Severity and phenotypes of dyspnea in asthma: Impact of comorbidities.

BACKGROUND: Dyspnea is a common but non-specific symptom of asthma, which in particular may be related to anxiety and hyperventilation syndrome, two frequent comorbidities of asthma. METHODS: We conducted a prospective multicentric cohort study in dyspneic asthmatic adults. Dyspnea was assessed using the Multidimensional Dyspnea Profile questionnaire. We described the sensory (QS) and affective (A2) domains of dyspnea and investigated the effect of poor asthma control, hyperventilation and anxiety on each dimension at baseline and after 6 months. RESULTS: We included 142 patients (65.5% women, age: 52 years). Dyspnea was severe and predominated on its sensory domain (median QS: 27/50; A2: 15/50). Uncontrolled asthma (ACQ≥1.5), hyperventilation symptoms (Nijmegen≥23) and anxiety (HAD-A≥10) were present in 75%, 45.7% and 39% of cases, respectively. Hyperventilation symptoms were associated with higher QS and A2 scores: QS at 28.4(10.7) vs. 21.7(12.8) (p = 0.001) and A2 at 24(14) vs. 11.3(11) (p < 0.001) in patients with vs. without hyperventilation symptoms. Anxiety was only associated with increased A2 (27(12.3) vs. 10.9(11), p < 0.001). At 6 months, QS and A2 decreased of 7 and 3 points, respectively, in relation with changes in ACQ-6 and Nijmegen scores as well as the HAD-A score for A2. CONCLUSION: In breathless asthmatics, dyspnea is severe and worsened but differentially modulated by hyperventilation symptoms and anxiety. A multidimensional phenotyping of dyspnea in asthmatics could be useful to understand its origins and personalize treatment.

A Case of Optic Neuritis Secondary to Lyme Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Optic neuritis is a condition associated with various systemic diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, and is also considered a rare complication of Lyme disease. CASE: A 46-year-old white woman presented with sudden onset of bilateral vision loss. After extensive workup, she was diagnosed with Lyme optic neuritis based on the clinical presentation and positive serology. She was treated with doxycycline for 2 weeks. DISCUSSION: Lyme disease is caused by infection with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. The most commonly affected areas include the skin, joints, heart, and nervous system. Lyme optic neuritis is a challenging diagnosis and therefore often underreported. Doxycycline or ceftriaxone for 2 weeks are recommended for treatment. CONCLUSION: We report this case to increase awareness among clinicians to include Lyme disease in the differential diagnosis of optic neuritis for unexplained cases of vision loss, particularly in Lyme endemic areas.

[Smoking prevention in preoperative patient factsheets]. / Prévention du tabagisme dans les fiches d'information préopératoires des patients.

INTRODUCTION: Information for patients undergoing elective surgery is often supported by factsheets. This information is required for ethical and legal reasons. Among the 11 million surgical procedures performed annually in France, three million concern smokers. Data of a 2005 French Expert's conference show that smoking doubles or triples the risk of postoperative complications and quitting smoking cancels this risk. METHODS: By a query on www.google.fr, 100 factsheets were collected in 2009 (pilot study) and 500 in 2012. These factsheets were systematically analyzed on tobacco information. Issuers were contacted by mail, email and telephone to suggest improvements on these factsheets. A return to the websites where the 500 factsheets have been issued was performed 6 months later. RESULTS: In 2009, only 24.0% of factsheets mentioned tobacco. In 2012, 29.4% of factsheets evoked tobacco. When tobacco is mentioned, information's were rarely complete. Cosmetic surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons and to a lesser extent orthopaedists are those who raise most often the tobacco issue. After contact with issuers, 41 factsheets were removed from the sites. Factsheets with tobacco information increased from 147/500 (29.4%) to 175/459 (38.1%) and the quality score of the information increased from 3.4 to 6.0. The message suggested by OFT was: "Smoking increases the risk of surgical complications of any surgery. Quitting smoking 6-8 weeks before surgery eliminates this additional risk. If you smoke, talk to your doctor, your surgeon and your anesthesiologist or call the French quitline TIS 3989 to help you to reduce the risk and put all the chances on your side". This sentence was included in 54 factsheets. CONCLUSION: There is still work to do to improve information's on smoking risk in perioperative factsheets. The aim is to reduce postoperative complications, costs and avoid court sentences against practitioner who do not inform properly on the risks of smoking on surgical procedures.