Efficacy and safety of oral corticosteroids to treat outpatients with acute exacerbations of COPD in primary care: a multicentre pragmatic randomised controlled study.

Aim: To compare prednisone and placebo for the treatment of outpatients treated for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a primary care setting. Methods: A multicentre, parallel, double-blind, pragmatic randomised controlled trial was performed in France. A total of 66 general practitioners included patients aged ≥40 years with cumulative smoking of ≥10 pack-years and a diagnosis of certain or likely acute exacerbation of COPD. Oral prednisone (40 mg) or placebo were administered daily for 5 days. The main outcome was treatment failure at 8 weeks, defined as a composite criterion based on the occurrence of at least one of the following: unplanned visit to an emergency department or to a practitioner in the ambulatory setting, hospital admission or death. The planned sample size was 202 patients per group. Results: 175 patients were included from February 2015 to May 2017 (43% of the planned sample). All-cause 8-week treatment failure rate was 42.0% in the prednisone group and 34.5% in the placebo group (relative risk 1.22, 95% CI 0.87-1.69, p=0.25). Respiratory-related 8-week treatment failure rate was 27.6% in the prednisone group and 13.6% in the placebo group (relative risk 2.00, 95% CI 1.15-3.57, p=0.015). Conclusion: Although the planned sample size was not achieved, the study does not suggest that oral corticosteroids are more effective than placebo for the treatment of an acute exacerbation of COPD in a primary care setting.

Impact of integrating objective structured clinical examination into academic student assessment: Large-scale experience in a French medical school.

PURPOSE: Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) evaluate clinical reasoning, communication skills, and interpersonal behavior during medical education. In France, clinical training has long relied on bedside clinical practice in academic hospitals. The need for a simulated teaching environment has recently emerged, due to the increasing number of students admitted to medical schools, and the necessity of objectively evaluating practical skills. This study aimed at investigating the relationships between OSCE grades and current evaluation modalities. METHODS: Three-hundred seventy-nine 4th-year students of University-of-Paris Medical School participated to the first large-scale OSCE at this institution, consisting in three OSCE stations (OSCE#1-3). OSCE#1 and #2 focused on cardiovascular clinical skills and competence, whereas OSCE#3 focused on relational skills while providing explanations before planned cholecystectomy. We investigated correlations of OSCE grades with multiple choice (MCQ)-based written examinations and evaluations of clinical skills and behavior (during hospital traineeships); OSCE grade distribution; and the impact of integrating OSCE grades into the current evaluation in terms of student ranking. RESULTS: The competence-oriented OSCE#1 and OSCE#2 grades correlated only with MCQ grades (r = 0.19, P<0.001) or traineeship skill grades (r = 0.17, P = 0.001), respectively, and not with traineeship behavior grades (P>0.75). Conversely, the behavior-oriented OSCE#3 grades correlated with traineeship skill and behavior grades (r = 0.19, P<0.001, and r = 0.12, P = 0.032), but not with MCQ grades (P = 0.09). The dispersion of OSCE grades was wider than for MCQ examinations (P<0.001). When OSCE grades were integrated to the final fourth-year grade with an incremental 10%, 20% or 40% coefficient, an increasing proportion of the 379 students had a ranking variation by ±50 ranks (P<0.001). This ranking change mainly affected students among the mid-50% of ranking. CONCLUSION: This large-scale French experience showed that OSCE designed to assess a combination of clinical competence and behavioral skills, increases the discriminatory capacity of current evaluations modalities in French medical schools.

[New collaborative and participatory program for malnutrition management in the elders after hospitalization]. / Nouveau programme collaboratif et participatif de lutte contre la dénutrition chez le sujet âgé en ville au sortir d'une hospitalisation.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition in the elderly people is frequent and serious. Management of malnutrition at home after hospitalization is unsatisfactory. The objective of the study is to evaluate the feasibility and participation of a new collaborative and participative program involving the patient, the general practitioner and the dietician nutritionist, to fight against malnutrition in the elderly people at home after hospitalization. METHODS: This was a prospective and non-randomized study performed from May 2015 to February 2016, in subjects aged 75 and more, malnourished, with an MMSE score > 20 and returning homes after hospitalization. At home, a dietician worked with the patients and their general practitioner for 3 months. Patient participation and satisfaction of the 3 actors were assessed. RESULTS: Forty-four patients were included and 11.9% (n=8) benefited from the entire program. Present entourage (p=0.001), dietary education to the entourage (p=0,003), a high MMSE score (p=0.04), having an ulcer (p=0.0097), and a high weight at discharge (p=0.03) increased patients' participation. Patients (78.6%) and general practitioners (75%) were satisfied with the program. Patients criticized the lack of involvement of the general practitioner. General practitioners felt they had not acquired any knowledge of dietetics. CONCLUSION: Patient participation and collaboration between actors of the program of management of malnutrition in elderly people were considered weak.

