The risk of COVID-19 death is much greater and age dependent with type I IFN autoantibodies.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection fatality rate (IFR) doubles with every 5 y of age from childhood onward. Circulating autoantibodies neutralizing IFN-α, IFN-ω, and/or IFN-ß are found in ∼20% of deceased patients across age groups, and in ∼1% of individuals aged <70 y and in >4% of those >70 y old in the general population. With a sample of 1,261 unvaccinated deceased patients and 34,159 individuals of the general population sampled before the pandemic, we estimated both IFR and relative risk of death (RRD) across age groups for individuals carrying autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFNs, relative to noncarriers. The RRD associated with any combination of autoantibodies was higher in subjects under 70 y old. For autoantibodies neutralizing IFN-α2 or IFN-ω, the RRDs were 17.0 (95% CI: 11.7 to 24.7) and 5.8 (4.5 to 7.4) for individuals <70 y and ≥70 y old, respectively, whereas, for autoantibodies neutralizing both molecules, the RRDs were 188.3 (44.8 to 774.4) and 7.2 (5.0 to 10.3), respectively. In contrast, IFRs increased with age, ranging from 0.17% (0.12 to 0.31) for individuals <40 y old to 26.7% (20.3 to 35.2) for those ≥80 y old for autoantibodies neutralizing IFN-α2 or IFN-ω, and from 0.84% (0.31 to 8.28) to 40.5% (27.82 to 61.20) for autoantibodies neutralizing both. Autoantibodies against type I IFNs increase IFRs, and are associated with high RRDs, especially when neutralizing both IFN-α2 and IFN-ω. Remarkably, IFRs increase with age, whereas RRDs decrease with age. Autoimmunity to type I IFNs is a strong and common predictor of COVID-19 death.

Pre-Hospital Management of Patients with COVID-19 and the Impact on Hospitalization.

Background and Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, patient care was mainly organized around the hospital. Pre-hospital care has, to our knowledge, never been evaluated. We aimed to study the impact of pre-hospital pathways on hospitalization during the last part of the pandemic. Materials and Methods: This was a monocentric, retrospective analysis of prospectively collected medical records. Data from patients admitted to our institute between 1 February and 7 March 2022 were analyzed. The primary outcomes were defined as the number of hospitalizations, resuscitations, and deaths at the time of interview and in the subsequent 30 days. The main explanatory variables were times from onset of symptoms to care, age, gender, News2 score, comorbidities, and pre-hospital pathways and their duration. Results: Three pre-hospital pathways were identified: a pathway in which the patient consults a general practitioner for a test (PHP1); a pathway in which the patient consults for care (PHP2); and no pre-hospital pathway and direct admission to hospital (PHP3). Factors independently associated with outcome (hospitalization) were being male (OR 95% CI; 2.21 (1.01-4.84), p = 0,04), News2 score (OR 95% CI; 2.04 (1.65-2.51), p < 0.001), obesity (OR 95% CI; 3.45 (1.48-8.09), p = 0.005), D-dimers > 0.5 µg/mL (OR 95% CI; 3.45 (1.47-8.12), p = 0.005), and prolonged time from symptoms to hospital care (PHP duration) (OR 95% CI; 1.07 (1.01-1.14), p = 0.03). All things being equal, patients with a "PHP2" pre-hospital pathway had a higher probability of hospitalization compared to those with a "PHP3" pre-hospital pathway (OR 95% CI; 4.31 (1.48-12.55), p = 0.007). Conclusions: Along with recognized risk factors such as gender, News 2 score, and obesity, the patient's pre-hospital pathway is an important risk factor associated with hospitalization.

Work environment and mental health in nurse assistants, nurses and health executives: Results from the AMADEUS study.

