[Sudden death in adults : Data from 305 consecutive autopsy cases in Algeria]. / Mort subite de l'adulte : données de 305 cas d'autopsies consécutives en Algérie.

BACKGROUND-AIMS: Sudden death in a young adult who showed no prodrome or complaint during his lifetime is a tragedy. The death often remains unexplained by doctors and is often the subject of a judicial investigation following which an autopsy is ordered. Our study joins several studies around the world, where the results have linked sudden death in adults to a cardiac origin. METHODS: Through a series of 305 autopsies carried out in the forensic medicine department of the Frantz Fanon hospital in the city of Bejaia in Algeria over a period of two years, 57 cases corresponded to unexplained sudden deaths, i.e. an incidence of 3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year. RESULTS: Sudden death was of cardiac origin in 50.8% of cases (N=28). Two epidemiologic profiles emerge in our study: the first is that of a man aged between 50 and 60 years of age, with several deleterious lifestyle habits (in particular smoking) with a cardiovascular history, previously followed by a cardiologist, who died suddenly out-of-hospital, from ischemic heart disease. The second is that of a young adult under 40 years of age, of average build, with no particular medical history, having not previously consulted a cardiologist, who died suddenly of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. CONCLUSIONS: In many instances, we observed major anatomical lesion, which had not motivated any prior medical consultation either with a general practitioner or with a cardiologist.

[Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment in young adults: Clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes]. / Décollement de rétine rhegmatogène chez l'adulte jeune : caractéristiques cliniques et résultats chirurgicaux.

PURPOSE: To report the causes, clinical features and surgical outcomes of retinal detachment (RD) in young adults. METHODS: Retrospective study of 111 eyes of 99 patients aged between 18 and 40 years, who underwent primary RD surgery between January 2011 and January 2019. All patients underwent either scleral buckling or pars plana vitrectomy. We analyzed the demographic data, characteristics of the RD, primary and final anatomic success rate and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at the conclusion of follow-up. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 30.3±6.5 years. RD was more frequent in males, with a gender ratio of 1.8. The breaks were atrophic round holes or retinal dialysis in 49 (44.2%) cases and were associated with posterior vitreous detachment in 62 (55.8%) cases. The main etiologies were high myopia (45.0%) and trauma (9.0%). Retinal reattachment was achieved in 74 (66.5%) eyes overall with a single procedure and in 108 (97.2%) eyes with two or more procedures. The primary success rates were 69.6% (46/66 eyes) with scleral buckling and 62.2% (28/45 eyes) with vitrectomy. High myopia was a risk factor for surgical failure (P<0.01). The mean BCVA improved from 0.71±0.64 logMAR to 0.41±0.35 logMAR (P<0.01) CONCLUSION: RD in young adults differs from that in older adults in clinical features and etiology. The main causes are trauma and high myopia. The anatomic outcomes appear less favorable, with a primary reattachment rate of 66.5%. However, the functional prognosis remains satisfactory with an improvement of 3 lines of visual acuity.

[ST elevation myocardial infarction in young adults: Is there an interest for thrombophilia screening?] / Syndrome coronarien aigu avec sus-décalage du segment ST chez les jeunes adultes : le bilan de thrombophilie a-t-il un intérêt ?

