mycobacteria from natural environment increases both the number of isolates and the number of species of mycobacteria.

Multi-wavelength analyses of second-derivative spectra for rapid determination of acetaminophen in serum.

Measurement of acetaminophen by analysis of the second derivative of its spectrum is specific and sensitive. The method of extraction and the use of just one phosphate buffer as reagent makes this method very convenient. Readings are reliable from 10 to 1500 mg/L. A turnaround time of 20 min makes this method well suited for emergency cases. Precision and accuracy of the method are presented. Results are not biased by interferences, not even from N-acetylcysteine.