[Acute pericarditis in a sclerodermic patient at the 27th week of pregnancy]. / Péricardite aiguë chez une patiente sclérodermique survenue à la 27ème semaine de grossesse.

A 31-year-old women with a limited cutaneous form of systemic sclerosis (ISSc), developed chest pain at the 27th week of pregnancy, with electric pathognomonic signs of pericarditis. As there was no evidence of another etiology than ISSc, (oral) aspirin and (oral) prednisolone were successively administered and the patient's condition improved rapidly.

[Avian infectious bronchitis disease in Tunisia: seroprevalence, pathogenicity and compatibility studies of vaccine-field isolates]. / La bronchite infectieuse aviaire en Tunisie: séroprévalence, pathogénicité et étude de compatibilité vaccin-isolats.

A sero-epidemiological study was carried out on 5660 sera collected, between 2006 and 2008, from different flocks in different regions of the country. The ELISA results showed low levels of antibodies indicating vaccination failures. 45 to 69% of the flocks showed positive levels of antibodies and only 5 to 15% of these were protected. The pathogenicity studies of the Tunisian field isolates TN20/00 and TN335/01 demonstrated high clinical and lesion scores indicating the pathogenic effect of the two isolates. The challenge experiments conducted to evaluate the cross-protection between the H120 vaccine and the field isolates showed low protection rate, especially against the TN20/00 virus. The overall results allowed the determination of the pathogenic nature of the field isolates and a vaccination program based on the use of the only Massachusetts H120 strain did not reduce tracheal and kidney lesions. To better control the disease, adapting the vaccination program by using vaccine allowing better protection against variant strains, is recommended.

[Spontaneous coronary artery dissection on the 10th post-partum day: a case report]. / Dissection spontanée d'une artère coronaire au 10e jour post-partum: observation clinique.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare cause of myocardial infarction. It most commonly occurs in young women in the peri-partum period. The aetiology remains obscure. The authors describe the case of a 38 year old woman who suffered an inferior wall myocardial infarction on the 10th post-partum day. After failure of thrombolysis, coronary angiography showed dissection of the right coronary artery. An attempted angioplasty was unsuccessful and the patient was treated medically with a favourable clinical outcome. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection should be considered in all young patients without coronary risk factors presenting with acute myocardial ischaemia, especially young women in the peri-partum period. Emergency coronary angiography should be undertaken to establish the diagnosis and orientate appropriate treatment which may be medical, interventional or surgical.