Accumulation of unhealthy behaviors: Marked social inequalities in men and women.

The objective of this study was to compare the accumulation of unhealthy behaviors at the bottom of the social scale in men and women and, secondarily, to compare social and gender-based inequalities. Fifty-two general practitioners from the Paris area volunteered to participate. A sample of 70 patients (stratified by gender) aged 40-74 years was randomly chosen from each physician's patient panel and asked to complete a questionnaire about their social position and health behaviors: tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity. Mixed Poisson models were used to describe, with relative risks (RRs) and relative inequality indexes (RIIs), the social inequalities in the accumulation of these four unhealthy behaviors. In 2008-2009, 71% of the 3640 patients returned their questionnaires. Men had an average of 1.59 of the 4 unhealthy behaviors we studied, and women 1.35 (RR = 1.18; 95% CI [1.11-1.25]). The mean number of unhealthy behaviors increased significantly for both genders from the top to the bottom of the social scale. The order of magnitude of RIIs was similar among men and women, ranging from 1.33 (occupational RII among women, 95% CI [1.11-1.60]) through 1.69 (financial RII among women, 95% CI [1.43-1.99]). None of the interaction tests between gender and social position was significant. The social inequalities had significantly wider amplitudes than those between genders for two of the three indicators of social position. The amplitude of social gradients related to unhealthy behaviors was similar between men and women and exceeded the gender inequality between them.

Are primary-care physician practices related to health behaviors likely to reduce social inequalities in health?

Our objective was to examine patients' health behaviors and the related practices of their primary-care physicians to determine whether physicians' actions might help to reduce the social inequalities in health behaviors among their patients. Fifty-two general practitioners, who were also medical school instructors in the Parisian area, volunteered to participate. A sample of 70 patients (stratified by sex) aged 40-70years was randomly chosen from each physician's patient panel and asked to complete a questionnaire about their social position and health behaviors: tobacco and alcohol use, diet, physical activity, and participation in breast and cervical cancer screening. Each physician reported their practices related to each such behavior of each patient. Mixed models were used to test for social differences. Questionnaires were collected in 2008-2009 from both patient and physician for 71% of the 3640 patients. Our results showed social inequalities disfavored those at the bottom of the social scale for all but one of the health behaviors studied among both men and women (exception: excessive alcohol consumption among women). Physicians' practices related to these health behaviors also appeared to be socially differentiated. Among men, this differentiation favored those with the lowest social position for all behaviors except physical activity. Among women, however, practices favored the most disadvantaged only for breast cancer screening. In all other cases, they were either socially neutral or unfavorable to the most disadvantaged. Physicians' practices related to their patients' health behaviors should focus more on those lowest in the social hierarchy, especially among women.

Patient-physician agreement on tobacco and alcohol consumption: a multilevel analysis of GPs' characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Data about tobacco and alcohol consumption are essential in many types of studies. These data can be obtained by directly questioning patients or by using the information collected from physicians. Agreement between these two sources varies according to the characteristics of patients but probably also those of physicians. The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of general practitioners (GPs) associated with agreement between them and their patients about the patients' consumption of alcohol and tobacco. METHODS: Data came from an observational survey among GPs who were internship supervisors in the Paris metropolitan area. Fifty-two volunteer GPs completed a self-administered questionnaire about the organization of their practice and their training. For each GP, a random sample of 70 patients, aged 40 to 74 years, answered questions about their personal tobacco and alcohol consumption. GPs simultaneously answered similar questions about each patient. We used a mixed logistic model to assess the association between physicians' characteristics and agreement for patients' smoking status and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: Data were collected from both patient and physician for 2599 patients. The agreement between patients and their physicians was 60.4% for smoking status and 48.7% for alcohol consumption. Physicians with continuing medical education in management of smokers and those reporting specific skill in managing hypertension had the best agreement for smoking. Physicians who taught courses at the university medical school and those reporting specific skill in managing alcoholism had the best agreement for alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Agreement increases with physicians' training and skills in management of patients with tobacco and alcohol problems. It supports the importance of professional training for improving the quality of epidemiologic data in general practice. Researchers who use GPs as a source of information about patients' tobacco and alcohol consumption must assess the physicians' characteristics.