Facial fractures in post-revolution Tunisia as violence indicator: About 476 cases.

INTRODUCTION: On January 2011, Tunisia had known a revolution. To move from dictatorship to democraty project, the country suddenly fell into political instability, which was accompanied by a wave of social violence. Traumatology, and, particularly, maxilla-facial traumatology, is usually a reliable indicator of the degree of violence. AIM: The aim of this study was to establish the epidemiological profile of facial fractures during the various phases of political transition through which Tunisia has passed since revolution (2012-2016). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among all patients with facial fractures admitted to the department of Oral and Maxillo facial Surgery of University Hospital of Sahloul during five years (2012-2016). Fractures diagnosed late at the sequelae stage were excluded. Data of patients were recorded according to medical files, including cause of injury, age and gender, injury mechanisms and type of facial fracture. RESULTS: During the period of the study, a total of 476 patients were identified, with a sex-ratio of 7.2 to 1, patients ranged in age from 1 year to 76-years-old with a mean age of 27 years. Assaults were the most common cause of injury (39.1%). Mandible was fractured in 257 cases (54.2%) followed by zygoma (116 cases, 24.4%), nasal bone (99 cases, 20.8%) and Orbital walls (98 cases, 20.6%). DISCUSSION: The epidemiological profile of facial fractures in Tunisia has been changed since 2011. Facial fractures occur mainly after assaults, which are an indicator of increased social violence accompanying political instability present in our country.

Management of abdominal emergencies in adults using telemedicine and artificial intelligence.

The terms "telemedicine" and "artificial intelligence" (AI) are used today throughout all fields of medicine, with varying degrees of relevance. If telemedicine corresponds to practices currently being developed to supply a high quality response to medical provider shortages in the general provision of healthcare and to specific regional challenges. Through the possibilities of "scalability" and the "augmented physician" that it has helped to create, AI may also constitute a revolution in our practices. In the management of surgical emergencies, abdominal pain is one of the most frequent complaints of patients who present for emergency consultation, and up to 20% of patients prove to have an organic lesion that will require surgical management. In view of the very large number of patients concerned, the variety of clinical presentations, the potential seriousness of the etiological pathology that sometimes involves a life-threatening prognosis, healthcare workers responsible for these patients have logically been led to regularly rely on imaging examinations, which remain the critical key to subsequent management. Therefore, it is not surprising that articles have been published in recent years concerning the potential contributions of telemedicine (and teleradiology) to the diagnostic management of these patients, and also concerning the contribution of AI (albeit still in its infancy) to aid in diagnosis and treatment, including surgery. This review article presents the existing data and proposes a collaborative vision of an optimized patient pathway, giving medical meaning to the use of these tools.

[Prevalence of and factors associated with smoking among students in Sousse, Tunisia]

Dans le cadre de la lutte contre le tabac auprès des jeunes, une étude descriptive transversale a été menée en 2013 afin d'estimer la prévalence du tabagisme et d'identifier les facteurs qui lui sont associés parmi les étudiants de la ville de Sousse. Un questionnaire a été administré auprès d'un échantillon représentatif de556 étudiants inscrits dans cinq établissements universitaires à Sousse tirés au hasard. L'âge des répondants variait entre 17 et 35 ans. La prévalence de la consommation de tabac durant les 12 derniers mois était de 22,1 % et la consommation durant les trois derniers mois était de 65,3 %. L'âge moyen de début de consommation tabagique était de 17 ans. La prévalence tabagique augmente significativement avec le sexe masculin (p<0,001) et l'âge supérieur à 25 ans (p =0,002). Les étudiants de deux institutions universitaires consommaient plus detabac que leurs collègues des autres facultés (p=0,027). La forte prévalence du tabagisme chez les étudiants fait de la prévention une mesure indispensable qui passe essentiellement par le renforcement de l'estime de soi et l'évaluation des programmes d'intervention mis en oeuvre avant la consommation de la première cigarette.

Within the framework of the fight against tobacco among young people, we conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in 2013 to estimate the prevalence of smoking and to identify associated factors among students in Sousse. A questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of 556 students in 5 academic institutions in Sousse randomly drawn. The age of the participants was between 17 and 35 years. The prevalence of tobacco consumption in the past 12 months was 22.1% and consumption during the past 3 months was 65.3%.The average age of starting smoking was 17 years. Smoking prevalence was significantly higher for males (P < 0.001) and those aged over 25 years (P = 0.002). Students from 2 of the institutions were using more tobacco than their colleagues in the other institutions (P = 0.027). The high prevalence of smoking found among the students means that prevention measures are essential; this requires increasing self-esteem and evaluating intervention programmes implemented before smoking the first cigarette.

[Adrenal vein thrombosis during pregnancy]. / Thrombose veineuse surrénalienne en cours de grossesse.

Pregnancy represents an inner transitional prothrombotic state; that is why other coagulation abnormalities may be revealed during this time. Factor V Leiden mutation is the most frequent inherited thrombophilia in the general population. We report the case of a patient by whom this mutation has been revealed during pregnancy by an adrenal vein thrombosis. Through this case, we will review the physiopathology of resistance to activated protein C and its consequences.

