Participant and service provider perceptions of an outpatient rehabilitation program for people with acquired brain injury.

Background: A holistic, intensive and interdisciplinary rehabilitation program for people with acquired brain injury (ABI) was developed at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, France (5 days/week for 7 weeks). This program, recently demonstrated effective, aimed to optimize the ability of people with ABI to perform activities and improve their participation by using individual and group interventions involving ecologically valid activities inside (e.g.

A general chemotherapy myelotoxicity score to predict febrile neutropenia in hematological malignancies.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is the most common adverse effect of chemotherapy and is often complicated by febrile neutropenia (FN). The objective of this study is to validate a classification of aggressiveness of a chemotherapy regimen and to evaluate its usefulness in a risk prediction model of FN in patients with hematological cancer at the beginning of a chemotherapy cycle.

Patients And Methods: Two hundred and sixty-six patients were prospectively enrolled and followed during 1053 cycles.

Survival and functional outcome according to hip fracture type: a one-year prospective cohort study in elderly women with an intertrochanteric or femoral neck fracture.

We conducted a prospective study among elderly women with a first hip fracture to document survival and functional outcome and to determine whether outcomes differ by fracture type. The design was a one-year prospective cohort study in the context of standard day-to-day clinical practice. The main outcome measures were survival and functional outcome, both at hospital discharge and 1 year later.

Low mannose-binding lectin concentration is associated with severe infection in patients with hematological cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy.

Background: Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a serum lectin involved in innate immune response. Low serum MBL concentration may constitute a risk factor for infection in patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy.

Methods: We conducted a prospective, observational study that assessed MBL concentration as a risk factor for infection in patients with hematological malignancy who were hospitalized to undergo at least 1 chemotherapy cycle.

Outpatient oral antibiotics for febrile neutropenic cancer patients using a score predictive for complications.

Purpose: Since febrile neutropenic patients were recognized to constitute a heterogeneous population, several models have been developed for predicting the risk of serious medical complications. The Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer score and its derived clinical prediction rules have been validated, but thus far there were no data about its use for simplifying therapy in predicted low-risk patients.

Patients And Methods: In a single institution, we followed all episodes of febrile neutropenia between January 1999 and November 2003.

Correlation between the response to cetuximab alone or in combination with irinotecan and the activated/phosphorylated epidermal growth factor receptor in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Despite staining positive for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a significant number of EGFR-expressing colorectal cancers are resistant to cetuximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody directed against EGFR. Activation of EGFR through the autophosphorylation of its tyrosine residues stimulates different signaling downstream pathways and may reflect the level of receptor utilization by the tumor. This study investigated activated/phosphorylated EGFR (pEGFR) in 23 patients with EGFR-positive metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to irinotecan and treated with cetuximab, alone or in combination with irinotecan.

Can we predict the duration of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in febrile neutropenic patients, focusing on regimen-specific risk factors? A retrospective analysis.

Background: The aim of the study was to elaborate a predictive model for the duration of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) allowing the identification of patients with a higher risk of complications, especially complicated febrile neutropenia, who might benefit from preventive measures.

Patients And Methods: A score ranging from 0 to 4 on the basis of expected CIN was attributed to each cytotoxic agent given as part of chemotherapy treatment in solid tumours for patients with febrile neutropenia (FN). The individual scores were combined into several overall scores.

Predictors of functional outcome following intracapsular hip fracture in elderly women. A one-year prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To explore potential predictors of functional outcome one year after the injury in elderly women who sustained a displaced intracapsular hip fracture and who were treated with internal fixation, hemiarthroplasty, or total hip arthroplasty.

Participants And Methods: Eighty-four women aged > or =50 years were enrolled on a consecutive basis in this one-year prospective cohort study reflecting standard day-to-day clinical practice. The main outcome measure was the rapid disability rating scale version-2 (RDRS-2) applied at hospital discharge and one year later.

Sentinel lymph node imaging and research after bone scintigraphy in breast cancer patients.

The aim of the study is to see if Bone Scan (BS) - when performed the day before the operation-interferes with the results of the Sentinel Lymph Node (SLN) technique using radiocolloids (their pre-operative imaging and their peroperative research). Therefore, the data of 393 patients who had one selective lymphadenectomy of the SLN(s) followed by the complete axillary node (AxN) clearance for Breast Cancer and among whom 309 patients had one BS the day before the operation (and just before the injection-s for the SLN) and 84 did not, were analysed and compared. The two series presented the same characteristics with regard to: age, clinical staging of the tumour, kind of injection-s performed (intradermic and paratumoural and/or intraparenchymal and peritumoral), pathological size of the tumour, percentage of cases with no AxN invasion, total number of AxN removed by the surgeons.

Functional outcome and quality of life following hip fracture in elderly women: a prospective controlled study.

The aim of this prospective study was to document the functional outcome and quality of life (QoL) over 1 year following hip fracture in elderly women. A total of 159 unselected elderly women with a first hip fracture were matched for age and residence with an equal number of control women. Functional status was measured by completing a Rapid Disability Rating Scale version 2 (RDRS-2) questionnaire [score ranging from 0 (best) to 54 (worse)], before hospital discharge and 12 months later.

Costs of care after hospital discharge among women with a femoral neck fracture.

A prospective study was done among women who are postmenopausal and who had a displaced femoral neck fracture. The objective was to identify potential predictors of medical care costs during the 1-year after hospital discharge, and to examine the impact of the type of surgical procedure. The design was a 1-year prospective cohort study reflecting day-to-day clinical practice.

The economic cost of hip fractures among elderly women. A one-year, prospective, observational cohort study with matched-pair analysis. Belgian Hip Fracture Study Group.

Background: We conducted a prospective study to assess the costs of initial hospitalization for a first hip fracture and to evaluate the excess costs attributable to the hip fracture during the one-year period following hospital discharge.

Methods: This investigation was designed as a one-year prospective cohort study with matched-pair analysis. Elderly women who were receiving care for a first hip fracture at four Belgian hospitals were matched, with respect to age and residence, with women (control subjects) with no history of hip fracture who lived in the same neighborhood.

Evaluation of a low-invasive strategy for prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen.

Objectives: To evaluate a two-step strategy for the detection of prostate cancer within the context of serial screening and compare this strategy with other screening strategies. The optimal combination of tests proposed for prostate cancer screening remains undetermined, particularly when screening is repeated over time.

Methods: A prospective serial prostate cancer screening study with follow-up to 55 months was performed in a general community screening clinic.

Rapid, early and specific diagnosis of tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases in Burundi.

The potential usefulness of ELISA based serological tests to assist in rapid, early and specific diagnosis of tuberculosis was investigated. The materials were selected, based on published data and on our preliminary findings. Initially screening tests were performed using crude antigens such as Purified Protein Derivate (PPD) and a BCG-filtrate.