BACKGROUND: Coronary lesions characteristics as well as patient thrombogenicity can explain coronary events manifestation. In young patient, local conditions are usually less important and thrombogenicity could play a significant role. Assessing thrombophilia could be justified in young patients and may induce an adapted therapeutic management. PURPOSE: We aimed to assess the prevalence of thrombophilia and therapeutic modification in young adults aged≤55 years admitted in our department for ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: From January 2013 to January 2017, data on all patients aged≤55 years with STEMI admitted in emergency were retrospectively retrieved from our database. Thrombophilia investigation was made regarding clinical (with or without cardiovascular risk factors [CVRF]), biological and/or angiographic evaluation. RESULTS: A total of 133 patients aged≤55 years with STEMI were included. Cardiac arrest occurred in 15 patients (11%). One or less CVRF were found in 47 patients (35%). Smoking was reported in 93 patients (70%) and drug addiction (cannabis, cocaine) in 19 patients (14%). A subset of 51 patients (38%) were screened for thrombophilia. Patients with thrombophilia assessment were younger, less active smokers and presented less CVRF than patients without investigation (P<0.001). Single vessel diseased was found in 88 patients (66%). No differences regarding coronary procedural characteristic were found between the two groups. The most frequently encountered aetiology, found in 122 patients (92%), was de novo intra-arterial thrombosis related to atherosclerosis. In patients with thrombophilia assessment (n=51), one or more abnormal biological results was found in 22 patients (43%) and a therapeutic adjustment was made in 6 patients (12%). CONCLUSION: Thrombophilia screening in young STEMI adults showed an abnormality in 43% of cases. Antithrombotic treatment can be modified after its demonstration.

[Clinical Spectrum of Herpes Zoster in Lomé (Togo), and Factors Associated with HIV Infection]. / Zona en milieu hospitalier à Lomé (Togo) : profil et facteurs associés à l'infection VIH.

We have studied the epidemiological and clinical profile of herpes zoster in patients consulting at different hospitals in Lomé (Togo). This is a retrospective study of the records of the patient consulting for herpes zoster in the dermatology departments of these hospitals from 2009 to 2018. Of the 20,548 patients seen in the different departments, 254 (1.2%) had herpes zoster. The mean age of the patients was 41.6 ± 16 years, and the sex-ratio (M/F) was 0.81. Thirty-one (12.24%) patients were known to be HIVpositive and 105 (41.33%) agreed to be tested for HIV after admission. Thirty-five (33.3%) of these 105 patients were found to be HIV positive. Factors associated with HIV infection in 136 patients with the known HIV status were as follows: history of herpes zoster (P < 0.01, compared with the seronegatives), hemorrhagic lesions (P < 0.001), multimetameric location (P < 0.0001), and involvement of the cephalic extremity (P < 0.0001). Post-herpetic pain was observed in 32 (12.6%) patients.

Nous avons étudié le profil épidémiologique, clinique et thérapeutique du zona en milieu hospitalier à Lomé (Togo). Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective portant sur les dossiers des patients consultant pour un zona dans les services publics de dermatologie de 2009 à 2018. Parmi les 20 548 patients vus dans les différents services, 254 (1,24 %) ont consulté pour un zona. L'âge moyen des patients était de 41,6 ± 16 ans et le sex-ratio (M/F) de 0,81. Trente et un (12,2 %) patients étaient connus séropositifs pour le VIH et 105 (41,33 %) ont accepté de faire le test de dépistage du VIH. Le zona était révélateur de l'infection à VIH chez 35 (33,3 %) des 105 patients dépistés. Les facteurs associés à la séropositivité VIH chez les 136 patients testés pour le VIH étaient : un antécédent de zona (p < 0,01, comparé aux séronégatifs), l'aspect hémorragique des lésions (p < 0,001), le caractère multimétamérique de l'atteinte (p < 0,0001) et l'atteinte de l'extrémité céphalique (p < 0,0001). Une douleur postzostérienne était observée chez 32 (12,6 %) des patients.

[Sporadic kidney cancer of young subjects: Study of the clinical and pathological features of a bicentric cohort]. / Le cancer du rein sporadique du sujet jeune : étude des particularités cliniques et anatomopathologiques d'une cohorte bicentrique.

