Non-redundant association rules between diseases and medications: an automated method for knowledge base construction.

Background: The widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) has generated massive clinical data storage. Association rules mining is a feasible technique to convert this large amount of data into usable knowledge for clinical decision making, research or billing. We present a data driven method to create a knowledge base linking medications to pathological conditions through their therapeutic indications from elements within the EHRs.

Improving computer security by health smart card.

The University hospitals of Strasbourg have worked for several years on the computer security of the medical data and have of this fact be the first to use the Health Care Professional Smart Card (CPS). This new tool must provide security to the information processing systems and especially to the medical data exchanges between the partners who collaborate to the care of the Beyond the purely data-processing aspects of the functions of safety offered by the CPS, safety depends above all on the practices on the users, their knowledge concerning the legislation, the risks and the stakes, of their adhesion to the procedures and protections installations. The aim of this study is to evaluate this level of knowledge, the practices and the feelings of the users concerning the computer security of the medical data, to check the relevance of the step taken, and if required, to try to improve it.

Nitric oxide donors for patients undergoing IVF. A prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in local control of the uterine cycle and in preparation of the uterus for pregnancy. NO donors, acting as vasodilating agents, may therefore have possible therapeutic uses, for example they may be of benefit to patients with a history of implantation failure. In a prospective, comparative, randomized, placebo-controlled study, we assessed the efficacy of nitroglycerin (NTG) administered to 138 IVF patients with a history of implantation failure.

Can the wound healing process be improved by vitamin supplementation? Experimental study on humans.

Unlabelled: The improvement of the wound healing process in humans by vitamin supplements is still controversial because of the lack of a clearly demonstrated correlation with the mechanical properties of scars.

Objective: The aim of this work was to study the effects of high doses of ascorbic acid (AA) and pantothenic acid (PA) on the wound healing process of human skin.

Method: Two groups of patients undergoing surgery for tattoo removal by the successive resection procedure received AA (1 or 3 g/day) and PA (0.

Comparison of resection, liver transplantation and transcatheter oily chemoembolization in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background/aims: Resection and liver transplantation are currently considered as the most useful treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma. However, transcatheter oily chemoembolization may be favourably compared with these two surgical treatments in patients with anatomically operable tumors.

Methods: Between 1985 and 1991, 122 patients with an Okuda stage I tumor were hospitalized in two French hospitals.

[Does the choice of mammoplasty pedicle influence the shape of reduced the reduced-sized breast?].

Thirty seven patients with breast hypertrophy were restrospectively reviewed with a mean follow-up of 2 years. Reduction mammoplasty was performed with 3 different pedicles (superior, inferior and both) involving a glandular resection of a least 500 g on each side in all cases. The results were evaluated according to both objective and subjective criteria.

Prospective study on fetal weight estimation using limb circumferences obtained by three-dimensional ultrasound.

The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the usefulness of fetal weight estimation in a prospective study, based on formulae derived from a previous retrospective study, using forward stepwise multiple regression analysis. Three-dimensional ultrasound was used to make reproducible measurement of limb circumferences, which formed the basis of our models. A total of 213 women with singleton pregnancies were scanned in the week prior to delivery and the following variables were measured: biparietal diameter, head circumference, transverse abdominal diameter, abdominal circumference, femur length, thigh circumference and arm circumference.

Effect of pantothenic acid and ascorbic acid supplementation on human skin wound healing process. A double-blind, prospective and randomized trial.

This study aimed at testing human skin wound healing improvement by a 21-day supplementation of 1.0 g ascorbic acid (AA) and 0.2 g pantothenic acid (PA).

[Survival in acute myocardial infarction in a group of 369 patients consecutively admitted between 1988 and 1992. Analysis of risk factors and medical procedure].

A retrospective analysis without exclusion of 369 consecutive cases of myocardial infarction admitted between January 1988 and March 1992 studied the risk factors, previous medical history and treatment in this period during which medical practice seemed to be standardised with acknowledged benefits of thrombolysis, beta-blockade and aspirin therapy. The population observed is divided in three age groups (< 65, > 65 < 75 and > 75). A Cox model multivariate analysis for age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, tobacco smoking, previous infarction, coronary artery disease and cardiac failure underlined the risk related to age which was 3.

Measurement of limb circumferences with three-dimensional ultrasound for fetal weight estimation.

A large number of formulae have been published for fetal weight estimation. This study examines the possibility of using three-dimensional ultrasound to measure the limb circumference. This technology provides us with the opportunity to visualize two simultaneous, orthogonal planes, allowing the exact determination of the transverse plane at the mid-point of the limb.