AIM: This study aimed to explore work environment and mental health in nurse assistants, nurses and health executives in a national large-scale study. BACKGROUND: We have data for physicians but not for other health care workers categories. METHODS: A total of 6935 participants were recruited between May and June 2021 by professional mailings and professional networks. RESULTS: All professional categories reported high rates of high psychological demand (>90%), low social support (>60%), burnout (50% to 60%), exposure to potentially morally injurious events (>40%) and depression (approximately 30%). Surgery nurses reported the highest exposure to potentially morally injurious events. Major depression was identified in approximately 30% of participants in all categories, but less than 10% reported consuming antidepressants. A total of 31% to 49% of participants reported sleep disorders and 16% to 21% reported consuming regularly hypnotics. Physicians reported high hazardous drinking behaviour and nurse assistant high smoking rates. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Our results suggest that preventing burnout and depression in health care workers is a priority. To reach this goal, nursing managers could develop some interventions to reduce psychological demand and increase personal accomplishment and social support between colleagues, and prevent sustained bullying at the workplace and health risk behaviours. These interventions should be further developed and evaluated.

[Influence of the work environment on burn-out and depression in nurses]. / Influence de l'environnement de travail sur le burn-out et la dépression des infirmiers.

Burn out is defined as a state of psychological exhaustion in the face of an unfavourable work environment. In the health sector, this includes, among other things, an excessive care burden, the lack of autonomy or control over work, the vicious circle of absenteeism, the lack of support, moral and sexual harassment, discrimination or the Covid-19 health crisis. Burn-out also increases the risk of depression among care workers.

Early combination therapy with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin reduces mortality in 10,429 COVID-19 outpatients.

We evaluated the age-specific mortality of unselected adult outpatients infected with SARS-CoV-2 treated early in a dedicated COVID-19 day hospital and we assessed whether the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) + azithromycin (AZ) was associated with improved survival in this cohort. A retrospective monocentric cohort study was conducted in the day hospital of our center from March to December 2020 in adults with PCR-proven infection who were treated as outpatients with a standardized protocol. The primary endpoint was 6-week mortality, and secondary endpoints were transfer to the intensive care unit and hospitalization rate. Among 10,429 patients (median age, 45 [IQR 32-57] years; 5597 [53.7%] women), 16 died (0.15%). The infection fatality rate was 0.06% among the 8315 patients treated with HCQ+AZ. No deaths occurred among the 8414 patients younger than 60 years. Older age and male sex were associated with a higher risk of death, ICU transfer, and hospitalization. Treatment with HCQ+AZ (0.17 [0.06-0.48]) was associated with a lower risk of death, independently of age, sex and epidemic period. Meta-analysis evidenced consistency with 4 previous outpatient studies (32,124 patients-Odds ratio 0.31 [0.20-0.47], I2 = 0%). Early ambulatory treatment of COVID-19 with HCQ+AZ as a standard of care is associated with very low mortality, and HCQ+AZ improve COVID-19 survival compared to other regimens.

Prevalence of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms in Patients with Degenerative Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: Results from the Prospective ACTA Study.

OBJECTIVE: There are no recommendations for screening for thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs), even in patients with infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of TAAs in patients with AAAs and to analyse the risk factors for this association. METHODS: This was a multicentre prospective study. The Aortic Concomitant Thoracic and Abdominal Aneurysm (ACTA) study included 331 patients with infrarenal AAAs > 40 mm between September 2012 and May 2016. These patients were prospectively enrolled in three French academic hospitals. RESULTS: Patients were classified as having a normal, aneurysmal, or ectatic (non-normal, non-aneurysmal) thoracic aorta according to their maximum aortic diameter indexed by sex, age, and body surface area. Thoracic aortic ectasia (TAE) was defined as above or equal to the 90th percentile of normal aortic diameters according to gender and body surface area. Descending TAA was defined as ≥ 150% of the mean normal value, and ascending TAA as > 47 mm in men and 42 mm in women; 7.6% (n = 25) had either an ascending (seven cases; 2.2%) or descending aortic TAA (18 cases; 5.4%), and 54.6% (n = 181) had a TAE. Among the 25 patients with TAAs, five required surgery; two patients had TAAs related to penetrating aortic ulcers < 60 mm in diameter, and three had a TAA > 60 mm. In the multinomial regression analysis, atrial fibrillation (AF) (odds ratio [OR] 11.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.18 - 59.13; p = .004) and mild aortic valvulopathy (OR 2.89, 1.04-8.05; p = .042) were independent factors associated with TAAs. Age (OR 1.06, CI 1.02 - 1.09; p = .003) and AF (OR 4.36, 1.21 - 15.61; p = .024) were independently associated with ectasia. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that TAAs coexisting with AAAs are not rare, and one fifth of these TAAs are treated surgically. Systematic screening by imaging the whole aorta in patients with AAAs is clinically relevant and should lead to an effective prevention policy.

