One Hundred Explicit Definitions of Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions of Antibiotics in Hospitalized Older Patients: The Results of an Expert Consensus Study.

Background: In geriatrics, explicit criteria for potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs) are useful for optimizing drug use.

Objective: To produce an expert consensus on explicit definitions of antibiotic-PIPs for hospitalized older patients.

Methods: We conducted a Delphi survey involving French experts on antibiotic stewardship in hospital settings.

Rapid multiplex PCR assays in patients with respiratory viral infections: is semi-quantitative data useful? A pilot study.

Viral respiratory rapid multiplex PCR assays FilmArray® (FA) and ePlex® (eP) provide qualitative results which may not reflect clinical relevance. In a pilot study, we report retrospectively whether the semi-quantitative PCR assay R-GENE® would have facilitated clinical interpretation. Forty-four patients were hospitalized for various respiratory manifestations; all of them have benefited from a respiratory sample during acute symptoms.

Is Rifampin Use Associated With Better Outcome in Staphylococcal Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis? A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background: International guidelines recommend rifampin-based combinations for staphylococcal prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). However, no robust clinical data support this recommendation, and rifampin tolerability is an issue. We aimed to evaluate the impact of rifampin for the treatment of staphylococcal PVE.

Memory B Cells and Response to Abatacept in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Abatacept is a fusion protein (CTLA4-Ig) and therapeutic molecule labeled for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Abatacept acts both by disrupting the CD28-mediated activation of T cells and by interacting with CD80/CD86 molecules present on antigen presenting cells such as monocytes and memory B cells. Accordingly and to evaluate clinical and biological parameters associated with response to abatacept, a retrospective monocentric study was conducted in 43 patients with RA, and the clinical response was evaluated at 6 months according to EULAR response criteria.

Could Lymphocyte Profiling be Useful to Diagnose Systemic Autoimmune Diseases?

Considering the implications of B, T, and natural killer (NK) cells in the pathophysiology of systemic autoimmune diseases, the assessment of their distribution in the blood could be helpful for physicians in the complex process of determining a precise diagnosis. In primary Sjögren's syndrome, transitional and active naive B cells are increased and memory B cells are decreased compared to healthy controls and other systemic diseases. However, their utility to improve the accuracy of classification criteria has not been proven.

Time-course of ultrasound abnormalities of major salivary glands in suspected Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: To evaluate whether major salivary-gland ultrasonography (SGUS) abnormalities change over time in patients with suspected primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) during the natural course of the disease.

Methods: We studied patients with suspected pSS who were included in the Brittany cohort of suspected pSS and underwent SGUS at least twice, as part of the routine diagnostic workup done at baseline then at least 1 year later as an additional investigation deemed appropriate by the physician. The evaluation criteria were the semi-quantitative SGUS score (0-4) for each parotid and submandibular gland, the highest SGUS score among the four glands, and the sum of SGUS scores for the four glands.

Classification criteria versus physician's opinion for considering a patient with inflammatory back pain as suffering from spondyloarthritis.

Objective: To assess agreement among methods for classifying patients with inflammatory back pain (IBP) after a 2-year follow-up.

Methods: Patients with IBP in the French nationwide, longitudinal, prospective cohort DESIR were classified after 2years based on imaging findings, rheumatologist's confidence in a diagnosis of spondyloarthritis, three classification criteria sets (axial Assessment of Spondyloarthritis international Society [ASAS], European Spondylarthropathy Study Group [ESSG], and Amor) and treatment (TNFα antagonists). Agreement among these methods was assessed by computing the percentage of concordant classifications and Cohen's kappa coefficient.