[Cystic fibrosis - ETI and type 2 N-of-1 trials : the next step]. / Mucoviscidose : valider un traitement révolutionnaire par de brefs essais thérapeutiques individuels bien supervisés.

In evidence-based medicine, N-of-1 trials are increasingly attractive for rare and heterogeneous conditions. A recent French study illustrates this convincingly in the field of cystic fibrosis. A highly effective triple therapy (ETI) is currently available in Europe, which will eventually help the 85 % of Belgian patients carrying at least one copy of the F508del mutation. Most other 2.000 or so putative mutations of this gene are poorly characterised and very rare or private. To predict the efficacy of ETI at the individual level in currently ineligible patients, sophisticated tools are advocated, but they are expensive, not widely available, often partially standardised and there still remains a «grey area¼ concerning their reliability in this context. With-out using them, the French study suggests that more than half of these patients show clinically meaningful responses to a 4-6 weeks trial of ETI. What makes this pragmatic, cost-effective, non-invasive and simplified approach possible (type 2 N-of-1 trials) is the dramatic and rapid efficacy of a life-saving treatment without alternative and the fact that it can be assessed using simple and robust clinical and paraclinical outcomes. Here, we describe one such trial and discuss the value and limitations of this approach.

Dans la médecine basée sur les preuves, les essais de taille 1 suscitent un intérêt croissant dans les affections rares et hétérogènes. Une récente étude française l'illustre de manière convaincante dans la mucoviscidose. Une trithérapie extrêmement efficace (ETI) est actuellement disponible en Europe, concernant à terme en Belgique les 85 % de patients porteurs d'au moins une copie de la mutation F508del. La majorité des quelque 2.000 autres mutations putatives de ce gène sont mal caractérisées et rarissimes. Des techniques sophistiquées sont évoquées pour prédire, à l'échelle individuelle, l'efficacité d'ETI chez les patients actuellement non éligibles, mais elles sont peu disponibles, coûteuses, souvent imparfaitement standardisées et leur interprétabilité conserve une «zone grise¼. Sans y recourir, l'étude française montre que plus de la moitié de ces patients répondent d'une manière évidente à un essai d'ETI pendant quelques semaines seulement. Ce qui permet cette approche pragmatique, économique, non invasive et simplifiée (essai de taille 1, de type 2), c'est l'efficacité spectaculaire et rapide d'un traitement salvateur sans alternative et le fait qu'elle puisse être appréhendée à partir de critères cliniques et paracliniques simples et robustes. Nous rapportons ici un essai de ce type et discutons l'intérêt et les limites de cette approche.

Salmonella Durban meningitis: case report and genomics study.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial meningitis caused by non-typhoid Salmonella can be a fatal condition which is more common in low and middle-income countries. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a Salmonella meningitis in a Belgian six-month old male infant. The first clinical examination was reassuring, but after a few hours, his general state deteriorated. A blood test and a lumbar puncture were therefore performed. The cerebrospinal fluid analysis was compatible with a bacterial meningitis which was later identified by the NRC (National Reference Center) as Salmonella enterica serovar Durban. CONCLUSIONS: In this paper, we present the clinical presentation, genomic typing, and probable sources of infection for an unusually rare serovar of Salmonella. Through an extended genomic analysis, we established its relationship to historical cases with links to Guinea.

[How I treat vitamin D intoxication in a child with cystic fibrosis]. / Comment je traite une intoxication à la vitamine D chez un enfant atteint de mucoviscidose.

At least 80 % of persons with cystic fibrosis are pancreatic insufficient and benefit from daily supplementation with fat-soluble vitamins (ADEK). Magistral formulations offer ideal flexibility for prescriptions tailored to vitamin A, D and E blood levels. However, they expose to human errors, mainly leading to vitamin D intoxication whose clinical features are related to hypercalcaemia. Symptoms are mostly digestive (vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain …) and, less frequently, renal (nycturia …) complaints. When symptoms and/or serum calcium levels ≥ 14 mg/100 ml are present, prompt management is required. Besides interruption of supplementation, rapid intravenous hyperhydration (saline) is essential. Once hydration has been restored, and still under close biological supervision, a loop diuretic (furosemide) may be used but the drug of choice to achieve rapid normalization of blood calcium levels will often be intravenous pamidronate. Normalization of serum vitamin 25(OH)-D levels may take several months but the prognosis is very good. In Belgium, the very late reimbursement of a fixed combination of fat-soluble vitamins (Dekas®) meeting the standards of the pharmaceutical industry is expected to reduce the incidence of these intoxications, at the price, however, of less flexible prescription.

Au moins 80 % des patients atteints de mucoviscidose présentent une insuffisance pancréatique exocrine et bénéficient quotidiennement d'une supplémentation en vitamines liposolubles (ADEK). Une préparation magistrale offre alors une souplesse idéale de prescription. Elle expose cependant à des erreurs humaines, qui mènent surtout à des intoxications à la vitamine D. Les symptômes, souvent surtout digestifs (vomissements, constipation, douleurs abdominales …), voire rénaux (nycturie …), sont liés à l'hypercalcémie. En cas de symptômes et/ou de calcémie ≥ 14 mg/100 ml, une prise en charge immédiate est nécessaire. Outre l'interruption de la supplémentation, elle inclut d'abord une hyperhydratation rapide, par voie intraveineuse (sérum physiologique). Une fois l'hydratation restaurée, et toujours sous contrôles biologiques rapprochés, un diurétique de l'anse (furosémide) peut être utilisé, mais c'est souvent une administration intraveineuse de pamidronate qui permettra la normalisation rapide de la calcémie. Le taux sérique de vitamine 25(OH)-D peut mettre plusieurs mois à se normaliser, mais le pronostic est très bon. Remboursée tardivement en Belgique, une combinaison fixe de vitamines liposolubles (Dekas®), répondant aux normes de l'industrie pharmaceutique, devrait limiter le nombre de ces intoxications au prix, toutefois, d'une moindre souplesse de prescription.

