Validation of the Patient-Oriented SCORing for Atopic Dermatitis tool for black skin.

BACKGROUND: SCORing for Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) is a tool developed by the European Task Force on Atopic Dermatitis (AD) which is used by physicians to assess AD severity during consultations with their patients. Patient-Oriented SCORAD (PO-SCORAD) is a self-assessment tool for use by patients which has been validated in a study performed in European countries. However, there is currently no adapted tool for evaluating AD severity in black skin. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of the version of the PO-SCORAD specifically adapted for black skin patients (children and adults) with AD. METHODS: In this multicenter, cross-sectional and non-interventional study, children and adults with AD were recruited during regular consultations. This international study was performed in seven sub-Saharan countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mali and Senegal). During the consultation, AD severity was assessed by the physician using SCORAD score and by the patients or parents using PO-SCORAD. RESULTS: One hundred and thirteen patients were included, 72 children and 41 adults, mainly females (61.6%). SCORAD assessed by physicians and PO-SCORAD assessed by patients/parents were well correlated (r = 0.66, P < 0.0001). Correlation coefficients for SCORAD and PO-SCORAD subscale scores were also good, except for symptom intensity criteria. CONCLUSION: Altogether, these data indicate that PO-SCORAD for black skin correlates well with SCORAD and is therefore a valuable tool, which requires no specific level of education, for use by black skin patients with AD.

Impact of a modified directly administered antiretroviral treatment intervention on virological outcome in HIV-infected patients treated in Burkina Faso and Mali.

OBJECTIVE: This study explores whether viral load measurements can be used in resource-limited settings to target those in need of adherence assistance. It was hypothesized that high plasma viral loads (pVLs) (>/=500 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL) were the result of poor antiretroviral therapy adherence and amenable to improvement with adherence assistance. DESIGN: A single-arm, multicentre pilot study was conducted from November 2003 to March 2004 on 606 treatment-experienced patients who had initiated an antiretroviral regimen in Mali and Burkina Faso >/=6 months before study enrolment. In these patients, those whose pVL was >/=500 copies/mL were offered 1 month of modified directly administered antiretroviral treatment (mDAART) with weekly follow-up visits from pharmacists or adherence counsellors. METHODS: An adherence questionnaire was given to all cohort patients and viral load was used to screen for patients with >/=500 copies/mL. mDAART participants included cohort patients with >/=500 copies/mL, who completed the adherence questionnaire. Genotypic analyses were conducted on samples taken prior to and after the intervention. The intervention was considered effective when there was a decrease of >/=1 log(10) in pVL. RESULTS: mDAART was effective in over one-third of the intervention participants, while in two-thirds no decrease in pVL was observed. The majority of mDAART participants had major resistance mutations. CONCLUSIONS: pVL measurement was useful to identify patients who needed adherence assistance. However, because it was performed >/=6 months after starting treatment, mDAART came too late for most participants, as they had already developed important resistance mutations that might have been avoided with better laboratory monitoring.

[Myocardial localization of a disseminated cysticercosis. Echocardiographic diagnosis of a case]. / Localisation myocardique d'une cysticercose disséminée. Diagnostic échocardiographique d'un cas.

Cysticercosis (cysticercus cellulosoe) is a parasitic infestation of human by a larval form of Taenia solium. The localisations are mostly the central nervous system, skeletal muscles and subcutaneous tissue, but other organs can be concerned. Myocardial cysticercosis is an extremely rare infection. We report a case of myocardial cysticercosis in a 37 year old patient who presented a disseminated form. The myocardium involvement is diagnosed by echocardiography. The clinical and echographic evolution was favourable after a treatment with albendazole. The other cardiovascular manifestations described in the literature are discussed.