Impact of creative art therapy on fatigue and quality of life in patients treated for localized breast cancer: A randomized study.

Background: Art therapy (AT) as supportive care may help patients cope with cancer treatments. This non-blinded randomized trial assessed the impact of creative AT on severe fatigue and quality of life (QoL) in localized breast cancer patients undergoing irradiation.

Material And Methods: 320 patients were randomized to an AT group (ATG; 8 weekly sessions starting during irradiation) or to a standard group (SG).

Evaluation of bladder stimulation as a non-invasive technique for urine collection to diagnose urinary tract infection in infants under 6 months: a randomized multicenter study ("EE-Sti.Ve.N").

Background: Febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) is common in infants and needs to be diagnosed quickly. However, the symptoms are non-specific, and diagnosis can only be confirmed after high quality urinalysis. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends suprapubic aspiration (1-9% contamination) and urinary catheterization (8-14% contamination) for urine collection but both these procedures are invasive.

[Teenage and young adult cancer: how to make effective disclosures?].

Announcement of diagnosis is a critical step in establishing a trust-based relationship of quality between patient and physician. Disclosing "bad news" is a difficult and sensitive task which has direct consequences on psychological, emotional and relational levels, as well as on therapeutic management. This is a potentially traumatic experience which requires a long process of integration and psychological adaptation.

Systemic treatment and medical management of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: review of the literature and proposal for management changes.

Objective: Worldwide, head and neck carcinomas account for 5% of all malignancies. Two-thirds of patients relapse after initial multimodal therapy. Until early 2000, the median overall survival (OS) of metastatic patients was about 6 months.

[Impact of a hospice home visit team on unwanted hospitalization of terminally-ill patients at home in acute medical emergencies].

Objectives: This study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of paramedical hospice specialists on hospitalization of terminally-ill patients in acute medical emergencies.

Method: In this intervention, the SAMU (French medical emergency call center) responded to requests for emergency aid at the homes of terminally-ill patients by sending to the patient's home, together with a physician and the emergency ambulance team, a team composed of a nurse and a volunteer, both trained in hospice (terminal) care . When the patient wished to stay at home, the hospice team remained to support the patient and family and to provide comfort care until the crisis situation stabilized.

Home infusions of biphosphonate in cancer patients: a prospective study.

The objective of the study was to determine outcome and satisfaction of cancer patients treated by home-infusions of biphosphonates. 107 patients entered the study and 97 of them chose to receive infusions of zoledronic acid (Z) in the home setting. Patient satisfaction and quality of care (QoC) were assessed by a 22-item questionnaire.

[Emergencies in patients undergoing palliative care at home. A qualitative study of telephone calls to Center 15].

Introduction: The Samu-Centres 15 (French medical emergency centers) are regularly solicited for patients undergoing palliative treatment at their homes and presenting acute complications. No specific response is foreseen for such situations. However, the problems are frequent and crucial.

Percutaneous cementoplasty for pelvic bone metastasis.

The aim of this retrospective study was to prove the effectiveness of percutaneous cementoplasty in pelvic bone metastases. We studied the data entered in a multicenter prospective database on 18 cancer patients (average age 58 years) who underwent percutaneous computed tomography (CT) or fluoroscopy-guided cementoplasty from September 1996 to September 1998. The metastatic sites were: acetabulum (n = 12), iliac bone (n = 2), and sacrum (n = 4).