Impact of Viral Seasonal Outbreaks on Crowding and Health Care Quality in Pediatric Emergency Departments.

ABSTRACT: In pediatric emergency departments (PEDs), seasonal viral outbreaks are believed to be associated with an increase of workload, but no quantification of this impact has been published. A retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to measure this impact on crowding and health care quality in PED. The study was performed in 1 PED for 3 years. Visits related to bronchiolitis, influenza, and gastroenteritis were defined using discharge diagnoses. The daily epidemic load (DEL) was the proportion of visits related to one of these diagnoses. The daily mean of 8 crowding indicators (selected in a published Delphi study) was used. A total of 93,976 children were admitted (bronchiolitis, 2253; influenza, 1277; gastroenteritis, 7678). The mean DEL was 10.4% (maximum, 33.6%). The correlation between the DEL and each indicator was significant. The correlation was stronger for bronchiolitis (Pearson R from 0.171 for number of hospitalization to 0.358 for length of stay). Between the first and fourth quartiles of the DEL, a significant increase, between 50% (patients left without being seen) and 8% (patient physician ratio), of all the indicators was observed. In conclusion, seasonal viral outbreaks have a strong impact on crowding and quality of care. The evolution of "patients left without being seen" between the first and fourth quartiles of DEL could be used as an indicator reflecting the capacity of adaptation of an emergency department to outbreaks.

Real-Time Measurement of Crowding in Pediatric Emergency Department: Derivation and Validation Using Consensual Perception of Crowding (SOTU-PED).

ABSTRACT: Our study aimed to develop and validate a real-time crowding composite scale for pediatric emergency department (PED). The study took place in one teaching PED for 2 months. The outcome was the perception of crowding evaluated by triage nurses and pediatricians on a 10-level Likert scale. Triage nurses evaluated crowding at each moment of a child's admission and pediatrician at each moment of a child's discharge. The outcome was the hourly mean of all evaluations of crowding (hourly crowding perception). For analysis, originally, we only selected hours during which more than 2 nurses and more than 2 pediatricians evaluated crowding and, moreover, during which evaluations were the most consensual. As predictors, we used hourly means of 10 objective crowding indicators previously selected as consensual in a published French national Delphi study and collected automatically in our software system. The model (SOTU-PED) was developed over a 1-month data set using a backward multivariable linear regression model. Then, we applied the SOTU-PED model on a 1-month validation data set. During the study period, 7341 children were admitted in the PED. The outcome was available for 1352/1392 hours, among which 639 were included in the analysis as "consensual hours." Five indicators were included in the final model, the SOTU-PED (R2 = 0.718). On the validation data set, the correlation between the outcome (perception of crowding) and the SOTU-PED was 0.824. To predict crowded hours (hourly crowding perception >5), the area under the curve was 0.957 (0.933-0.980). The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 8.16 (3.82-17.43) and 0.153 (0.111-0.223), respectively. Using a simple model, it is possible to estimate in real time how crowded a PED is.

Participation au dépistage du cancer colorectal selon le taux de pauvreté dans les Bouches-du-Rhône.

INTRODUCTION: The rate of participation in organized colorectal cancer screening (DOCCR) remains insufficient in France, with strong disparities between departments. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH: The aim of this work was to assess the relationship between the DOCCR response rates for the communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône (BdR) department and the boroughs of Marseille and their poverty levels. The DOCCR response rate was assessed for the 2017-2018 campaign. The Pearson coefficient was calculated to assess correlations with the average poverty rate per commune/borough, the density of general practitioners (GPs) and Potential Localized Accessibility (PLA) to GPs. RESULTS: Among the DOCCR guests, 29.7% (± 4.7) responded. The rate of respondents differed significantly between the communes/boroughs of the department (P < 0.001). The rate of respondents was inversely correlated with the rate of people living below the poverty line, both for the communes/boroughs of the department, with a high correlation (r = - 0.795, P < 0.001) and for the Marseille boroughs, with an even higher correlation (r = - 0.910, P < 0.001). It was inversely correlated with the density of GPs (r = - 0.430, P < 0.001). On the other hand, there was a weak positive correlation with Potential Localized Accessibility to GPs (r = 0.193, P < 0.001), as well as with the age of guests (r = 0.476, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The poverty rate in the BdR, which is higher than the national average, may partly explain the low rate of DOCCR respondents; other factors such as the density of GPs and their accessibility may play a role.

