[Management of pneumonia in the elderly].

Pneumonias in elderly are frequent and severe. They require an accurate assessment following clinical, biological and radiological steps. Each of them can contribute to give answers to the following questions: does this patient need emergency hospitalisation? Is the infection really bacterial and pulmonary? Should antibiotics be started? Which others treatments should be associated for the infection itself and for comorbid conditions? Concerning prevention, every effort must be done to decrease the incidence of these infections, especially vaccination.

Excess winter mortality in France: influence of temperature, influenza like illness, and residential care status.

Background: Despite a surge of 15,000 deaths caused by the 2003 heat wave in France, the annual winter excess mortality rate remains a recurring phenomenon that is quantitatively greater than the isolated summer event.

Methods: Coefficients of Seasonal Variations in Mortality (CSVMs) were calculated using monthly mortality data from 1998 to 2007 in France. CSVM was a percentage representing the excess death rate from December to March inclusively, against average, monthly mortality from the other 8 non-winter months.