[An updated synthesis of the international recommendations about the use of non-pharmacological interventions in the treatment of fatigue]. / Synthèse actualisée des recommandations internationales sur le traitement de la fatigue par des interventions non pharmacologiques.

INTRODUCTION: Fatigue is a frequent and disturbing symptom in oncology but remains undertreated. Given the absence of effective drug treatment, non-pharmacological interventions have a prominent place in the treatment of fatigue. However, they are relatively unknown by professionals who lack of clear points of reference to refer patients with confidence. This article aims to improve the knowledge about this therapeutic field through an updated synthesis of the levels of recommendations and available evidence. METHODS: A three-step approach was conducted, including (1) a synthesis of international guidelines on non-pharmacological interventions in the treatment of fatigue among adults in oncology, (2) a systematic review of recent data in the literature, (3) a comparison between the synthesis of guidelines and the systematic review with the aim of updating the levels of evidence. RESULTS: Five guidelines were synthesized; 111 systematic reviews were analyzed. Their comparison mainly showed: (1) a convergence in favor of the use of physical activity, educational interventions and cognitive-behavioral therapies, with levels of evidence ranging from moderate to high; (2) a consolidation of short-term efficacy evidence to support the use of mindfulness-based approaches and yoga; 3) the persistence of a lack of sufficiently reliable data to establish the efficacy of other types of intervention. DISCUSSION: Supported by international guidelines and recent data, the use of non-pharmacological interventions in the treatment of fatigue is critical and has to become better known.

Comparison of Treatment Persistence with Dabigatran or Rivaroxaban versus Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants in Atrial Fibrillation Patients: A Competing Risk Analysis in the French National Health Care Databases.

BACKGROUND: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been proposed as a more convenient alternative to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), which are commonly associated with poor treatment persistence in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (nv-AF). METHODS: Using data from the French national health care databases (Régime Général, 50 million beneficiaries), a cohort study was conducted to compare the 1-year non-persistence rates in nv-AF patients initiating dabigatran (N=11,141) or rivaroxaban (N=11,126) versus VKA (N=11,998). Treatment discontinuation was defined as a switch between oral anticoagulant (OAC) classes or a 60-day gap with no medication coverage, with the additional criterion of no reimbursement for international normalized ratio monitoring during this gap for VKA patients. Considering death as a competing risk, differences between 1-year discontinuation rates were used to compare each DOAC versus VKA. The 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated via bootstrapping. Baseline patient characteristics were adjusted using inverse probability of treatment weighting. Subgroup analyses considered DOAC dose at initiation, age, risk of stroke, and bleeding. RESULTS: Adjusted 1-year discontinuation rates were higher for dabigatran than for VKA new users (36.8% vs 30.2%; difference: 6.6% [95% CI, 5.5-7.6]) and for rivaroxaban versus VKA new users (33.4% vs 30.4%; 3.0% [1.9-4.1]). Similar differences were found in all subgroup analyses, except in dabigatran and rivaroxaban patients <75 years (dabigatran vs VKA: 0.3% [-1.4 to 1.8]; rivaroxaban vs VKA: -2.6% [-4.3 to -0.9]) and dabigatran 150 mg new users (-1.1% [-3.1 to 0.7]). Consistent results were obtained when considering both switches between OAC classes and death as competing risks of treatment discontinuation. CONCLUSION: Results from this nationwide cohort study showed high non-persistence levels with all OACs and suggest that persistence with both dabigatran and rivaroxaban therapy is not better than persistence with VKA therapy. Hospitalizations for bleeding among non-persistent patients were unlikely to explain these high non-persistence rates.

Adherence with direct oral anticoagulants in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation new users and associated factors: a French nationwide cohort study.