[An exploratory study of hospital stakeholders' perceptions on the introduction of advanced practice nurses]. / Étude exploratoire de la perception des parties prenantes hospitalières vis-à-vis de l'implantation des infirmiers en pratique avancée.

Introduction : One solution proposed by the authorities to address public health issues is to deploy a new category of professionals with a greater range of skills : advanced practice nurses (APNs). The literature identifies the complexity of the deployment projects of these professionals. The PEPPA model approved by the International Council of Nurses is the reference model for the introduction of APNs. The objectives of this study were to explore various stakeholders' perceptions on the introduction of APNs into health institutions, in order to propose recommendations to support the institutions.Method : A multicenter qualitative study was conducted in France's Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region with physicians, managers, nurses, patients, and advanced practice students.Results : APNs are beneficial for patients and the health system, but their introduction into health institutions brings with it risks, primarily linked to their integration. APN introduction projects need to be well planned and should prioritize their integration.Discussion : Results consistent with the PEPPA model identified seven recommendations to facilitate the successful introduction of APNs into hospitals.Conclusion : This work needs to be continued with studies related to the out-of-hospital setting and the evaluation of the successfulness of APNs' introduction.

Étude exploratoire de la perception des parties prenantes hospitalières vis-à-vis de l'implantation des infirmiers en pratique avancée.

Introduction : One solution proposed by the authorities to address public health issues is to deploy a new category of professionals with a greater range of skills : advanced practice nurses (APNs). The literature identifies the complexity of the deployment projects of these professionals. The PEPPA model approved by the International Council of Nurses is the reference model for the introduction of APNs. The objectives of this study were to explore various stakeholders' perceptions on the introduction of APNs into health institutions, in order to propose recommendations to support the institutions.Method : A multicenter qualitative study was conducted in France's Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region with physicians, managers, nurses, patients, and advanced practice students.Results : APNs are beneficial for patients and the health system, but their introduction into health institutions brings with it risks, primarily linked to their integration. APN introduction projects need to be well planned and should prioritize their integration.Discussion : Results consistent with the PEPPA model identified seven recommendations to facilitate the successful introduction of APNs into hospitals.Conclusion : This work needs to be continued with studies related to the out-of-hospital setting and the evaluation of the successfulness of APNs' introduction.

Perceived Health and Quality of Life in Patients With CKD, Including Those With Kidney Failure: Findings From National Surveys in France.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a major outcome measure increasingly used in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We evaluated the association between different stages of CKD and the physical and mental health domains of HRQoL. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: 2,693 outpatients with moderate (stage 3, estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], 30-60mL/min/1.73m2) or advanced (stages 4-5, estimated glomerular filtration rate<30mL/min/1.73m2, not on kidney replacement therapy [KRT]) CKD under the care of a nephrologist at 1 of 40 nationally representative facilities, 1,658 patients with a functioning kidney transplant, 1,251 patients on maintenance dialysis randomly selected from the national Renal Epidemiology and Information Network registry, and 20,574 participants in the French Decennial Health Survey, representative of the general population. PREDICTOR: Severity of kidney disease (moderate CKD, advanced CKD, maintenance dialysis as KRT, and functioning kidney transplant as KRT), compared with a sample of the general population. OUTCOMES: HRQoL scores assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey or the Kidney Disease Quality of Life 36 scale. ANALYTICAL APPROACH: Age- and sex-standardized (to the general population) prevalence of poor or fair health status was estimated for each study kidney disease group. Analysis of variance was used to estimate adjusted differences in mean physical and mental health scores between the kidney disease subgroups and the general population. RESULTS: Mean age was 67.2±12.6 (SD) years for patients with non-KRT-requiring CKD, 69.3±17.7 years for dialysis patients, and 55.3±14.2 years for those with functioning kidney transplants; 60% were men. Age- and sex-standardized health status was perceived as fair or poor in 27% of those with moderate CKD,>40% of those with advanced CKD or receiving dialysis, 12% with a functioning transplant, and 3% of the general population sample. HRQoL physical scores (adjusted for age, sex, education, obesity, and diabetes) were significantly lower in patients in all CKD subgroups than in the general population. For patients receiving dialysis, the magnitude of the difference in physical score versus the general population exceeded 4.5 points, the minimal clinically important difference for this score in this study; for both kidney transplant recipients and patients with advanced CKD, the magnitude of the difference was close to this threshold. For mental score, only dialysis patients had a score that differed from that of the general population by more than the minimal clinically important difference. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional study design for each subpopulation. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the degree to which perceived physical health is lower in the setting of CKD than in the general population, even in the absence of kidney failure, and calls for greater attention to CKD-related quality of life.

