Vitiligo Treatment Impact score (VITs): development and validation of a vitiligo burden of treatment questionnaire using the ComPaRe Vitiligo e-cohort.

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo management is challenging and requires long-term adherence of patients who often complain of the burden associated with treatment. OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a patient reported measurement of the burden of treatment in vitiligo. METHODS: The study was nested within the ComPaRe Vitiligo e-cohort, an online e-cohort of vitiligo patients in France. Items were derived from a literature review and from the qualitative analysis of a survey using open-ended questions of 204 patients with Vitiligo. Construct validity of the resulting instrument was assessed by comparing the instrument's score to the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Vitiligo Impact Patient score (VIPs) and Treatment Burden Questionnaire (TBQ) scores. Reliability was assessed by test-retest with 15 ± 10 days of interval between both assessments. RESULTS: In total, 343 adult participants participated in the validation of the Vitiligo Treatment Impact score (VITs). The VITs is a 19-item questionnaire assessing the burden of treatment in patients with vitiligo with results suggesting four domains ('Finding a doctor', 'Phototherapy', 'Topical treatment' and 'Impact on outdoor activities and photoprotection'). The VITs total score was well correlated with the DLQI, VIP and TBQ scores. Agreement between test and retest was good (ICC 0.705, 95% CI 0.491-0.818). CONCLUSIONS: We developed a patient reported measurement of the burden of treatment in vitiligo with good psychometric properties.

Variations in Postpartum Hemorrhage Management among Midwives: A National Vignette-Based Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess variations in adherence to guidelines for management of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) among midwives. METHODS: A multicentre vignette-based study was e-mailed to a random sample of midwives from 145 maternity units in France. They were asked to describe how they would manage the PPH described in 2 case-vignettes. These previously validated case-vignettes described 2 different scenarios for severe PPH. Vignette 1 described a typical immediate, severe PPH and vignette 2 a less typical case of severe but gradual PPH. They were constructed in 3 successive steps and included multiple-choice questions proposing several types of clinical practice options at each step. An expert consensus defined 14 criteria for assessing adherence to guidelines issued by the French College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 2004 in the midwives' responses. We analyzed the number of errors among the 14 criteria to quantify the level of adherence. RESULTS: We obtained 450 complete responses from midwives from 87 maternity units. The rate of complete adherence (no error for any of the 14 criteria) was low: 25.1% in vignette 1 and 4.2% in vignette 2. The error rate was higher for pharmacological management, especially oxytocin use, than for non-pharmacological management and communication-monitoring-investigation. Adherence to guidelines varied substantially between and within maternity units, as well as between the vignettes for the same midwives. CONCLUSION: Reponses to case-vignettes demonstrated substantial variations in PPH management and especially individual variations in adherence to guidelines. Midwives should participate in continuous and individualized training.

Staff and Institutional Factors Associated with Substandard Care in the Management of Postpartum Hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: to identify staff and institutional factors associated with substandard care by midwives managing postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). METHODS: A multicenter vignette-based study was e-mailed to a random sample of midwives at 145 French maternity units that belonged to 15 randomly selected perinatal networks. Midwives were asked to describe how they would manage two case-vignettes about PPH and to complete a short questionnaire about their individual (e.g., age, experience, and full- vs. part-time practice) and institutional (private or public status and level of care) characteristics. These previously validated case-vignettes described two different scenarios: vignette 1, a typical immediate, severe PPH, and vignette 2, a severe but gradual hemorrhage. Experts consensually defined 14 criteria to judge adherence to guidelines. The number of errors (possible range: 0 to 14) for the 14 criteria quantified PPH guideline adherence, separately for each vignette. RESULTS: 450 midwives from 87 maternity units provided complete responses. Perfect adherence (no error for any of the 14 criteria) was low: 25.1% for vignette 1 and 4.2% for vignette 2. After multivariate analysis, midwives' age remained significantly associated with a greater risk of error in guideline adherence in both vignettes (IRR 1.19 [1.09; 1.29] for vignette 1, and IRR 1.11 [1.05; 1.18] for vignette 2), and the practice of mortality and morbidity reviews in the unit with a lower risk (IRR 0.80 [0.64; 0.99], IRR 0.78 [0.66; 0.93] respectively). Risk-taking scores (IRR 1.41 [1.19; 1.67]) and full-time practice (IRR 0.83 [0.71; 0.97]) were significantly associated with adherence only in vignette 1. CONCLUSIONS: Both staff and institutional factors may be associated with substandard care in midwives' PPH management.

Changes in airway inflammation following nasal allergic challenge in patients with seasonal rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: Seasonal allergic rhinitis could predispose to the development of chronic bronchial inflammation as observed in asthma. However, direct links between nasal inflammation, bronchial inflammation and airway responsiveness in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis and without asthma are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to analyse the changes induced by allergic nasal challenge outside the pollen season in airway responsiveness and bronchial inflammation of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. METHODS: Nine patients were evaluated after either grass pollens or placebo nasal challenge in a randomized cross-over double-blinded trial. Nasal parameters were recorded hourly and airway responsiveness was assessed by methacholine challenge. Cytological examinations and cytokine measurements were performed in nasal lavage and induced sputum. Eosinophil activation was investigated by eosinophil-cationic protein expression and secretion. RESULTS: Airway responsiveness was increased after allergic nasal challenge. Total eosinophils and eosinophils expressing eosinophil-cationic protein were increased in induced sputum after allergic nasal challenge. Both eosinophil number and eosinophil-cationic protein concentration in induced sputum were correlated to methacholine responsiveness. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that eosinophils participate to the bronchial inflammation in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis following allergic nasal challenge outside the pollen season and might explain changes in airway responsiveness.

Bone densitometry in patients with multiple myeloma.

PURPOSE, PATIENTS, AND METHODS: We performed dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in 10 selected patients with aggressive multiple myeloma in whom substantial tumor mass reduction was achieved after high-dose chemoradiotherapy followed by autologous blood stem cell transplantation. RESULTS: In most cases, bone mineral density (BMD) of the spine was initially low (Mean Z score: -2.69, SEM 0.76) and dramatically increased after treatment (mean increase 16.4%; 7.7% with 95% confidence interval 2.2 to 12.2, excluding one patient whose spine BMD increased by 94.8%). In contrast, skeletal roentgenograms, computed tomographic scans, and magnetic resonance imaging did not reveal any significant improvement of patients' bone lesions. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with multiple myeloma, bone densitometry could be a useful way to assess the efficacy of treatment on bone status.