[The evolving career profile of radiation therapists]. / Évolutions du métier de manipulateur en électroradiologie médicale.

Over the last few years, the radiation therapist profession has undergone major developments. In radiotherapy, the teams, and their organization as well as the techniques have changed, however always with the goal of improving treatment quality for patients. Throughout interviews, this article offers to show three missions that have been assigned to French radiation therapists, such as the initial consultation, the role of the radiation therapist with the linear accelerator with onboard MRI, and paramedical research. The contribution of new technologies, the modification of the types of participants on the patient journey, as well as the thought process about the use of evidence-based practice and radiation therapist research have initiated changes for the job description, the beginning of more advanced practices, and a perspective of evolution within this profession.

Can the number of surgery delays and postponements due to unavailable instrumentation be reduced? Evaluating the benefits of enhanced collaboration between the sterilization and orthopedic surgery units.

INTRODUCTION: The development of outpatient surgery, cost-reduction pressures and instrumentation storage limitations have led to their use "just-in-time". A recent study showed that stoppage of surgical procedures immediately before the incision (No-Go) was often due to the management of supplies and implantable medical devices. To our knowledge, since the development of outpatient surgery and the shortening of hospital stays, managing the flow of instrumentation has not been optimized. At our hospital, we used a two-prong approach consisting of a tool to manage instrumentation and working group from the sterilization and orthopedic surgery units. The aims of this study were to: 1) evaluate whether this approach led to better notification of the risk of supply shortage for instrumentation and 2) determine whether it could reduce by at least half operating room disruptions such as delays or cancellation of surgical procedures. HYPOTHESIS: This approach results in better notification of the risk of supply shortage for instrumentation and reduces by at least half operating room disruptions such as delays or cancellation of surgical procedures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A tool was developed to manage instrumentation flow based on a retrospective analysis of data from 2015. This tool consisted of: (1) a list of instrumentation needed for each surgical procedure from an analysis of the surgical schedule and verification of traceability labels of the instrumentation actually used, (2) a list of reasons for supply shortage identified from an analysis of non-conformities occurring in the sterilization process of instrumentation kits. These analyses resulted in the development of checklists for instrument sets for each procedure, while identifying those with a high risk of shortage. In 2017, a working group focused on instrumentation was set up with personnel from the sterilization unit and the orthopedic surgery unit. Based on the check-lists and the schedule 24hours before the surgery, the sterilization unit alerted the surgery unit by email of the risk of material shortage; the surgery ward replied with potential changes to the material or the surgery planning. This approach (instrumentation management tool and working group) was named just-in-time (JIT). The main outcome was the number of notifications of potential supply shortage with and without JIT over a 10-week period. The secondary outcomes were the number of notifications resolved in time and the occurrence of operating room disruptions (delay>30min or postponement of surgery) related to unavailable instrumentation. RESULTS: Nine reasons for potential supply shortage were identified such as instrumentation kits used for several types of procedures, those with fast rotation and low stock, or in double pathways (on loan and on deposit). The working group reported 163 potential shortages with JIT versus 41 without (p<10-5), of which 150 (92.5%) were resolved. Thirteen operating room disruptions occurred; only one was not detected by the JIT approach. CONCLUSION: Our JIT approach (instrumentation management tool and working group) is effective at preventing instrumentation supply shortages. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III, prospective comparative study.

[Follow-up of patients treated by VKA: Interest of a pharmaceutical link between the hospital and the retail pharmacies]. / Suivi des patients traités par AVK : intérêt d'un relais pharmaceutique entre l'hôpital et la ville.

Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) are used by 1,7% of the French population. Patient education and monitoring can decrease the number of iatrogenic hospitalizations due to VKA. We assessed the impact of a communication between hospital and retail pharmacists about patient's knowledge on VKA. The aim of our study has been to evaluate the value added by the link between the hospital pharmacist and the community pharmacist on the follow-up of patients treated by vitamin K antagonist. Patient information about VKA treatment is offered to inpatients in our hospital. An information form is filled for each patient treated by VKA. Patient's knowledge is assessed on the document (Name of VKA, cause of treatment, monitoring, risks of overdose, compliance…). This form is sent to the community pharmacist after the training when the patient leaves the hospital (by fax or by email). The form is sent back by the community pharmacist after the second training. Sixty-eight patients received the training, 48 forms have been sent to the retail pharmacists and 43 forms have been sent back to the hospital. Seven retail pharmacists replied spontaneously. Twenty-eight patients increased their knowledge (in average+21%) and 12 patients stabilized their knowledge. The best-known concepts were the INR target, the time of drug intake, the risks of overdose and the information of the family. The improvement of knowledge is significant for the name of VKA, the cause of treatment, efficacy assessment and signs of overdose. The implementation of a communication between the hospital and the retail pharmacies is time-consuming but the follow-up of those patients seems essential to keep a good knowledge.

[Purple drank: A dangerous cocktail]. / Purple drank : un dangereux cocktail à connaître.

"Purple drank" is a dangerous hallucinogenic cocktail commonly used by teenagers, made popular by American rappers and social networks. It combines codeine-based cough syrup, antihistamines such as promethazine, and soda. Unknown by caregivers, it may be responsible for serious neuropsychological complications. We report the effects of this new risky behavior in three patients: a 14-year-old girl and her boyfriend, both found in an initial state of drowsiness, followed by hallucinations and anticholinergic toxidrome; and another teenager whose chronic use led to addiction with increasing doses. It is important to identify signs of such intoxication and to inform patients about the risks of respiratory depression, drowsiness, and delirium linked to acute medication misuse.