[Memory boxes in the neonatal period: caregivers' opinions after 1 year of practice]. / Coffrets de souvenirs en réanimation néonatale et pédiatrique : ressenti des soignants un an après leur mise en place.

UNLABELLED: Perinatal death is a profound experience for childbearing families and mementoes are key to providing essential records of the baby's life and death. The aim of this observational study was to evaluate the caregiver's feelings on 1 year of using memory boxes in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care center. METHOD: Anonymous survey containing 14 questions. RESULTS: During the study period, a memory box was made for 31 neonates (24 preterm and 7 term infants) and 4 infants. Thirty-nine (54%; 32/62 nurses; 7/12 physicians) answers were obtained. Caregivers considered that memory boxes: i) were appropriate for death in the neonatal period (80-92%) or for infants who had never returned home (80%), ii) helped parents in their grieving process (77%), and iii) helped caregivers to support parents respecting their spirituality and emotional needs (62%). Some restrictions were mentioned such as the symbolic impact of the box mimicking a coffin and the modeling clay used for footprints recalling children's toys (10%) and the possibility of hurting parents in their religious convictions (18%) or feelings (20%). For the majority of the caregivers, memory boxes were considered helpful for families (82%); a few thought they were helpful for the ICU team (26%). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study describing caregivers' opinions about the memory box practices. Memory boxes are considered helpful for bereaved parents, especially in the neonatal period, but are of little help to the caregivers.

US of the upper abdomen: factors influencing image quality.

A controlled blind study of 226 patients was performed to determine the advantages of fasting prior to upper abdominal ultrasonography (US) as well as the influence of other factors on image quality. The ratio of weight to height (a reflection of body build) was found to most often correlate negatively with image quality for all organs, followed by age for the biliary tract, pancreas, and kidneys and sex (in males) for the pancreas. Only the biliary tract was shown slightly better as the result of fasting. Images obtained during the afternoon tended to be somewhat better. The authors conclude that upper abdominal US can be performed at any time in patients who have not fasted, as it is primarily other factors that determine image quality. Only if evaluation of the biliary tract is inconclusive need the patient be reexamined after fasting.

[Ischemic colitis in Reiter syndrome]. / Ischämische Kolitis bei Reiter-Syndrom.

Involvement of visceral organs is a recognized condition of Reiter's Syndrome. To our knowledge, however, involvement of the colon, as it is seen in other rheumatoid-like processes mostly caused by vasculitis, has not been described before. We present the case of a patient with incomplete Reiter's Syndrome with arthritis, circinate balanitis and psoriasilike lesions of skin and nails who developed ischemic colitis. Angiographic features point to vasculitis as a potential cause, although this could not be proved. It is possible but, as we believe, unlikely that simultaneously administered steroid treatment may have contributed to the development of the lesions.