Médecines complémentaires: vers un consensus evidence- based à l'hôpital universitaire [Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM): towards an evidence-based consensus in the university hospital].

While a popular vote supported a new article on complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in the Swiss Constitution, this assessment in 14 wards of the University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland, attempted at answering the question: How can CAM use be better taken into account and patients informed with more rigor and respect for their choices? Confronted with a review of the literature (> 2000 publications in "Evidence-based complementary medicines" since 1998), respondents declared their ignorance of the clinical data presently available on CAM. All were in favour of more teaching and information on the subject, plus an official statement from the Hospital direction, ensuring production and diffusion of rigorous and clinically significant information on CAM.

Patients who attend a private practice vs a university outpatient clinic: how do they differ?

Although interpersonal continuity is commonly assumed to be essential for care, some patients prefer to attend a university outpatient clinic where physicians change regularly and interpersonal continuity of care is not ensured. The aim of this exploratory study was to evaluate the differences between patients attending a university outpatient clinic and patients frequenting a private practice, explore their patterns of care-seeking and their understanding of continued care. We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients attending the university medical outpatient clinic (OC) in Lausanne, Switzerland and ten randomly selected private general practices (PP). Eligible patients were >30 years, Swiss nationals or long term residents, with one or more chronic conditions and attending the same practice for >3 years. They were asked to complete a questionnaire on sociodemographic data, use of medical resources and reasons for choosing and remaining at the same practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a randomly selected subset of 26 patients to further explore their preferences. 329 patient questionnaires were completed, 219 by PP and 110 by OC patients. OC patients tended to be of lower socioeconomic status than PP patients. The main reason for choosing a PP were personal recommendation, while a higher percentage of patients chose the OC because they could obtain a first appointment quickly. A higher percentage of PP patients accorded importance to physician communication skills and trust, whereas a higher percentage of OC patients favoured investigation facilities. Qualitative data suggested that although OC and PP patients reported different reasons for consulting, their expectations on the medical and relationship level were similar. Our study suggests that the two groups of patients belong to different social backgrounds, have different patterns of care-seeking and attach importance to different aspects of care continuity. However, patients' expectations and perceptions of the physician-patient relationship are similar.

How to operate a university institute as a radiological emergency service?

The Institute of Radiation Physics (IRA) is attached to the Department of Medical Radiology at the Vaud University Hospital Center (CHUV) in Lausanne. The Institute's main tasks are strongly linked to the medical activities of the Department: radiotherapy, radiodiagnostics, interventional radiology and nuclear medicine. The Institute also works in the fields of operational radiation protection, radiation metrology and radioecology. In the case of an accident involving radioactive materials, the emergency services are able to call on the assistance of radiation protection specialists. In order to avoid having to create and maintain a specific structure, both burdensome and rarely needed, Switzerland decided to unite all existing emergency services for such events. Thus, the IRA was invited to participate in this network. The challenge is therefore to integrate a university structure, used to academic collaborations and the scientific approach, to an interventional organization accustomed to strict policies, a military-style command structure and "drilled" procedures. The IRA's solution entails mobilizing existing resources and the expertise developed through professional experience. The main asset of this solution is that it involves the participation of committed collaborators who remain in a familiar environment, and are able to use proven materials and mastered procedures, even if the atmosphere of an accident situation differs greatly from regular laboratory routines. However, this solution requires both a commitment to education and training in emergency situations, and a commitment in terms of discipline by each collaborator in order to be integrated into a response plan supervised by an operational command center.

Osteogenic sarcoma of the maxillary region in a Mexican mestizo population.

Background and Objectives: This study analyzed maxillary osteosarcoma in a mestizo population, with particular emphasis on the type of treatment and disease-free and overall survival. Methods: This is a retrospective study including all mestizo patients with osteosarcoma of the maxilla seen in a single cancer institution in Mexico during a 20-year period. Results: There were 21 patients. Age ranged from 16 to 76 years (mean, 37.5 y). Mean evolution time to diagnosis was 13 months, with a mean tumor size of 7 x 6 cm(2). Surgery was the initial treatment in 19 patients, 17 of whom received adjuvant treatment. Disease-free survival according to surgical margin and overall survival were not statistically significant. Disease-free survival was 29% at 5 years, and overall survival was 50% and 25% at 5 and 10 years, respectively. Conclusions: Osteosarcomas of the maxilla are infrequent lesions that merit early diagnosis and proper treatment because of their rapid evolution. Treatment is currently based on a well-planned surgery with free surgical margins plus adjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy.

Artérite de Horton: recommandations Lausannoises de prise en charge [Giant cell arteritis: guidelines of the University Hospital of Lausanne].

L'artérite de Horton (AH), une vasculite subaiguë à chronique, est la plus fréquente des vasculites systémiques dans la population âgée de plus de 50 ans. L'absence de critères diagnostiques univoques, ajoutée au fait que le tableau clinique souvent complexe nécessite une prise en charge multidisciplinaire, conduit assez régulièrement à un retard thérapeutique. Il s'agit pourtant d'une maladie nécessitant un traitement urgent en raison du risque de cécité. Cet article présente une revue de l'AH et se conclut par des recommandations institutionnelles lausannoises concernant le diagnostic, la thérapie et la prise en charge multidisciplinaire. Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a subacute/chronic vasculitis and represents the most common form of systemic vasculitis in people over the age of 50 years. The absence of clear and specific diagnostic criteria with the highly variable clinical presentation is a diagnostic challenge requesting a multidisciplinary approach. Yet, GCA is an emergency and the treatment must be initiated very rapidly due to the risk of blindness. This article presents a review of GCA as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic institutional guidelines of the University Hospital of Lausanne.

Students support demographically-based quotas with distributive justice rules favoring their selection at university

We manipulate distributive justice rules of demographic quotas in university selection. Results show that quotas involving students' need are preferred over equity and authority ranking quotas. International students also differentiate more between quotas than locals, preferring those advantaging them. This suggests that universities should consider students' need in their selection.

Improving low achievers' academic performance at university by changing the social value of mastery goals

Recent research has shown that, in a University context, mastery goals are highly valued, and that students may endorse these goals either because they believe in their utility (i.e., social utility), in which case mastery goals are positively linked to achievement, or to create a positive image of themselves (i.e., social desirability), in which case mastery goals do not predict academic achievement. The present two experiments induced high vs. neutral levels of mastery goals' social utility and social desirability. Results confirmed that mastery goals predicted performance only when these goals were presented as socially useful but not socially desirable, especially among low achievers, those who need mastery goals the most to succeed.