Les médicaments qui interfèrent avec les bilans biologiques : revue de la littérature.

BACKGROUND: Biological assessment is an integral part of the diagnostic process that guides therapeutic management decisions. However, these analyses remain subject to interference from endogenous or exogenous factors, which may alter the results. OBJECTIVE: To provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the most commonly documented types of interference attributable to medications, to ensure reliable interpretation of test results and better management of patients. DATA SOURCES: This comprehensive systematic review of the literature was carried out in 2018. The bibliographic search was carried out in various online databases, specifically PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. STUDY SELECTION: Only publications in French or English concerning medicinal products for human use were retained. The investigators' examination of drug-related interference with laboratory tests was limited to blood assays (serum or plasma). DATA EXTRACTION: An Excel spreadsheet was used to analyze the results. A total of 82 articles were selected. The interferences studied affected 47 biological parameters corresponding to various types of assessment: hormonal, hepatic, and renal. DATA SYNTHESIS: The mechanisms reported in the literature identified were analytical (56.9%), physiological (17.82%), and pharmacological (20.11%). The remainder of the mechanisms (5.17%) were not defined. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should be vigilant in validating and interpreting laboratory test results for patients receiving these types of drugs. Dialogue between clinicians and biological scientists is the best way to avoid unnecessary additional testing, which is often cumbersome and costly.

[Pain management in cancer patients in a Tunisian hospital]. / La gestion de la douleur chez les patients atteints du cancer dans un hôpital tunisien.

Pain is a common symptom in cancer patients. It is subjective and difficult to communicate. It continues to be outsourced and often overlooked despite the existence of multiple recommendations. The objective of this study is to describe pain management in cancer patients in a Tunisian hospital. This is a prospective study, conducted over one month at the maternity centre of Monastir by an intern in pharmacy using a questionnaire. Of 128 patients assessed, 50 were algic. Twenty-six percent of algic patients were not treated. The neuropathic component of pain was present in 30 % of cases but under treatment. Relief opioids were prescribed in 43 % of cases to relieve pain. Paracetamol was prescribed in 26 % of cases. Ten percent of patients use paracetamol self-medication. Sixteen percent of patients have tried non-pharmacological means, of which 62 % consume plants. To optimise the management of pain at our centre, the available analgesic sheets have been developed, validated by the medical staff and disseminated in the departments of carcinology and oncohematology. Therapeutic education sessions were also scheduled to warn patients about the risks of self-medication and misuse of medicinal plants. Pain management is complex. It requires respect for international recommendations, but especially for the efforts made by all stakeholders.

Factors Predictive of Quality of Life among Breast Cancer Patients

Background: Due to progress in medical care, the number of survivors from cancer has increased significantly during recent years and this raises the question of the quality of life (QoL), especially of the many women treated for a breast cancer. This paper focuses on correlations of QoL with anxiety and depression on the one hand and with socio demographic, anatomo-clinical and therapeutic parameters on the other. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, seventy patients were enrolled and filled in two auto-questionnaires, both in validated Arabic versions: The SF-36 for assessment of QoL and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD-S) for evaluation of anxiety and depression. The statistical approaches used to determine predictive factors were bivariate correlations to determine relationships between quantitative variables, and T-tests and one-way Anova to analyze links between qualitative and quantitative variables. Results: The QoL of patients was altered with an SF-36 mean total score of 54.0 ± 22.7, and the alteration affects the different aspects. The mean scores for anxiety and depression in patients were 6.91 ± 4.72 and 6.24 ± 3.88, respectively. The results of this study suggested an association between the QoL and chemotherapy (p= 0.014) and its adverse effects (p=0.01), as well as anxiety (p= 0.0001) and depressive symptoms (p= 0.0001). Socio-demographic factors, the stage of the cancer, and surgery, radiotherapy or hormone therapy did not appear to have significant effects. Conclusion: The management of breast cancer patients needs a collaborative approach between oncologists, gynecologists, psychologist and psychiatrists.

Bilateral ovarian serous borderline tumor with a giant non-invasive peritoneal implant in a four-year-old girl.

Epithelial ovarian tumors are uncommon before 20 years of age and rarely occur before puberty. The vast majority of these tumors are benign, and few cases of malignant and borderline tumors are described. We report a case of a 4-year-old premenarchal girl, previously healthy, who presented with two abdominal masses. Laboratory analysis of blood showed elevation of the serum level of the CA-125. Ultrasonographic examination disclosed bilateral cystic ovarian masses. Laparoscopic exploration revealed bilateral ovarian multicystic masses with retro-uterine peritoneal implant. Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with implant resection was performed. Histologic findings were consistent with a serous borderline tumors of both ovaries and the peritoneal implant was of the non-invasive type. There is no evidence of recurrence at 3-year follow-up. To our knowledge, there are only four cases of ovarian borderline tumors in premenarchal girls reported in the English literature: three of the mucinous type and only one of the serous type.

Efficacy and safety of six hourly vaginal misoprostol versus intracervical dinoprostone: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and safety of intravaginal misoprostol versus dinoprostone cervical gel for cervical ripening and labour induction. METHODS: We carried out an experimental clinical trial in which we enrolled 130 cervical consecutive patients with cervical ripening, randomly assigned to one of the following two treatment groups: (1) intravaginal misoprostol and (2) intracervical dinoprostone gel. A total of 50 microm of misoprostol was placed in the posterior vaginal fornix every 6 h for a maximum period of 24 h and 0.5 mg of dinoprostone was administrated in the uterine cervix every 6 h, for a maximum period of 24 h. The primary outcome measure was the number (rate) of women who went to vaginally deliver within 24 h of the protocol initiation. RESULTS: Among 130 patients evaluated, 65 were allocated to the misoprostol group and 65 to the dinoprostone group. The proportion of vaginal delivery within 24 h was significantly higher in the misoprostol group (75%) than in the dinoprostone group (53.8%) (RR = 1.40, 95% CI [1.07-1.45], P = 0.02). There was no significant difference between the mean time interval of delivery in the misoprostol group and the dinoprostone group (14.9 vs.15.8 h) (P = 0.51). The Bishop score was significantly higher in the misoprostol group, 6 h after the onset of the study (1.38; relative risk, 95% CI [1.02-1.85], P = 0.03). The Caesarean delivery rate for fetal distress was higher in the dinoprostone group (21 vs. 10.8%, P = 0.15). The tachysystole (Misoprostol 6.1% vs. dinoprostone 4.6%, relative risk 1.15, 95% CI [0.6-2.24]) and hyperstimulation syndrome rates (Misoprostol 7.6% vs. dinoprostone 4.6%, relative risk 1.26, 95% CI [0.72-2.24]) were slightly increased in the misoprostol group than in the dinoprostone group without reaching the level of statistical signification. CONCLUSION: Misoprostol as used in this protocol is more effective than cervical dinoprostone gel application in the cervical ripening and labour induction. There is a tendency for an increase in the rate of tachysystole and hyperstimulation syndrome.