Descriptive study of pneumococcal vaccination in cases of inflammatory disease: Analysis of practices.

INTRODUCTION: Pneumococcal infections are frequent and potentially serious in patients with inflammatory diseases treated with immunosuppressants and/or biotherapies. This patient population considered to be at very high risk of infection is subject to national vaccination recommendations. The main objective of this study was to assess pneumococcal vaccine coverage in a day hospital (internal medicine and vascular disease) in patients treated with immunosuppressants. METHODS: An observational, descriptive, retrospective, and single-center study. We included 150 consecutive patients for 3 months (February to April 2018). We studied pneumococcal vaccination coverage and the time elapsed between the date of vaccination with the 13-valent polysaccharide conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and the start of immunosuppressive therapy. RESULTS: Among the 150 patients included in the study, vaccination coverage with PCV13 was 85% (127/150) and decreased to 46.7% (70/150) for the recommended vaccination schedule. Taking into account vaccine efficacy according to the date of initiation of the treatment, only 28.7% (43/150) of the patients in the study were able to benefit from an optimal complete vaccination schedule, i.e. 33.8% (43/127) among patients vaccinated with PCV13. CONCLUSION: Despite official recommendations, vaccination coverage against pneumococcus remains insufficient in patients under immunosuppressants and/or biotherapies. In addition to the continued training of doctors, optimizing computer prescription of vaccines in view of facilitating vaccination tracing and having vaccination carried out at the site of consultation are avenues for improvement to be considered.

[Prospective assessment of a multidisciplinary meeting dedicated to inflammatory and vascular diseases during pregnancy]. / Évaluation prospective d'une réunion de concertation pluridisciplinaire dédiée aux pathologies inflammatoires et vasculaires lors de la grossesse : la RCP « PREGNANT ¼ au CHU de Bordeaux.

OBJECTIVES: The pluridisciplinary meeting "PREGNANT - Pregnancy and Auto-immunity, Nephropathy, Thrombophilic Disorders" at the university hospital of Bordeaux is dedicated to inflammatory and thrombophilic disorders during pregnancy. The objective of our study was to evaluate the quality of this meeting in terms of: compliance with the mandatory criteria, adequacy with standard care, homogeneity of care, becoming of proposals issued. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study including patients whose files were submitted to the meeting from January 2018 to June 2019. RESULTS: In all, 16 meeting were conducted with 152 cases presented. Sixty-two patients were pregnant and 90 were in preconception. The most common reasons for presentation were vasculo-placentary diseases (22.3%), systemic lupus (16.4%), venous thromboembolic diseases (15.1%) and chronic intervillositis of unknown etiology (9.8%). Other reasons were antiphospholipid antibody syndrome and repeated spontaneous miscarriages. The mandatory criteria for multidisciplinary meeting were met. For 89 cases (58.5%), the problem was dictated by recommendations. Decisions made were consistent with recommendations in 89.8% of cases. Among the 63 cases without any published recommendations (41.5%), there was some homogeneity of the proposals. In all, 92.8% of the proposals issued by the meeting were implemented. CONCLUSIONS: Multidisciplinary meeting "PREGNANT" has a prominent locoregional role in the management of patients with autoimmune, inflammatory or thrombophilic disorders in a pregnancy context.

Update of the SFMV (French society of vascular medicine) guidelines on the conditions and safety measures necessary for thermal ablation of the saphenous veins and proposals for unresolved issues.