Characterization of Eosinophilic Esophagitis From the European Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis Registry (pEEr) of ESPGHAN.

OBJECTIVES: Few pediatric data on phenotypic aspects of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) are available. The pEEr registry was developed to prospectively characterize children with EoE from Europe and Israel. METHODS: pEEr is an ongoing prospective registry enrolling children with esophageal eosinophilia (≥15 eos/HPF). Anonymized data were collected from 19 pediatric centers. Data regarding demographics, clinical manifestations, endoscopy, histology, and therapies were collected. RESULTS: A total of 582 subjects (61% male) were analyzed. The median age at diagnosis was 10.5 years [interquartile range (IQR): 5.7-17.7], whereas the age at symptom onset was 9.2 years (IQR: 4.3-16.4), resulting in a median diagnostic delay of 1.2 years (IQR: 0.7-2.3). The diagnostic delay was longer below age <6 years. Shorter diagnostic delays were associated with the presence of food allergy or a family history for EoE. Symptoms varied by age with dysphagia and food impaction more common in adolescents, while vomiting and failure to thrive more common in younger children ( P < 0.001). Among endoscopic findings, esophageal rings were more common in adolescents, whereas exudates were more frequent in younger children( P < 0.001). Patients who responded to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) were more likely to be older, males, and less often presented severe endoscopic findings. Patients unresponsive to PPIs received topical steroids (40%), elimination diet (41%), or a combined therapy (19%). CONCLUSIONS: EoE findings vary according to age in pediatric EoE. Young children are commonly characterized by non-specific symptoms, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, and inflammatory endoscopic lesions. Adolescents usually have dysphagia or food impaction, fibrostenotic lesions, and a better PPI response.

Differences in Management of Eosinophilic Esophagitis in Europe: An Assessment of Current Practice.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess differences in the diagnosis and management of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) by European pediatric (PG) and adult gastroenterologists (AG), and their self-reported adherence to guidelines. METHODS: A multiple-choice questionnaire gauged the diagnostic and management strategies of gastroenterologists treating children or adults in 14 European countries and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). RESULTS: Questionnaires were completed by 465 PG and 743 AG. PG were significantly more likely to take biopsies in patients with symptoms of esophageal dysfunction (86.2% PG vs 75.4% AG, P < 0.001) and to perform endoscopic follow-up (86.3% PG vs 80.6% AG, P < 0.001). After failure of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), topical steroids were the preferred second-line therapy; however, PG opted more frequently for elimination diets (47.5% PG vs 13.7% AG, P < 0.001). More PG than AG indicated having read recent guidelines (89.4% PG vs 58.2% AG, P < 0.001). Geographic differences in practice were reported, with respondents from the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Spain more often adhering to recommended biopsy protocols. Physicians in the UAE, France, Lithuania, and Poland tended to opt for steroid therapy or elimination diets as first-line therapy, in contrast to most other countries. CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences in general practice between PG and AG were demonstrated with notable divergence from consensus guidelines. International practice variations are also apparent. Among other strategies, educational activities to highlight current recommendations may help harmonize and optimize clinical practice.

The course of anaemia in children and adolescents with Crohn's disease included in a prospective registry.

AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and evolution of anaemia in prospectively followed children and adolescents diagnosed with Crohn's disease (CD). METHODS: The BELCRO registry (inclusion May 2008-April 2010), describing current clinical treatment practice of children diagnosed with CD, provided data on age, height, body mass index (BMI), paediatric Crohn's disease activity index (PCDAI), therapy and haemoglobin (Hb) at diagnosis 12 and 24 months follow-up. Anaemia was defined as Hb < -2 sd, while severe anaemia was defined as Hb < -4 sd. Patients were classified as child ≤13 and adolescent >13 years of age. RESULT: Ninety-six were included, 13 dropped out due to insufficient Hb data (37 females/46 males; median age 13.3 years, range 2.2-17.8 years). At diagnosis, the median Hb sd was -2.66 (-8.4; 1.07) and was correlated with the PCDAI (p = 0.013). At diagnosis, 51/83 (61%) were anaemic and all had active disease. Hb z-score significantly improved (p < 0.0001) but 26/68 (38%) remained anaemic at 12 months and 29/76 (38%) at 24 months of follow-up. The correlation to the PCDAI disappeared. At 24 months, children were more likely to be anaemic. There was no difference in iron dose nor duration of iron supplements between children and adolescents. Iron treatment was more readily given to patients presenting with anaemia. Hb did not differ between patients with (n = 28) or without iron supplements. Half of the patients with persisting anaemia were given iron supplements, of which, only three were given intravenously. CONCLUSION: Anaemia remains an important extra-intestinal manifestation of CD in children. Physicians, lacking optimal treatment strategies, undertreat their patients.