Paradoxical association between blood modular interferon signatures and quality of life in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVES: Blood transcriptomic IFN signature is a hallmark of SLE. The impaired health-related quality of life (HRQOL) observed in SLE is poorly related to disease activity. The aim of this study was to test how IFN signatures were associated with HRQOL in SLE patients. METHODS: Among consecutive patients, blood transcriptomic profiles were analysed with a modular framework comprising 3 IFN modules: M1.2, M3.4 and M5.12. Disease activity was evaluated by the SLEDAI score, and HRQOL was assessed with the SF-36 questionnaire, which includes eight domains: physical function, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, and mental health (MH) and physical component summary and mental component summary scores. RESULTS: A total of 57 SLE patients were evaluated, among whom 27 (47%) were clinically quiescent, 30 (53%) were flaring, and 19 (33%) had active lupus nephritis. All SF-36 domains were altered in SLE patients compared with the general French population (P < 0.0001). In multivariate analysis, taking into account flares, age, ethnicity, smoking and renal severity, social functioning was independently associated with the IFN score (P = 0.027). Analyses restrained to quiescent patients (n = 27) yielded greater associations between social functioning and the three IFN modules, and between MH and M3.4. Considering all quiescent visits (n = 51), the IFN score was independently correlated with social functioning (P = 0.022) and MH (P = 0.038). CONCLUSION: This unexpected paradoxical association between IFN signature and some specific HRQOL domains argues against a pivotal role of IFNs in the persistently altered HRQOL of SLE patients.

How is the minimal clinically important difference established in health-related quality of life instruments? Review of anchors and methods.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this systematic review is to describe the different types of anchors and statistical methods used in estimating the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) for Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) instruments. METHODS: PubMed and Google scholar were searched for English and French language studies published from 2010 to 2018 using selected keywords. We included original articles (reviews, meta-analysis, commentaries and research letters were not considered) that described anchors and statistical methods used to estimate the MCID in HRQoL instruments. RESULTS: Forty-seven papers satisfied the inclusion criteria. The MCID was estimated for 6 generic and 18 disease-specific instruments. Most studies in our review used anchor-based methods (n = 41), either alone or in combination with distribution-based methods. The most common applied anchors were non-clinical, from the viewpoint of patients. Different statistical methods for anchor-based methods were applied and the Change Difference (CD) was the most used one. Most distributional methods included 0.2 standard deviations (SD), 0.3 SD, 0.5 SD and 1 standard error of measurement (SEM). MCID values were very variable depending on methods applied, and also on clinical context of the study. CONCLUSION: Multiple anchors and methods were applied in the included studies, which lead to different estimations of MCID. Using several methods enables to assess the robustness of the results. This corresponds to a sensitivity analysis of the methods. Close collaboration between statisticians and clinicians is recommended to integrate an agreement regarding the appropriate method to determine MCID for a specific context.

Baseline chest X-ray in coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) patients: association with clinical and laboratory data.