Venous insufficiency is a very common disease affecting about 25% of the French population (if we combine all stages of its progression). It is a complex disease and its aetiology has not yet been fully elucidated. Some of its causes are well known, such as valvular dysfunction, vein wall defect, and the suctioning effect common to all varicose veins. These factors are generally associated and together lead to dysfunction of one or more of the saphenous veins. Saphenous vein dysfunction is revealed by ultrasound scan, a reflux lasting more than 0.5 seconds indicating venous incompetence. The potential consequences of saphenous vein dysfunction over time include: symptoms (heaviness, swellings, restlessness, cramps, itching of the lower limbs), acute complications (superficial venous thrombosis, varicose bleeding), chronic complications (changes in skin texture and colour, stasis dermatitis, eczema, vein atresia, leg ulcer), and appearance of unaesthetic varicose veins. It is not possible to repair an incompetent saphenous vein. The only therapeutic options at present are ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy, physical removal of the vein (saphenous stripping), or its thermal ablation (by laser or radiofrequency treatment), the latter strategy having now become the gold standard as recommended by international guidelines. Recommendations concerning thermal ablation of saphenous veins were published in 2014 by the Société française de médecine vasculaire. Our society has now decided to update these recommendations, taking this opportunity to discuss unresolved issues and issues not addressed in the original guidelines. Thermal ablation of an incompetent saphenous vein consists in destroying this by means of a heating element introduced via ultrasound-guided venous puncture. The heating element comprises either a laser fibre or a radiofrequency catheter. The practitioner must provide the patient with full information about the procedure and obtain his/her consent prior to its implementation. The checklist concerning the interventional procedure issued by the HAS should be validated for each patient (see the appended document).

[Cerebral vasoreactivity: Concordance of breath holding test and acetazolamide injection in current practice: 20 cases of asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis]. / Étude de la vasoréactivité cérébrale en Doppler transcrânien : évaluation du test d'apnée comparé à l'injection d'acetazolamide en soins courants. Exploration de 20 sténoses carotidiennes asymptomatiques.

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral vasoreactivity (CVR) is the ability of the brain's vascular system to keep cerebral blood inflow stable. Impaired CVR is a risk marker of stroke in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis. The gold standard to assess CVR with transcranial ultrasound is acetazolamide (ACTZ) injection. The breath holding test (BHT) might be easier to perform. CVR proved to be efficient in laboratory conditions but not in routine practice. OBJECTIVES: To study the validity of BHT versus ACTZ in routine practice in a vascular exploration unit in patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis. METHODS: Study of concordance of BHT and ACTZ, to assess CVR in patients consecutively explored on the same day. RESULTS: Eighteen patients with 20 carotid stenosis were included. The temporal window was missing in 20% of cases. Only 11 out of the 20 procedures were analyzed. Concordance was low between BHT and ACTZ to assess CVR (k=0.3714). CONCLUSION: BHT cannot replace ACTZ injection. It might be a first-step test so that ACTZ injection might be avoided if CVR is normal. Our present results must be confirmed by further study enrolling many more patients.

[Macrovascular complications of systemic sclerosis: Prospective descriptive Doppler ultrasound study in 20 patients]. / Atteinte macrovasculaire de la sclérodermie systémique : étude descriptive prospective de 20 patients en échodoppler.

PURPOSE: Systemic sclerosis is characterized by cutaneous sclerosis, vascular disease and immunological dysfunction. The prevalence of macrovascular disease remains controversial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive prospective single-center study conducted in the vascular medicine department of the University Hospital of Bordeaux from July 1 to September 1, 2015. All inpatients followed for systemic scleroderma were included. Each patient had a Doppler ultrasound of the supra-aortic, upper and lower limb, and digital arteries as well as the aorta. The main objective of the study was to describe the presence and location of arterial lesions in patients with systemic sclerosis. RESULTS: Of the twenty patients included, there were 13 women and 7 men; mean age was 58±16years. Patients exhibited wall thickening (n=16, 80%), calcified plaques (n=10, 50%), hemodynamically significant stenoses (n=3, 15%) and arterial occlusions (n=12, 60%). Ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) was 0.98±0.16 on the right and 0.99±0.21 on the left. Two patients had ABPI<0.8. The mean brachial systolic blood pressure was 113±14mmHg. Arterial mapping (860 arterial sites) found wall thickening (n=93 arteries, 10%), calcified plaques (n=47, 5%), hemodynamically significant stenoses (n=7) and occlusions (n=22). Arterial occlusions were located in the ulnar arteries (n=2), the digital arteries (n=18), the posterior tibial artery (n=1) and the dorsalis pedis artery (n=1). CONCLUSION: The data of our study correlate with macrovascular disease described in the literature. This finding raises two questions: how does this concept integrate with the severity of Raynaud's phenomenon and the risk of digital ulcers and changes in patients' capillaroscopic landscape during follow-up? What is the cause of these vascular anomalies, some of which are very different from what is observed in atherosclerosis?

[Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria: An unknown cause of thrombosis?]. / L'hémoglobinurie paroxystique nocturne : une cause méconnue de thrombose ?

