Telemedicine: what framework, what levels of proof, implementation rules.

The concept of telemedicine was formalised in France in the 2009 "Hospital, patients, health territories" (loi hôpital, patients, santé, territoire) law and the 2010 decree through which it was applied. Many experiments have been carried out and the regulatory institutions (Ministry, Regional Health Agency [Agence régionale de santé, ARS], French National Health Authority [Haute autorité de santé, HAS], etc.) have issued various guidance statements and recommendations on its organisation and on the expectations of its evaluation.

Scientific evaluation and pricing of medical devices and associated procedures in France.

Medical devices are many and various, ranging from tongue spatulas to implantable or invasive devices and imaging machines; their lifetimes are short, between 18 months and 5 years, due to incessant incremental innovation; and they are operator-dependent: in general, the clinical user performs a fitting procedure (hip implant or pacemaker), a therapeutic procedure using a non-implantable invasive device (arrhythmic site ablation probe, angioplasty balloon, extension spondyloplasty system, etc.) or follow-up of an active implanted device (long-term follow-up of an implanted cardiac defibrillator or of a deep brain stimulator in Parkinson's patients). A round-table held during the XXVIII(th) Giens Workshops meeting focused on the methodology of scientific evaluation of medical devices and the associated procedures with a view to their pricing and financing by the French National Health Insurance system.

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A cohort is a group of individuals sharing some characteristics, followed longitudinally. Essential tools of epidemiology, these studies provide pieces of evidence of the relationship between an exposition and outcomes in order to guide public health policies. In France, many cohorts have been conducted over the past few years.

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A cohort is a group of individuals sharing some characteristics, followed longitudinally. Essential tools of epidemiology, these studies provide pieces of evidence of the relationship between an exposition and outcomes in order to guide public health policies. In France, many cohorts have been conducted over the past few years.

Biomarkers for the early stages of clinical development in Alzheimer's disease.

As the failure of several recent Phase III drug development programmes bears witness, the clinical development of "disease-modifying" drugs in Alzheimer's disease has been confronted with challenging methodological difficulties. Taking into account the financial stakes involved taking drug candidates to the Phase III stage of development, and the risk of investing time and resources fruitlessly in the evaluation of poor candidate drugs, the crucial decision remains whether to proceed from Phase II to Phase III (Go/Nogo). The aim of Phase II studies is to select a molecule likely to be effective in Phase III, but also to eliminate candidate-drugs with an inadequate effect.

Use of the foreign studies: transposition of the results, prediction of the therapeutic effects in the french population, modelling of the public health interest.

More and more frequently, the health authorities and the French assessment agencies are led to issue Marketing Authorizations (MAs), give opinions on the eligibility for reimbursement of drugs or to draft recommendations for clinical practice based on the results of foreign studies. The results of these studies are more or less difficult to transpose to French practice. These difficulties generate varying degrees of uncertainty concerning the effect to be expected of a drug.

Use of the Foreign Studies: Transposition of the Results, Prediction of the Therapeutic Effects in the French Population, Modelling of the Public Health Interest.

More and more frequently, the health authorities and the French assessment agencies are led to issue Marketing Authorizations (MAs), give opinions on the eligibility for reimbursement of drugs or to draft recommendations for clinical practice based on the results of foreign studies. The results of these studies are more or less difficult to transpose to French practice. These difficulties generate varying degrees of uncertainty concerning the effect to be expected of a drug.

Adaptation of the clinical trials directive: recommendations on the contents of a dossier for the request for authorisation of the first trials in human subjects.

The European Directive on clinical trials of medicinal products will fall within the scope of the legislation of Member States on 1 May 2004. In France, this adaptation will be carried out by a public health bill concerning, among other things, the reform of the current Huriet-Sérusclat law, and by means of regulations. For trials concerning the initial administration of a product to human subjects, the group suggested the following recommendations: In French texts, to include a deadline of 30 days for the initial authorisation by the competent authority (Afssaps [Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des produits de santé]).

Postmarketing evaluation of drugs. Actual efficacy, population exposed and impact on public health.

Round table no. 2 was devoted to the postmarketing evaluation of drugs. The debates involved both the questions posed by postmarketing evaluation and the methods for responding to them.

Development of the Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire (CFQ) for assessing quality of life in pediatric and adult patients.

Unlabelled: To assess the impact of cystic fibrosis (CF) and treatment on quality of life (QOL) from childhood throughout adult age, two versions of the Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire (CFQ), were developed and validated in France: the CFQ 14+ for teenagers and adults, the CFQ Child P, a parent-proxy evaluation for children aged 8-13. They include three modules for assessing QOL, symptoms and health perception. Nine QOL dimensions were identified: physical functioning, energy/well-being, emotions, social limitations, role, embarrassment, body image, eating disturbances and treatment burden.

[Good and bad fortunes of drugs].

A drug's lifetime, whether it is short or long, may go through fantastic new developments. Such is the case with beta-blockers, some of which have long been prescribed in heart failure before having made the definite proof of their efficacy, provided they are used carefully regarding the Good Product Use. On the other hand, the development of mibefradil, a calcic antagonist prescribed in the treatment of hypertension and angina pectoris, was stopped abruptly a few weeks before its launching because of the occurrence of serious side effects in patients suffering from heart failure.

