Malakit: an innovative pilot project to self-diagnose and self-treat malaria among illegal gold miners in the Guiana Shield.

Background: Illegal gold miners in French Guiana, a French overseas territory ('département') located in Amazonia, often carry malaria parasites (up to 46.8%). While the Guiana Shield Region aims at malaria elimination, the high prevalence of Plasmodium in this hard-to-reach population in conjunction with frequent incorrect use of artemisinin-based anti-malarials could favour the emergence of resistant parasites.

Lipid profiles in French West Indies sickle cell disease cohorts, and their general population.

Background: The pathophysiology of sickle cell disease (SCD) and the variability of its clinical expression remain not fully understood, whether within or between different SCD genotypes. Recent studies have reported associations between lipid levels and several SCD complications. If lipid levels have been previously described as low in sickle cell anemia (SCA), few data have been provided for sickle cell SC disease (SCC).

Country of infection among HIV-infected patients born abroad living in French Guiana.

Background: Over 75% of patients in the HIV cohort in French Guiana are of foreign origin. Our objective was to estimate what proportion of the migrant population of HIV-infected patients in Cayenne had been infected in French Guiana.

Methods: We included patients of known foreign origin who were followed in Cayenne, for whom the year of arrival in French Guiana was known and the initial CD4 count at the time of diagnosis was available.

Cerebral injuries associated with Zika virus in utero exposure in children without birth defects in French Guiana: Case report.

Rationale: A major epidemic of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection occurred in French Guiana and West Indies. French national epidemiological surveillance estimated that 1650 pregnant women contracted the ZIKV during epidemic period from January 2016 to October 2016 in French Guiana.

Patient Concerns: ZIKV infection during pregnancy is a cause of microcephaly and birth defects.

Histoplasmosis: An oral malignancy-like clinical picture.

HIV-associated histoplasmosis is mainly misdiagnosed for granulomatous diseases, such as tuberculosis. Nonetheless, malignancy-like lesions have been reported sporadically in HIV-infected patients. Although the main reported lesions are erosive or ulcerated, here a rare case of oral tumor is reported.

Predictors of abnormal cytology among HPV-infected women in remote territories of French Guiana.

Background: Cervical cancer prevention using cervical cytology is insufficiently sensitive, a significant proportion of HPV-infected women having normal cytology. The objective of the present study was to try to identify factors associated with abnormal cytology in HPV-infected women living in remote areas of French Guiana.

Methods: A study was conducted in women aged 20-65 years having HPV infections confirmed by HPV DNA detection using the GREINER-BIO-ONE kit.

Poverty and Arbovirus Outbreaks: When Chikungunya Virus Hits More Precarious Populations Than Dengue Virus in French Guiana.

Background: Since 2013, 3 successive arbovirus outbreaks, dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika virus, have occurred in French Guiana (FG). The primary objective of this study was to describe the socioeconomic indicators of the first patients infected with CHIKV during the outbreak of 2014. The secondary objective was to compare those patients with patient infected by DENV and with the local population.

Predictors of antimalarial self-medication in illegal gold miners in French Guiana: a pathway towards artemisinin resistance.

Background: Malaria is endemic in French Guiana (FG), South America. Despite the decrease in cases in the local population, illegal gold miners are very affected by malaria (22.3% of them carried Plasmodium spp.

A predictive score for hypotension in patients with confirmed dengue fever in Cayenne Hospital, French Guiana.

Background: Identifying patients at risk of developing severe dengue is challenging. The objective of the present study was to determine the incidence of hypotension and its predictive factors during the Dengue 2 epidemic in 2013.

Methods: In 2013, a longitudinal study was performed using data from all confirmed cases of dengue seen in Cayenne General Hospital.

Prospective evaluation of the SD BIOLINE Dengue Duo rapid test during a dengue virus epidemic.

Dengue virus is endemic in French Guiana with occurrence of cyclical outbreaks. There is a need for rapid tests allowing dengue laboratory diagnosis in healthcare centers scattered throughout this wide Amazonian territory. Our objective was to evaluate the real-life performance of the SD BIOLINE Dengue Duo (IgG/IgM + NS1 Ag) rapid test (RDT) during the 2012-2013 dengue epidemics.

Fungal infections in HIV/AIDS.