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare acquired disorder of hematopoietic stem cells. Somatic mutation in the phosphatidylinositol glycan class A (PIG-A), X-linked gene, is responsible for a deficiency in glycosphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-AP). The lack of one of the GPI-AP complement regulatory proteins (CD55, CD59) leads to hemolysis. The disease is diagnosed with hemolytic anemia, marrow failure and thrombosis. Thromboembolic complication occurs in 30% of patient after 10 years of follow-up and is the first event in one out of 10 patients. The two most common sites are hepatic and cerebral veins. These locations are correlated with high risk of death. Currently, these data are balanced with the use of a monoclonal antibody (Eculizumab), which has significantly improved the prognosis with a survival similar to general population after 36 months of follow-up. Anticoagulant treatment is recommended after a thromboembolic event but has no place in primary prophylaxis.

Clinical prediction of lower limb deep vein thrombosis in symptomatic hospitalized patients.

We evaluated two clinical scores for the prediction of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in hospitalized patients (Wells' and Kahn's). We included 273 patients referred to the vascular exploration unit for the suspicion of DVT. A clinical questionnaire was tilled in by the practitioner and the scores were calculated from this form. 66 of the 273 patients had a DVT. When Wells' score was 3, a DVT was found by duplex echography in 51% patients; when the score was 0, a DVT was found in 9%. Kahn's score was not adapted to this population. We then developed a new simple score (cancer, palsy or plaster immobilization, warmth, superficial venous dilation, unilateral pitting edema, other diagnosis). A DVT was found in 76% patients with a score of 3 and in 11% in those with a score of 0. We therefore propose a 6-item score whose main advantages are simplicity and usefulness in routine practice.

[Lower limb occlusive arteriopathy: retrospective analysis of 73 patients with onset before the age of 50 years]. / Les artériopathies des membres inférieurs débutant avant 50 ans.

OBJECTIVES: Juvenile peripheral obstructive arterial diseases (POAD) have been poorly investigated but account for 1 to 7% of POAD. We analyzed retrospectively a cohort of patients with onset before the age of 50 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy-three patients (60 males and 13 females) were divided into 4 groups (Buerger's disease: TAO, atheromatous PAOD, auto-immune POAD, arteriopathy of undetermined origin). RESULTS: The first symptoms occurred at 38 +/- 8 years of age. Fourteen patients (20%) had TAO, 51 (70%) atheromatous POAD, 4 (5%) POAD with systemic or autoimmune disease, and 4 (5%) undetermined POAD. Age of onset was earlier in TAO (35 +/- 8 vs 40 +/- 8 years, p=0.046), smoking greater in the atheroma group (33 +/- 16 vs 24 +/- 14 pack-years, p=0.033). Fifty-three POAD patients had dyslipidaemia and 26% hypertension. Regular cannabis intake was more frequent in the TAO group (21 vs 8%). At the time of medical care, Fontaine's stage was more frequently stage II in atheroma patients (57 vs 14%) and stage IV in TAO patients (86 vs 35%). TAO was diagnosed in 43% cannabis users and in 19% non users. CONCLUSION: The main etiology of juvenile POAD is atheroma, followed by TAO. Cannabis users account for at least 10% of these patients. They are characterized by lower tobacco intake, more distal lesions, more frequent involvement of the upper limbs. They present more frequently as TAO.

[Inflammatory arteriopathy of the arms in the course of Horton disease. Report of six cases]. / Artériopathie inflammatoire des membres supérieurs au cours de la maladie de Horton. A propos de six cas.

We report 6 cases of upper limb involvement in giant cell arteritis; upper limb involvement revealed the disease in 4 cases and clinical symptoms were present in 5 (upper limb pain, Raynaud's phenomenon). Upper limb pulses were not palpable and blood pressure unmeasurable in all. Duplex ultrasonography found signs of inflammatory arteriopathy in 4 cases (hypoechogenous halo of the arterial wall and acceleration of flow velocity). Arteriography was performed in 5 cases and showed long and regular stenoses. In the last case, arteriography was not done because the duplex exploration gave an easier diagnosis. With this technique, the diagnosis of upper limb involvement, frequent in autopsy series of giant cell arteritis, might be made more often. Corticosteroid therapy is indicated and surgery should be discussed only in emergency situations.

