Economic constraint and modes of consumption of addictive goods.

Background: To see how economic recession, or, more generally, how increased economic constraint amongst drug users may impact their behaviour regarding the mode of drug consumption.

Methods: The theoretical framework is the theory of rational addiction - drug users are considered to be rational and well-informed about the way they use drugs and the consequences of using them. Surveys in the specialist literature dealing with the potential changes in the economic context of drugs users, and with the mechanisms of the bioavailability of psychoactive substances are examined in order to highlight one of the strategies drug users can implement to circumvent economic problems - namely a change in the mode of administration.

Outcomes in older patients after surgical treatment for hip fracture: a new approach to characterise the link between readmissions and the surgical stay.

Background: in older patients, there is a high risk of hospital readmission within the first year after surgery for hip fracture, due to complications following treatment or to the evolution of prior comorbid conditions.

Objectives: to identify factors associated with readmissions related to the index surgical stay.

Design: retrospective cohort study.

[Hospital LOS, medical complexity and deprivation indicators].

Background: Several studies have shown that socioeconomic deprivation is associated with increased hospitalization lengths of stay (LOS) and costs. Yet, the French DRG-based information system (PMSI) does not take deprived situations into account. Hence, we aimed at extracting routinely available variables measuring deprivation from the Hospital Information System and at assessing their association with severity of illness and hospital LOS.