Fungi are major contributors to the opportunistic infections that affect patients with HIV/AIDS. Systemic infections are mainly with Pneumocystis jirovecii (pneumocystosis), Cryptococcus neoformans (cryptococcosis), Histoplasma capsulatum (histoplasmosis), and Talaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei (talaromycosis). The incidence of systemic fungal infections has decreased in people with HIV in high-income countries because of the widespread availability of antiretroviral drugs and early testing for HIV.

Illegal gold miners in French Guiana: a neglected population with poor health.

Background: In French Guiana, a French overseas territory in South America, 6 to 10 thousands undocumented persons work illegally in gold mining sites in the Amazonian forest. Precarious life conditions lead to poor health but few data exist on the health status of illegal gold miners in French Guiana. The objective of this article was to describe the sociodemographic and health status of this vulnerable population.

Cryotherapy to treat anogenital warts in nonimmunocompromised adults: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Cryotherapy is one of the most commonly used therapeutic modalities to treat anogenital warts (AGWs), but this treatment was not clearly established in the recent international recommendations.

Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of cryotherapy versus other AGW treatments.

Methods: Through a systematic search of 12 electronic databases, we identified 11 randomized controlled trials, screened from database inception through October 2016, that met the inclusion criteria (including immunocompetent adults with AGWs receiving cryotherapy in 1 of the comparison groups).

Sexual risk behaviors and predictors of inconsistent condom use among crack cocaine users in the French overseas territories in the Americas.

The French overseas territories in the Americas are the French territories most affected by HIV. Crack cocaine users are particularly impacted. The objective of this study was to describe sexual risk behaviors and inconsistent condom use among crack cocaine users.

Squamous cell carcinoma in the Afro-Caribbean community: an 11-year retrospective study.

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is considered the most frequent skin cancer in Black people. Its incidence is not known in the Afro-Caribbean population.

Objective: To assess the incidence of SCC in Guadeloupe, the largest island of the Lesser Antilles (405 000 inhabitants, mostly Black people of African and European descent).

Differences of microparticle patterns between sickle cell anemia and hemoglobin SC patients.

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) and hemoglobin SC (HbSC) disease are the two most common forms of sickle cell disease (SCD), a frequent hemoglobinopathy which exhibits a highly variable clinical course. Although high levels of microparticles (MPs) have been consistently reported in SCA and evidence of their harmful impact on the SCA complication occurrences have been provided, no data on MP pattern in HbSC patients has been reported so far. In this study, we determined and compared the MP patterns of 84 HbSC and 96 SCA children, all at steady-state, using flow cytometry.

The singular epidemiology of HPV infection among French Guianese women with normal cytology.

Background: In French Guiana, cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer in females. The objective of the present study was to describe the prevalence of HPV infections in women with normal cervical cytology living in the remote villages of French Guiana.

Methods: Before the study, the study team communicated in the remote villages on the importance of screening.

High prevalence of HPV infection in the remote villages of French Guiana: an epidemiological study.

Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer in women in French Guiana. Studies have shown that populations living in the remote areas of the interior have early sexual debut and that multiple sexual partnerships are common. The objective of the present study was thus to determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in these areas.

Chikungunya Infection in Hospitalized Febrile Infants Younger Than 3 Months of Age.

Background: Fever in infants younger than 3 months is generally a cause for concern because of the risk for a serious bacterial infection. The aim of this study was to describe clinical and biologic features of Chikungunya infection in infants <3 months of age hospitalized in Cayenne Hospital during the 2014-2015 outbreak.

Methods: We performed a preliminary retrospective study followed by a prospective study from March 2014 to February 2015.

Exacerbation of oxidative stress during sickle vaso-occlusive crisis is associated with decreased anti-band 3 autoantibodies rate and increased red blood cell-derived microparticle level: a prospective study.

Painful vaso-occlusive crisis, a hallmark of sickle cell anaemia, results from complex, incompletely understood mechanisms. Red blood cell (RBC) damage caused by continuous endogenous and exogenous oxidative stress may precipitate the occurrence of vaso-occlusive crises. In order to gain insight into the relevance of oxidative stress in vaso-occlusive crisis occurrence, we prospectively compared the expression levels of various oxidative markers in 32 adults with sickle cell anaemia during vaso-occlusive crisis and steady-state conditions.