[Upper extremity deep venous thrombosis. 40 hospitalized patients]. / Thromboses veineuses profondes des membres supérieurs: à propos de 40 patients hospitalisés.

Deep venous thrombosis is 50 times less frequent in upper than in lower limbs. Data remain poor in the literature. Forty consecutive patients (24 males, 16 females, mean age: 54.5 years) were retrospectively analysed from 161 subjects who underwent venous explorations of the upper extremity for a 3.5 year period in the same center. Diagnosis of thrombosis was made by duplex ultrasonography (n =37) or phlebography (n =3). Main clinical manifestations were edema (n =36) and pain (n =29). Location of thrombosis was humeral (n =1), axillary (n =2), or sub-clavian (n =37, 2 bilateral). The majority of thrombosis (n =29) were secondary to cancer and venous catheter (n =19, 15 implanted ports), to central catheter alone (n =3) or cancer alone (n =7). The 11 others were associated with thoracic outlet syndrome (n =6) or apparent primary thrombosis (n =5). Thrombophilia was identified in 6 out of these 11. During follow up [mean of 9 months (0,5-36)], two patients developed pulmonary embolism, 14 a post-thrombotic syndrome and 16 patients died. Initial therapy included heparin (n =36) or fibrinolysis (n =4). Upper extremity deep venous thrombosis are mostly associated with cancers and venous catheters. Thrombophilia is frequent in the other cases. Heparin followed by oral anticoagulation is the optimal therapy whose duration depends upon underlying condition. Fibrinolysis has not been useful for preventing post-thrombotic syndrome in our study.

[Henoch-Schonlein purpura and prostate cancer]. / Purpura rhumatoïde et cancer de la prostate.

INTRODUCTION: The association between adult Henoch-Schonlein purpura and prostatic carcinoma is exceptional. We report a new case. EXEGESIS: The diagnosis of prostatic adenocarcinoma, suspected because of prostatic induration is made after anatomopathological study. The patient has all the clinical (purpura, polyarthralgia), biological (circulating monocmonal IgA), and histological (leukocytoclastic vasculitis, with IgA and C3 deposits) criteria of Henoch-Schonlein purpura too. The simultaneous appearance of vasculitis and neoplasia is known. The association between adult Henoch-Schonlein purpura and malignant neoplasm like lung carcinoma or lymphoma exists too. The initial events leading to the development of these vasculitis could be tumor antigens or abnormal IgA production. CONCLUSION: The simultaneous appearance of these two disease asks here the question of mechanisms implicated in these association.

[Homocysteinemia: role in vascular disease]. / Homocystéinémie: rôle en pathologie vasculaire.

HEREDITARY DISEASE: Hereditary anomalies of homocysteine metabolism are quite uncommon and manifest by very high homocysteine levels (> 100 mumol/l) and associated homocysteinuria. The risk of premature cardiovascular disease is high. Clinical, biological and epidemiological data accumulated since the 70 s have demonstrated that a moderately elevated serum homocysteine level favors the development of atherothrombosis. PROVEN RISK: The risk of coronary or cerebral events is 1.5 to 3-fold higher for fasting homocysteine levels above 15 mumol/l. These data show that moderately elevated homocysteine level is a powerful cardiovascular risk factor. Further information is however needed to ascertain its frequency in the population and determine whether it is a truly independent risk factor. THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS: Most cases of moderately elevated homocysteine can probably be explained by gene-environment interactions. Homocysteine levels can be lowered by oral administration of vitamin cofactors implicated in homocystein metabolisms: folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12.

[Pyomyositis of adductor muscles caused by Escherichia coli in an immunocompetent patient living in a temperate climate]. / Pyomyosite des adducteurs àEscherichia coli chez une femme immunocompétente, en zone tempérée.

Pyomyositis is a primitive infection of the skeletal muscle usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus in tropical areas, and associated with immunodeficiency. We report a 49-year-old immunocompetent woman, living in a temperate climate presenting with a pyomyositis of adductor muscles caused by Escherichia coli. Diagnosis was obtained with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Disease course was uneventful after surgical debridement and antibiotics. This case report highlights the usefulness of MRI in the diagnosis of pyomyositis.