INTRODUCTION: The epidemiology of kidney cancer is evolving with a net increase in the incidence of renal tumors, globally, and in young people in particular. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence and clinical and pathological characteristics of sporadic renal tumors in young subjects and their risk factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study aimed at collecting clinical, epidemiological and anatomopathological information from the 118 patients aged 18 to 40 treated for a sporadic kidney tumor in two Parisian university hospital centers between 2003 and 2013. RESULTS: Our study showed a very significant increase in the incidence of renal tumors in our 11 years of decline (P=6.10-15). The mode of discovery also seems to have evolved with a majority of tumors (67 %), due to the considerable growth of imaging in recent decades. We also showed a different pathological distribution compared to the literature with a significant increase in the number of papillary tumors (16.9 %) and chromophobes (15.2 %), in addition to a decrease in the number of carcinomas (43.2 %) as well as the appearance of a new pathological entity of particular clinical severity: renal carcinoma related to translocation Xp11.2 (15.3 %) (P<10-5). Among the risk factors, hypertension seems to be a definite risk factor while tobacco and obesity do not have a significant influence. CONCLUSION: Our study showed a marked increase in the incidence of renal tumors with specific clinical and epidemiological features in a population of young subjects. The role and importance of oncogenetic management as well as the study of environmental factors could lead to the identification of new risk factors and corollary to their prevention. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.

[Treatment of partial articular fractures of the distal radius in active young adults]. / Traitement des fractures articulaires partielles de l'extrémité distale du radius du sujet jeune actif.

The wrist's function is at stake in young active adults with partial intra-articular fractures of the distal radius. The high energy nature of these injuries, displaced fractures with risk of malunion in case of insufficient treatment, and associated ligament or cartilage damage all hinder the prognosis of these fractures. Many classification systems exist to help us analyze and in some cases, select a treatment. Optimal management requires a high-quality preoperative assessment and a precise surgical technique coupled with the use of arthroscopy to deal with joint and ligament injuries in the same operation. Devices that address the fragmented nature of these fractures provide the best fixation. The primary treatment goal is reduction with less 1mm intra-articular step-off in order to reduce the risk of secondary osteoarthritis and to treat associated ligament damage, which is very common and often under-estimated. Treating the fracture and any associated lesions during the same operation is the best way to ensure a good functional outcome.

[Echographic diagnosis of systolic murmur among 280 young French militaries. Implications for the expertise in military medicine]. / Diagnostic échographique d'un souffle cardiaque systolique au sein d'une population de 280 jeunes militaires français. Implications en médecine d'expertise militaire.

UNLABELLED: Clinically discovering a systolic murmur is frequent among the young military population. When this murmur does not sound benign, a transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is made to detect any cardiopathy, which could cause sudden cardiac death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interest of systematic TTE in the assessment of any cardiac systolic murmur (CSM) among militaries. METHODS: We ran a retrospective monocentric study in the "Clermont-Tonnerre" military hospital in Brest. We included all patients sent for TEE, aged 15 to 30 years old, from the 1st January 2010 until the 31st July 2013. RESULTS: Two hundred and eighty TTES assessing CSM were performed. We found 28/280 (10%) echocardiographic abnormalities: 13 were bicuspid aortic valves (4.6%), 6 were ventricular septal defects (2.15%), 3 were atrial septal defects (1.07%), 4 were mild mitral regurgitations (1.43%), one mild pulmonary stenosis (0.35%) and one aortic stenosis (0.35%). No hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was found. Concerning military expertise, 11 (3.92%) patients among these 28 with abnormal TEE were considered unfit for work or "fit for work with limitations". CONCLUSION: Assessing a cardiac systolic murmur with TEE lead to the diagnosis of a cardiomyopathy in 10% of the case. This study enhances the importance of systematic TEE when a CSM is detected in the young military, in order to determine if those soldiers can still fulfill their military duty.

[Radiation therapy for pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid]. / Adénomes pléomorphes parotidiens récidivants : place de la radiothérapie.

Parotid pleomorphic adenoma is the most frequent tumor of salivary glands. The prognosis depends on the recurrences because they could lead to iatrogenic events (facial paralysis). Moreover the risk of malignant transformation increases with the number of local relapses. This article aims at reviewing histological and radiological criteria and the surgical techniques. To improve local control, adjuvant irradiation (in first intention or after recurrence) may be useful but is still controversial for benign tumors in young patients with a risk of radio-induced cancer. We listed studies in which adjuvant radiotherapy was used so as to define its place in the treatment strategy. Prognostic factors were found by some authors. Other studies have to be done before strong evidence-based recommendations are issued.