[Asylum, health and discrimination: words matter]. / Asile, santé et discrimination†: attention aux mots.

Our medical practice brings us to meet people from all walks of life. Some of our patients experience multiple vulnerabilities and are at greater risk of stigma and discrimination. In the field of asylum, they are often firstly designated by words reflecting their socio-administrative reality. These words are supposed to define their identity. The individual is dehumanized because reduced to an administrative status. These terms carry a denotative meaning, valuable in understanding the context in which the patient evolves ; but also a connotative meaning, which through implicit bias leads the caregiver to adopt attitudes that may be detrimental to the proper care of the patient. Words must be carefully chosen and brought in a timely manner, because words matter.

Notre pratique médicale nous amène à rencontrer des personnes de tout horizon. Certains de nos patients vivent des situations de vulnérabilités multiples et sont plus à risque de subir stigmatisations et discriminations. Dans le domaine de l'asile, ils sont souvent premièrement désignés par des mots traduisant leur réalité socio-administrative. Ces mots sont sensés définir leur identité. L'individu est déshumanisé car réduit à un statut administratif. Ces termes sont porteurs d'un sens dénotatif, précieux dans la compréhension du contexte dans lequel évolue le patient ; mais aussi d'un sens connotatif, qui par biais implicite amène le soignant à adopter des attitudes pouvant être préjudiciables à une prise en charge adéquate du patient. Les mots doivent être choisis avec soin et amenés de manière opportune, car les mots comptent.

[Abiotrophia defectiva: an unusual cause of endocarditis]. / Endocardite à germe inhabituel: Abiotrophia defective.

This article reports one of the rare cases of Abiotrophia defectiva endocarditis with no underlying valvular condition. A sixty-three years old man was hospitalized because of complicated respiratory sepsis with acute heart failure. Hemocultures and echocardiogram enabled the diagnosis of A. defectiva endocarditis. The clinical course was favorable under combined aminoglycoside and cephalosporin. The patient ultimately required valvular replacement. A. defectiva is a micro-organism part of the Nutritionnaly Variant Streptococci (NVS) associated with a high mortality rate and often resistant to antibiotics. Although A. defectiva is a rare cause of endocarditis, prompt recognition and appropriate antibiotic treatment are essential to clinical course.