Infantile and adult mortality in precarious conditions.

Introduction: Maxillofacial surgery plays an important role in humanitarian surgery because this specialty includes common procedures such as facial reconstruction after burns, facial clefts or Noma's sequelae, which do not require complex infrastructures and thus can be carried out in sub-optimal conditions. Nevertheless, there is a mortality rate during those missions and few studies evaluating their rate and circumstances have been published. The aim of our study was threefold: to study the deaths reported during humanitarian missions, to analyze the circumstances of those deaths, and to determine the risk factors in order to propose possible adaptations in operative indications and therapeutic attitudes so that those mortalities may be avoided in the future.

Serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae based on capsular genes polymorphisms.

Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype epidemiology is essential since serotype replacement is a concern when introducing new polysaccharide-conjugate vaccines. A novel PCR-based automated microarray assay was developed to assist in the tracking of the serotypes. Autolysin, pneumolysin and eight genes located in the capsular operon were amplified using multiplex PCR.

TRAF6 and IRF7 control HIV replication in macrophages.

The innate immune system recognizes virus infection and evokes antiviral responses which include producing type I interferons (IFNs). The induction of IFN provides a crucial mechanism of antiviral defense by upregulating interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) that restrict viral replication. ISGs inhibit the replication of many viruses by acting at different steps of their viral cycle.

Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy for unilateral renal cancer in children.

Purpose: At the present time, the standard approach for renal cancer in children is open surgery, and the role of laparoscopic approach remains to be defined. We report our preliminary experience in the treatment by laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) for unilateral renal cancer in children.

Methods: Five children, whose mean age was 4 years old, were operated for unilateral renal malignant tumors by laparoscopic approach in our unit from October 2005 to June 2007.

Target-controlled versus manually-controlled infusion of propofol for direct laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy.

Unlabelled: Few studies have compared the clinical profile of target-controlled infusions of propofol with that of manually-controlled infusions. Fifty-four ASA physical status I or II patients scheduled for an elective otorhinolaryngology endoscopy performed under general anesthesia with spontaneous ventilation were enrolled in this prospective randomized study to compare the clinical outcome of such administrations. Before induction, all patients received a single alfentanil bolus dose (10 microg/kg).

[Proposal for a polyvalent Simplified Acute Physiology Score of severity in biliary tract surgery].

The SAPS score proposed by Le Gall, was used in 128 patients undergoing biliary surgery between January 1987 and April 1988. The score is based on the laboratory data for the first day. The cumulative post-operative complication rate was established during hospital stay and at one month after discharge.