PURPOSE: To assess the reliability of CXR and to describe CXR findings and clinical and laboratory characteristics associated with positive and negative CXR. METHODS: Retrospective two-center study on consecutive patients admitted to the emergency department of two north-western Italian hospitals in March 2020 with clinical suspicion of COVID-19 confirmed by RT-PCR and who underwent CXR within 24 h of the swab execution. 260 patients (61% male, 62.8 ± 15.8 year) were enrolled. CXRs were rated as positive (CXR+) or negative (CXR-), and features reported included presence and distribution of airspace opacities, pleural effusion and reduction in lung volumes. Clinical and laboratory data were collected. Statistical analysis was performed with nonparametric tests, binary logistic regression (BLR) and ROC curve analysis. RESULTS: Sensitivity of CXR was 61.1% (95%CI 55-67%) with a typical presence of bilateral (62.3%) airspace opacification, more often with a lower zone (88.7%) and peripheral (43.4%) distribution. At univariate analysis, several factors were found to differ significantly between CXR+ and CXR-. The BLR confirmed as significant predictors only lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein (CRP) and interval between the onset of symptoms and the execution of CXR. The ROC curve procedure determined that CRX+ was associated with LDH > 500 UI/L (AUC = 0.878), CRP > 30 mg/L (AUC = 0.830) and interval between the onset of symptoms and the execution of CXR > 4 days (AUC = 0.75). The presence of two out of three of the above-mentioned predictors resulted in CXR+ in 92.5% of cases, whereas their absence in 7.4%. CONCLUSION: CXR has a low sensitivity. LDH, CRP and interval between the onset of symptoms and the execution of CXR are major predictors for a positive CXR.

[Improving the management of children with type 1 diabetes and their families: What role for the advanced practice nurse, coordinator of complex care pathways? A qualitative, exploratory study using semi-directed interviews]. / Améliorer la prise en charge de l'enfant atteint de diabète de type 1 et celle de sa famille : quel rôle pour l'infirmière de pratique avancée, coordinatrice de parcours complexe de soins ? Une étude qualitative et exploratoire.

BACKGROUND: Type 1 diabetes in children in Switzerland is becoming increasingly prevalent. The coordination of care seems to be a determining element and is essential for effective and efficient care. OBJECTIVE: Identify the difficulties and the levers of coordination faced by healthcare workers and families during the discovery of type 1 diabetes in children aged from birth to fifteen. METHOD: Qualitative analysis using semi-directed interviews. RESULTS: Three families and five healthcare workers participated in the study. Confirmation of the diagnosis was received badly and was a shock for the families. Nurses specializing in pediatric diabetes are recognized for being experts in diabetes care and education. Non-specialist nurses consider diabetes care to be stressful and complex. Collaboration between units is described as compartmentalized. ICT tools are not shared between units. Psychological support is considered to be unsatisfactory by the families. DISCUSSION: Interdisciplinary nurses need to work together and with a structured coordination of care.

End-stage renal disease treated in Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur: 12-years follow-up and forecast to the year 2030.

BACKGROUND: This study describes the time trend of renal replacement therapy for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the Provence-Alpes Côte d'Azur region (PACA) between 2004 and 2015, and forecasts up to 2030. METHODS: A longitudinal study was conducted on all ESRD patients treated in PACA and recorded in the French Renal Epidemiology and Information Network (REIN) during this period. Time trends and forecasts to 2030 were analyzed using Poisson regression models. RESULTS: Since 2004, the number of new patients has steadily increased by 3.4% per year (95% CI, 2.8-3.9, p < 0.001) and the number of patients receiving RRT has increased by 3.7% per year (RR 1.037, 95% CI: 1.034-1.039, p < 0.001). If these trends continue, the PACA region will be face with 7371 patients on dialysis and 3891 with a functional renal transplant who will need to be managed in 2030. The two most significant growth rates were the percentage of obese people (RR 1.140, 95% CI: 1.131-1.149, p < 0.001) and those with diabetes (RR 1.070, 95% CI; 1.064-1.075, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study highlights the increase in the number of ESRD patients over 12 years, with no prospect of stabilization. These findings allow us to anticipate the quality and quantity of care offered and to propose more preventive measures to combat obesity and diabetes.

