Impact of distance from surgery department on the outcome of patients followed for non-small-cell lung cancer in the respiratory department of nonacademic hospitals: Results of the KBP-2010-study.

Objective: Increased postoperative mortality in low volume centers has contributed to merge and space thoracic surgical centers. Some studies have showed that the likelihood of receiving surgery was lower in lung cancer patients living far from a thoracic surgery center. Our objective was thus to determine whether surgery and survival rates in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were influenced by the distance between the respiratory and thoracic surgery departments.

[Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome: case report].

We report the case of an 80-year-old woman with symptomatic postural hypoxaemia caused by a right-to-left shunt through a patent foramen ovale. The hypoxaemia was enhanced by the supine position and disappeared in upright position. Potential mechanisms underlying postural variations of the shunt seemed to be similar to those describe in platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome.

[Isolated tracheobronchial involvement by atrophic polychondritis: role of PET scanning].

Introduction: Atrophic polychondritis is a rare and serious disease characterised by multifocal inflammatory lesions of cartilage. The diagnosis, though urgent, is difficult when there is isolated tracheal involvement.

Case Report: We report the case of a woman of 55 with recent, non-infectious febrile episodes accompanied by a steroid sensitive inflammatory syndrome.

[No-fault medical accidents: review of two years' activity of the regional commission for the compensation of medical accidents of the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur region (PACA)].

Compensation for victims of medical accidents identified as no-fault medical accidents (NFMA) will be financed by national solidarity: this is a major and innovative feature of the Law of March 4, 2002 relative to Patients' Rights. In this review, we analyse the decisions of the regional commission on compensation of medical accidents in the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur (PACA) region of France in 2004 and 2005, and we attempt to identify the prevalence of certain surgical procedures liable to result in NFMA and to define the concept of "unintended consequences" in the context of state of health of the patient and the predictable course of the malady. We hope to improve the medical information given to the patient and thereby the overall quality of management.