[Posterior reversible encephalopathy related to tacrolimus in a liver transplanted HIV patient]. / Encéphalopathie postérieure réversible liée au tacrolimus chez un patient transplanté hépatique infecté par le VIH.

Tacrolimus-related posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy (PRLE) is a rare complication which should be recognized by clinicians who regularly use immunosuppressive therapy. We report the case of an HIV-positive, hepatitis C-positive liver transplant patient who presented with this complication. Immunosuppression with tacrolimus was started after postsurgery. On the 20th day, the patient suffered two tonic-clonic convulsive attacks against a background of hypertension. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging and lumbar puncture led to diagnosis of tacrolimus-related PRLE after eliminating other possible diagnoses. Therapeutic management consisted of withdrawing tacrolimus and initiating treatment with antiepileptogenic and antihypertensive drugs, supplemented with magnesium sulphate. The symptoms regressed in the days following withdrawal of tacrolimus and the majority of lesions on magnetic resonance imaging disappeared within two weeks. The aim of which should be to identify patients at risk of developing this complication. This would enable targeted prevention involving magnesium supplementation, strict control of blood pressure and serial monitoring of tacrolimus blood concentrations.

[MR detection of local prostate cancer recurrence after transrectal high-intensity focused US treatment: preliminary results]. / Détection par IRM des récidives locales du cancer de prostate après traitement par ultrasons focalisés de haute intensité (HIFU) transrectaux: étude préliminaire.

PURPOSE: To assess T2W and dynamic: contrast-enhanced (DCE) MR imaging in the detection of local tumor recurrence after transrectal high-intensity focused US (HIFU) treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients treated by HIFU for prostate cancer were referred for MR due to biological evidence of tumor recurrence. Axial, sagittal and coronal T2W images and DCE images (12 3-mm thick axial images, temporal resolution: 15 seconds) were obtained first. Transrectal biopsies were then obtained under US guidance. MR findings were compared to biopsy results for 10 prostate sectors. RESULTS: Biopsies demonstrated tumor recurrence in 13/15 patients (23/108 sectors). On T2W images, the treated prostate tissue was diffusely hypointense which interfered with interpretation. Three patients (5 sectors) had suspicious areas of T2W signal abnormality and 15 patients (29 sectors) had suspicious areas on DCE scans. An analysis per sector for T2W and DCE imaging showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values respectively of 0.13, 0.98, 0.6 and 0.81 and 0.70, 0.85, 0.55 and 0.91. DCE MR was strongly predictive of positive biopsy results (Odds ratio: 12.8 (95% confidence interval: 4.4-37.3)) whereas T2W imaging was not (Odds ratio: 4.0 (95% confidence interval: 0.5-30)). CONCLUSION: MR, especially DCE MR, is promising for the detection and localization of local prostate cancer recurrence after transrectal HIFU treatment.

[Tracheal rupture after orotracheal intubation in intensive care]. / Rupture trachéale après intubation orotrachéale en réanimation.

We report a case of an iatrogenic tracheal rupture following an endotracheal intubation. The 78-year-old patient was admitted to the intensive care unit because of an acute respiratory failure related to a severe nosocomial pneumonia occurring 21 days after an abdominal aorta surgery. His main antecedent was a cigarette smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Immediately after being intubated, a traumatic tracheobronchial rupture was suspected because of the sudden appearance of cervicothoracic subcutaneous emphysema. A thoracic computed tomography with multiplanar reformations confirmed the diagnosis and the evolution was unfortunately rapidly unfavourable. Risk factors, clinical and radiological aspects, and management of this rare but serious complication of endotracheal intubation will be discussed.

[Gastric trichobezoar in an adolescent presenting with anemia: ultrasound and MRI findings]. / Trichobézoard gastrique révélé par une anémie chez une adolescente: association échographie--imagerie par résonance magnétique (IRM).

Trichobezoars are rare and composed of ingested hair or fibers. Diagnosis is usually made by plain radiographs and barium meal. The usefulness of computed tomography has been reported in the preoperative period. In the pediatric population the authors propose, based on a recent case report, a non invasive and non irradiating protocol using sonography and T1W and T2W MR imaging.

Synthesis of norbornanepentols: analogues of inositols.

The synthesis of endo-5,6-exo-2,3-syn-7-norbornanepentol (5), endo-5-exo-2,3,6-syn-7-norbornanepentol (14), and 7-exo-2,3,5,6-norbornanepentol (16) are described. cis-Hydroxylation of 7-tert-butoxynorbornadiene (1) gave the exo-diol 2, endo-diol 3, and tetrol 4. The latter was deprotected to give pentol 5. Oxidation of alkene 6 afforded diacid 7 and two minor products: the exo-diol 8 and alpha-hydroxyketone 9. cis-Hydroxylation of 6 gave the endo- and exo-diols 10 and 8. Acetalation of 8 furnished the bis(dioxolane) 11. Reduction of ketone 9 gave the trans-diol 12. Deblocking of 8 and 12 led the tetrol 15 or pentols 16 and 14. The structure of tetrol 4 was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Compounds 4, 5 and 16 were devoid of antitumor or antiviral activity.