Epidemiology and medical management of body-packers in French Guiana between 2010 and 2015.

Background: French Guiana is used as a drug trafficking pipeline of cocaine to Europe. The number of arrests for transporting cocaine in corpore has increased exponentially in recent years. Since 2010, Cayenne Hospital's emergency care unit has applied a medical management protocol system for body-packers.

Cervical spondylitis due to Phaeoacremonium venezuelense in an immunocompetent patient. A first case report.

In this paper, we present a case of cervical spondylitis due to Phaeoacremonium venezuelense, in a fifty-two-year-old male who complained about neck pain and tingles in his right arm. Fungal cervical spondylitis is extremely rare in immunocompetent patients. This case is the first case of spondylitis due to P.

Flow measurements in sewers based on image analysis: automatic flow velocity algorithm.

Discharges of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and stormwater are recognized as an important source of environmental contamination. However, the harsh sewer environment and particular hydraulic conditions during rain events reduce the reliability of traditional flow measurement probes. An in situ system for sewer water flow monitoring based on video images was evaluated.

Vision-based system for the control and measurement of wastewater flow rate in sewer systems.

Combined sewer overflows and stormwater discharges represent an important source of contamination to the environment. However, the harsh environment inside sewers and particular hydraulic conditions during rain events reduce the reliability of traditional flow measurement probes. In the following, we present and evaluate an in situ system for the monitoring of water flow in sewers based on video images.

[Pseudotumoral presentation of American pulmonary histioplasmosis].

In France, American pulmonary histoplasmosis is an imported deep mycosis, caused by inhalation of Histoplasma capsulatum. Clinical and radiological features of this exotic disease are multiple, simulating tuberculosis or cancer. We report two cases of American histoplasmosis with pseudo-tumoral form, in immunocompetent subjects working in Venezuela, with a multinodular pulmonary presentation.

Application of new imaging and calculation techniques to activity and dose assessment in the case of a 106Ru contaminated wound.

The aim of this paper is to describe the dosimetric evaluation of a point contamination that occurred in a laboratory during the examination of an irradiated sample. The incident led to point contamination of the operator's finger due to the presence of mainly 106Ru, with its progeny, 106Rh. The paper reports on the activity and dose assessment, performed using several methods.

[Metastasis in pulmonary arteries].

We report two cases of pulmonary tumor emboli. The first patient had a chondroblastic osteosarcoma of the pelvis while the second patient had a seminoma. The possibility of tumor emboli should be entertained in patients with prior history of malignancy presenting with enlargement of the pulmonary arteries and thrombus enhancement on delayed scans.

[Effort-induced macroscopic hematuria revealing segmental and congenital absence of inferior vena cava].

Absence of inferior vena cava (IVC) is an uncommon congenital abnormality with few clinical repercussions. We report the case of a 39 year old man with chronic pelvic pain, in whom a macroscopic hematuria episode occurring during exercise led to the discovery of an echographic pelvic venous stasis syndrome. Abdominal and pelvic computed tomography scanning then magnetic resonance imaging of inferior vena cava revealed absence of the postrenal segment of IVC with azygos continuation and considerable collateral venous derivations, leading to pelvic cavernoma.

[Phrenic nerve malignant schwannoma: an exceptional diagnosis].

We report a case of malignant schwannoma of left phrenic nerve in a 65-year-old man. This uncommon diagnosis was suggested by radiological features and confirmed by histological findings on a needle biopsy and surgery specimens. We discuss management, follow-up and prognosis of malignant schwannomas.

[Asymptomatic pulmonary embolism and venous thrombosis of the lower limbs. Study with spiral x-ray computed tomography].

Aim: Spiral Computed Tomography (CT) allows diagnosis and follow-up in pulmonary embolism (PE).

Material And Method: We studied prospectively with spiral CT 21 patients to evaluate the frequency and the extent of asymptomatic PE in the patients with lower limbs venous thrombosis and no pulmonary symptomatology.

Results: We observed a asymptomatic PE in 8/21 cases (34%).

Should mechanical ventilation be optimized to blood gases, lung mechanics, or thoracic CT scan?

This study was aimed at providing data for optimization of mechanical ventilation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The effects of ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) titrated to blood gases were studied by thoracic computed tomographic (CT) scans and lung mechanics measurements in eight patients. CT density histograms at end-expiration were used to investigate the effects of PEEP on three differently aerated zones.

[MRI of the internal auditory meatus. Is injection of gadolinium indispensable?].

Object: To compare prospectively high resolution fast spin echo T2 weighted (FSE-T2W) images and gadolinium-enhanced spin echo T1 weighted images for diagnosis of pathology of the internal auditory meatus (IAM).

Patients And Methods: 114 patients underwent MR imaging at 1.5 T with the following protocol: axial images; whole brain FSE-T2W sequence (256 matrix); 2 sequences focused on IAM with high resolution FSE-T2W acquisitions (512 matrix, 3 mm sections with 1.

[Cholesteatoma of the posterior cerebral fossa. 7 cases and review of the literature].

Fifty percent of intracranial epidermoid cysts are located in the cerebral posterior fossa. Clinical presenting features are not specific and vary according to cyst topography and mass effect on neighbouring structures. In CT, the lesion is hypodense as related to the cerebral tissue, but with no specificity.

[Inflammatory pseudo-tumor of the lung. Clinico-pathologic report of a case].

One case of a solitary pulmonary nodule occurring in a 54-year-old woman with history of breast carcinoma is presented. Histological examination of the surgical specimen excluded breast carcinoma metastasis and revealed an inflammatory pseudotumor. Principal clinico-pathological findings in previously reported cases are described.

[Chondrosarcoma of the thoracic wall. Review of the literature apropos of 4 cases].

Primary tumors of the chest wall are rare. Chondrosarcoma are the more usual neoplastic tumors for those localisations. The authors describe 4 cases of primary chondrosarcoma of the chest wall diagnosed in the Hospital Val-de-Grâce since 12 years and make a review about chondrosarcoma.

[Primary brain lymphoma in AIDS. 17 cases studied by MRI before stereotaxic biopsies].

Aim: Determining which semiological criteria might help to suggest lymphoma when an intracerebral mass in observed in a patient with AIDS. The use of these criteria might shorten the duration of the anti-toxoplasmic test treatment and to perform puncture earlier. The fast growth of the lymphomas may account for the rapid death of these patients if untreated, but as a corollary, its increase in size can be objectively measured over a short period, about ten days.