PURPOSE: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been promoted in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (nv-AF) as a more convenient alternative to vitamin K antagonists. We estimated 1-year dabigatran and rivaroxaban adherence rates in nv-AF patients and assessed associations between baseline patient characteristics and nonadherence. METHODS: This cohort study included OAC-naive nv-AF patients with no contraindications to OAC, who initiated dabigatran and rivaroxaban, using nationwide data from French national health care databases. One-year adherence was defined by the proportion of days covered of 80% or more over a fixed 1-year period after treatment initiation. Associations between nonadherence and baseline patient characteristics were assessed using multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: The population was composed of 11 141 dabigatran (women: 48%; mean age: 74 ± 10.7 y; ≥80 y: 34.9%) and 11 126 rivaroxaban (46.5%; 74 ± 10.9 y; 34.8%) new users. One-year adherence was 53.3% in dabigatran-treated and 59.9% in rivaroxaban-treated patients, consistent with numerous subgroup analyses. A switch to vitamin K antagonist was observed in 14.5% of dabigatran and 11.7% of rivaroxaban patients; 10.2% and 5.9% of patients switched to another DOAC, respectively; and 4.3% of patients died in the 2 cohorts. In patients who did not die or switch during the follow-up, 1-year adherence was 69.6% in dabigatran-treated and 72.3% in rivaroxaban-treated patients. Having concomitant ischemic heart diseases was associated with an increased risk of nonadherence in the 2 cohorts. CONCLUSION: In this real-life study, 1-year adherence to DOAC is poor in nv-AF new users. Despite the introduction of DOAC, adherence to OACs may remain a significant challenge in AF patients.

Early Psychological Preventive Intervention For Workplace Violence: A Randomized Controlled Explorative and Comparative Study Between EMDR-Recent Event and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.

This randomized controlled trial study aims to investigate the efficacy of an early psychological intervention called EMDR-RE compared to Critical Incident Stress Debriefing on 60 victims of workplace violence, which were divided into three groups: 'EMDR-RE' (n = 19), 'CISD' (n = 23), and 'delayed EMDR-RE' (n = 18). EMDR-RE and CISD took place 48 hours after the event, whilst third intervention was delayed by an additional 48 hours. Results showed that after 3 months PCLS and SUDS scores were significantly lower with EMDR-RE and delayed EMDR-RE compared to CISD. After 48 hours and 3 months, none of the EMDR-RE-treated victims showed PTSD symptoms.

[Use in France of Baclofen for Alcohol Dependence from 2007 to 2013: Cohort Study Based on the Databases SNIIRAM and PMSI]. / Utilisation en France du baclofène dans l'alcoolodépendance de 2007 à 2013 : étude à partir du SNIIRAM et du PMSI.

AIM: To quantify and describe the population starting treatment with baclofen for alcohol dependence during the period 2007-2013 in France. METHODS: The French national health insurance (système national d'information inter-régimes de l'Assurance maladie [SNIIRAM]) and French hospital discharge (programme de médicalisation des systèmes d'information [PMSI]) databases were used to identify the population starting treatment with baclofen, determine the algorithm of baclofen use, define patient characteristics and their treatment. RESULTS: About 200,000 subjects initiated baclofen therapy between 2007 and 2013, for alcohol dependence in 52.0% of cases. In 2013, this population was predominantly male (62.3%), with a mean age of 50.1 years, the first prescriber was a general practitioner in 58.9% of cases, they continued their treatment 6 months after their initiation in 48.8% of cases and one half of these subjects consumed at least 57.0 mg of baclofen daily. CONCLUSIONS: The use of baclofen for alcohol dependence increased considerably since 2008, with more than 34,000 new users and more than 9,000 general practitioners as first prescribers in 2013.

Comparison of the short-term risk of bleeding and arterial thromboembolic events in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients newly treated with dabigatran or rivaroxaban versus vitamin K antagonists: a French nationwide propensity-matched cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The safety and effectiveness of non-vitamin K antagonist (VKA) oral anticoagulants, dabigatran or rivaroxaban, were compared with VKA in anticoagulant-naive patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation during the early phase of anticoagulant therapy. METHODS AND RESULTS: With the use of the French medico-administrative databases (SNIIRAM and PMSI), this nationwide cohort study included patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who initiated dabigatran or rivaroxaban between July and November 2012 or VKA between July and November 2011. Patients presenting a contraindication to oral anticoagulants were excluded. Dabigatran and rivaroxaban new users were matched to VKA new users by the use of 1:2 matching on the propensity score. Patients were followed for up to 90 days until outcome, death, loss to follow-up, or December 31 of the inclusion year. Hazard ratios of hospitalizations for bleeding and arterial thromboembolic events were estimated in an intent-to-treat analysis using Cox regression models. The population was composed of 19 713 VKA, 8443 dabigatran, and 4651 rivaroxaban new users. All dabigatran- and rivaroxaban-treated patients were matched to 16 014 and 9301 VKA-treated patients, respectively. Among dabigatran-, rivaroxaban-, and their VKA-matched-treated patients, 55 and 122 and 31 and 68 bleeding events and 33 and 58 and 12 and 28 arterial thromboembolic events were observed during follow-up, respectively. After matching, no statistically significant difference in bleeding (hazard ratio, 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-1.21) or thromboembolic (hazard ratio, 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-1.69) risk was observed between dabigatran and VKA new users. Bleeding (hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-1.51) and ischemic (hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.47-1.85) risks were comparable between rivaroxaban and VKA new users. CONCLUSIONS: In this propensity-matched cohort study, our findings suggest that physicians should exercise caution when initiating either non-VKA oral anticoagulants or VKA in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