MIKADO: a multicentre, open-label pilot study to evaluate the antiretroviral activity and safety of saquinavir with stavudine and zalcitabine.

Background: Since eradication of HIV is unlikely, long-term management of the disease necessitates careful evaluation of the combinations of currently available drugs to determine the most potent and useful rational sequencing of regimens.

Objective: To determine the antiretroviral efficacy and tolerability of saquinavir soft gelatin capsule (SQV-SGC) plus zalcitabine (ddC) and stavudine (d4T), as first-line treatment in HIV-infected patients.

Design: Multicentre, open-label, non-comparative study.

[Isotretinoin in childbearing women: compliance with strengthen warnings].

Introduction: The recommendations for prescription and dispensing of Roaccutane (isotretinoid) were strengthened in 1997 in order to reduce the number of pregnancies exposed to Roaccutane. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of exposed pregnancies since this time and the compliance with the new recommendations.

Material And Methods: All pregnancies exposed to Roaccutane reported to French Regional Drug Monitoring Centers, to Laboratoire Roche or to the Information Center for Teratogenic Agents since the publication of these recommendations for prescription were studied (March 1997-December 1998).

[The place of a new drug in the therapeutic strategy].

A therapeutic strategy is a hierarchical set of appropriate measures to provide an answer to a pathological state. A drug is a part of this set (together with the diagnosis, the environment and the other medicinal interventions or not). A new drug's place in a therapeutic strategy can be evaluated according to one or several referential(s) when it (or they) exist, referentials which express the state of knowledge before launch of the new drug.

One dose ceftriaxone vs. ten days of amoxicillin/clavulanate therapy for acute otitis media: clinical efficacy and change in nasopharyngeal flora.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and the safety of a single intramuscular dose of ceftriaxone, 50 mg/kg, vs. a 10-day course of amoxicillin/clavulanate (amox/clav) therapy, 80 mg/kg/day of amoxicillin: 10 mg/kg/day of clavulanate in three divided doses, in children with acute otitis media (AOM) and to evaluate the changes in nasopharyngeal flora after treatment.

Methods: In a prospective, comparative, open randomized, multicenter trial, children were scheduled to return for visits on Days 12 to 14 (main end point) and Days 28 to 42 after the beginning of treatment for AOM.

Eradication by ceftriaxone of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates with increased resistance to penicillin in cases of acute otitis media.

This multicenter, noncomparative, nonrandomized study evaluated the clinical efficacy and safety of ceftriaxone for treating acute otitis media in children following clinical failure of oral antibiotic therapy. Middle-ear fluid samples were collected on day 0 and on day 3, 4, or 5 (day 3 to 5) and were used to test whether ceftriaxone therapy can eradicate Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates with increased resistance to penicillin (MIC >/= 1 mg/liter). At the first visit, on day 0, middle-ear fluid was sampled for bacteriological testing by tympanocentesis or otorrhea pus suction.

Pathogens isolated during treatment failures in otitis.

Objectives: A prospective study in the Paris region to evaluate the clinical and bacteriologic epidemiology of acute otitis media in infants in whom oral antibiotic therapy resulted in clinical failure.

Methods: The study included 186 children with a mean age of 17.5 +/- 13.

[International registry on mucoviscidosis: comparison of the French data with the European data for 1995].

Background: The Epidemiologic Registry of Cystic Fibrosis (ERCF) is an international registry, sponsored by Roche Laboratories, collecting data about CF patients in Europe. The aim of the our study is to compare the French data with the European data collected during the year 1995.

Results: By December 31st 1995, 8,831 patients have been enrolled in Europe, including 1,457 patients in France.

[Isotretinoin (Roaccutane) in women of childbearing age: failure of following prescription guidelines].

Background: Despite prominent warnings, pregnancies continue to be reported in women exposed to isotretinoin.

Patients And Methods: We report results of the analysis of 318 questions asked to pharacovigilance structures in France from 1987 to 1995 because of an exposition to isotretinoin during the risk period and of a prospective inquiry concerning isotretinoin prescription in women conducted among pharmacists.

Results: These 318 pregnancies began during the month after Roaccutane withdrawal (n = 104, 33 p.

Evaluation of ibuprofen versus aspirin and paracetamol on efficacy and comfort in children with fever.

Objective: We compared efficacy and impact on the comfort of ibuprofen (7.5 mg/kg per dose), aspirin (10 mg/kg/dose) and paracetamol (10 mg/kg per dose) on children with fever aged 6-24 months in an open, randomised study with three parallel groups.

Methods: The main criterion for efficacy was area under the curve (AUC) of percentage temperature reduction.

Chemonucleolysis versus surgical discectomy for sciatica secondary to lumbar disc herniation. A cost and quality-of-life evaluation.

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the cost and effects on quality of life [using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs)] of 2 treatments for sciatica secondary to lumbar disc herniation: chemonucleolysis and surgical discectomy. The design involved a combination of decision analysis and Rosser index, with assessment of probabilities from long term clinical series. Utility was based on patients' subjective assessment using a simplified self-administered Health Measurement Questionnaire (HMQ).