Factors associated with Health-Related Quality of Life in Kidney Transplant Recipients in France.

BACKGROUND: Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) assessment after kidney transplantation has become an important tool in evaluating outcomes. This study aims to identify the associated factors with HRQoL among a representative sample size of Kidney Transplant Recipients (KTR) at the time of their inclusion in the study. METHODS: Data of this cross-sectional design is retrieved from a longitudinal study conducted in five French kidney transplant centers in 2011, and included KTR aged 18 years with a functioning graft for at least 1 year. Measures include demographic, psycho-social and clinical characteristics. To evaluate HRQoL, the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and a HRQoL instrument for KTR (ReTransQol) were administered. Multivariate linear regression models were performed. RESULTS: A total of 1424 patients were included, with 61.4% males, and a mean age of 55.7 years (±13.1). Demographic and clinical characteristics were associated with low HRQoL scores for both questionnaires. New variables were found in our study: perceived poor social support and being treated by antidepressants were associated with low scores of Quality of Life (QoL), while internet access was associated with high QoL scores. CONCLUSION: The originality of our study's findings was that psycho-social variables, particularly KTR treated by antidepressants and having felt unmet needs for any social support, have a negative effect on their QoL. It may be useful to organize a psychological support specifically adapted for patients after kidney transplantation.

[Value of shared electronic health records for the management of homeless people]. / Prise en charge des personnes sans chez-soi : intérêt du dossier médical partagé ?

AIM: To assess the acceptability for GPS to use the French shared Electronic Health Record (Dossier Médical Partagé, "DMP") when caring for Homeless People (HP). METHODS: Mixed, sequential, qualitative-quantitative study. The qualitative phase consisted of semi-structured interviews with GPs involved in the care of HP. During the quantitative phase, questionnaires were sent to 150 randomized GPs providing routine healthcare in Marseille. Social and practical acceptability was studied by means of a Likert Scale. RESULTS: 19 GPs were interviewed during the qualitative phase, and 105 GPs answered the questionnaire during the quantitative phase (response rate: 73%). GPs had a poor knowledge about DMP. More than half (52.5%) of GPs were likely to effectively use DMP for HP. GPs felt that the "DMP" could improve continuity, quality, and security of care for HP. They perceived greater benefits of the use the DMP for HP than for the general population, notably in terms of saving time (p = 0.03). However, GPs felt that HP were vulnerable and wanted to protect their patients; they worried about security of data storage. GPs identified specific barriers for HP to use DMP: most of them concerned practical access for HP to DMP (lack of social security card, or lack of tool for accessing internet). CONCLUSION: A shared electronic health record, such as the French DMP, could improve continuity of care for HP in France. GPs need to be better informed, and DMP functions need to be optimized and adapted to HP, so that it can be effectively used by GPs for HP.

Trends in the number and the quality of trial protocols involving children submitted to a French Institutional Review Board.

BACKGROUND: There is a great need for high quality clinical research for children. The European Pediatric Regulation aimed to improve the quality of clinical trials in order to increase the availability of treatments for children. The main purpose of this study was to assess the evolution of both the number and the quality of pediatric trial protocols that were submitted to a French Institutional Review Board (IRB00009118) before and after the initiation of the EU Pediatric Regulation. METHODS: All protocols submitted to the IRB00009118 between 2003 and 2014 and conducting research on subjects under eighteen years of age were eligible. The quality of randomized clinical trials was assessed according to the guidelines developed by the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Network and ranked using the Jadad score. RESULTS: Out of 622 protocols submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB), 21% (133/622) included children. Among these 133 pediatric protocols, the number of submitted pediatric protocols doubled between the two studied periods. From 2003 to 2008, 47 protocols including 21 institutionally sponsored were submitted to the IRB and from 2009 until 2014, 86 protocols including 48 institutionally sponsored were submitted. No significant trend was observed on the quality of RCTs. The overall median score of RCTs on the Jadad scale was high (3.5), 70.0% of protocols had a Jadad score ≥ 3, and 30.0% had a score < 3. CONCLUSION: Following the EU Pediatric Regulation, the number of pediatric protocols submitted to the IRB00009118 tends to increase, but no change was noticed regarding their quality.