La Revue de médecine interne
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The French law allows the persons of age to appoint a trusted person and to draft advance directives in case they are one day in a condition that prevents them from expressing their will regarding their health care. Our study objective was to assess patients' and relatives' knowledge and collecting their opinion regarding these means of expression of their will. ⋯ Legal means of expression of the patient's wishes and are not systematically known by the population. The possibility to appoint a trusted person is much more known than that to draft advance directives. After the release in December 2012 of the Sicard report regarding the end of life in France, an important information campaign of the general public remains to be undertaken.
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Primary epiploic appendagitis is known to be a rare finding among causes of acute abdomen. Depending on location, it may mimic several disorders such as colonic diverticulitis and acute appendicitis. Diagnosis is sometimes performed during surgery. ⋯ Appendagitis is a rare cause of acute abdominal pain. Outcome is favorable with medical treatment only. Abdominal ultrasound and CT are helpful diagnostic tests avoiding useless surgical procedure.
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Case Reports
[Immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy associated with antibodies to hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase].
Statins or 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (HMGCR) are among the most commonly prescribed treatment in France. They may be responsible for muscular intolerance with variable severity. They have been recently involved in the occurrence of an acquired inflammatory myopathy associated with anti-HMGCR antibodies. This new type of toxic myopathy remains poorly known by clinicians. ⋯ Statins may unmask or cause an autoimmune necrotizing myopathy associated with the presence of anti-HMGCR antibodies. Their identification is now routinely available. An immunosuppressive treatment is necessary and justified by the autoimmune nature of the disease.
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Comparative Study
[What happens to therapeutic changes decided during hospitalization in an internal medicine ward? A two-month single-centre prospective study in France].
During a hospitalization in an internal medicine department, drug prescriptions are frequently modified. We studied the course of these therapeutic changes after patients' discharge. ⋯ Therapeutic changes decided during a hospitalization in an internal medicine unit and prescribed at discharge are mostly preserved in outpatients two months after discharge, especially when the modifications are explained in the discharge letter.