Homeopathy in France in 2011-2012 according to reimbursements in the French national health insurance database (SNIIRAM).

BACKGROUND: The use of homeopathic medicine is poorly described and the frequency of combined allopathic and homeopathic prescriptions is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To analyse data on medicines, prescribers and patients for homeopathic prescriptions that are reimbursed by French national health insurance. METHODS: The French national health insurance databases (SNIIRAM) were used to analyse prescriptions of reimbursed homeopathic drugs or preparations in the overall French population, during the period July 2011-June 2012. RESULTS: A total of 6,705,420 patients received at least one reimbursement for a homeopathic preparation during the 12-month period, i.e. 10.2% of the overall population, with a predominance in females (68%) and a peak frequency observed in children aged 0-4 years (18%). About one third of patients had only one reimbursement, and one half of patients had three or more reimbursements. A total of 120,110 healthcare professionals (HCPs) prescribed at least one homeopathic drug or preparation. They represented 43.5% of the overall population of HCPs, nearly 95% of general practitioners, dermatologists and pediatricians, and 75% of midwives. Homeopathy accounted for 5% of the total number of drug units prescribed by HCPs. Allopathic medicines were coprescribed with 55% of homeopathic prescriptions. CONCLUSION: Many HCPs occasionally prescribe reimbursed homeopathic preparations, representing however a small percentage of reimbursements compared to allopathic medicines. About 10% of the French population, particularly young children and women, received at least one homeopathic preparation during the year. In more than one half of cases, reimbursed homeopathic preparations are prescribed in combination with allopathic medicines.

Two-year outcome of patients after a first hospitalization for heart failure: A national observational study.

BACKGROUND: National population-based management and outcome data for patients of all ages hospitalized for heart failure have rarely been reported. AIM: National population-based management and outcome of patients of all ages hospitalized for heart failure have rarely been reported. The present study reports these results, based on 77% of the French population, for patients hospitalized for the first time for heart failure in 2009. METHODS: The study population comprised French national health insurance general scheme beneficiaries hospitalized in 2009 with a principal diagnosis of heart failure, after exclusion of those hospitalized for heart failure between 2006 and 2008 or with a chronic disease status for heart failure. Data were collected from the national health insurance information system (SNIIRAM). RESULTS: A total of 69,958 patients (mean age, 78 years; 48% men) were studied. The hospital mortality rate was 6.4%, with 1-month, 1-year and 2-year survival rates of 89%, 71% and 60%, respectively. Heart failure and all-cause readmission-free rates were 55% and 43% at 1 year and 27% and 17% at 2 years, respectively. Compared with a reference sample of 600,000 subjects, the age- and sex-standardized relative risk of death was 29 (95% confidence interval [CI] 28-29) at 2 years, 82 (95% CI 72-94) in subjects aged<50 years and 3 (95% CI 3-3) in subjects aged ≥ 90 years. For subjects aged < 70 years who survived 1 month after discharge, factors associated with a reduction in the 2-year mortality rate were: female sex; age < 55 years; absence of co-morbidities; and use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers, lipid-lowering agents or oral anticoagulants during the month following discharge. Poor prognostic factors were treatment with a loop diuretic before or after hospitalization and readmission for heart failure within 1 month after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: This large population-based study confirms the severe prognosis of heart failure and the need to promote the use of effective medications and management designed to improve survival.