Relève en médecine interne générale: enjeux et perspectives [Perspectives and challenges to guarantee training and renewal in general internal medicine]

Training new doctors in general internal medicine represents a challenge. This requires to define future needs, which result from interest that are not necessarily convergent between patients, doctors, insurers and politicians. Problems related to medical demography in Switzerland, with the ageing of the population, the increase in health care costs and the place of Switzerland within the European Community require the implementation of specific objectives to train new physicians in general internal medicine. The success of these opportunities depends on social factors, political choices and choices from physician's association. In this article we will approach these challenges by formulating some proposals--nonexhaustive--in order to guarantee sufficient renewal in general internal medicine.

Aptitude à la conduite, pathologies psychiatriques et psychotropes chez la personne âgée [Driving ability, mental illness and psychotropic medication in the elderly].

Fitness to drive in elderly drivers is most commonly discussed with a focus on cognitive impairment. Therefore, this article is focussing on mental illness and the use of psychotropic drugs in elderly drivers, which can both interfere with fitness to drive. Based on a detailed literature review and on clinical judgement, we propose signposts and "red flags" to judge the individual risks. Health professionals dealing with elderly patients should in particular be aware of the dangers related to cumulative risks and need to inform the patients appropriately. For medico-legal reasons the information provided to patients must be written down in the medical record. Individual counselling is important as fitness to drive is a complex topic.

Evaluation de la sarcopénie de la personne agée par la bio-impédance spectroscopique [Multispectral bioimpedance and sarcopenia in the elderly].

The definition of sarcopenia includes both a loss of muscle strength and a decline in functional quality in addition to the loss of muscle protein mass. Multispectral bioimpendance allows bedside assessment of muscle mass. Using this new tool, we performed a pilot study to look for a possible correlation between muscle mass and various tests of muscle strength (grip strength, key-pitch, tip-pinch) and with functional tests (walk speed on 10 meters and Tinetti test). Our study demonstrates a good correlation between muscle mass determined by spectroscopic bioimpendance and muscle strength assessment, but no correlation with functional tests.

Définir le risque du carcinome spinocellulaire: rôle de la clinique et du rapport anatomopathologique [Risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas: the role of clinical and pathological reports].

The history of most cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (CSCC) is limited to the skin. However, about 4% of these malignancies are at risk of metastasis and can be life-threatening. This risk is determined by clinical and histological elements which are individually recognized, but so far staging systems allow us neither to assess a risk score, nor to adopt a standardized therapeutical approach. This article reviews prognostic factors for CSCC, and underlines the need for the clinician to have all clinical and histological elements available, in order to try to define the best therapeutical strategy for each case, following up-to-date recommendations.

La maladie de Wilson: un caméléon clinique auquel il faut penser [A primer on Wilson disease for the general practitioner].

Wilson disease (WD) is an inherited disorder of hepatic copper excretion leading to toxic accumulation of copper in the liver as well as the brain, cornea, and other organs. The defect is due to mutations of the copper-transporting ATPase ATP7B. Clinical manifestations are highly variable and comprise acute liver failure, chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis as well as neurological or psychiatric symptoms. The Kayser-Fleischer corneal ring is pathognomonic but absent in about 50% of patients with hepatic manifestations alone. A high index of suspicion in clinically compatible situations is key, with a combination of laboratory tests allowing the diagnosis of WD. Treatment is based on the use of chelating agents, D-penicillamine or trientine. Liver transplantation should be considered for patients with acute liver failure or advanced cirrhosis.

Effets du travail de nuit sur la santé

Dans les pays industrialisés, 20% des salariés sont concernés par le travail de nuit. Pourtant, les effets du travail de nuit sur la santé sont peu traités par les revues médicales générales, alors que le travail de nuit a des conséquences non négligeables sur les systèmes cardiovasculaires et digestifs entre autres, comme l'ont démontré de nombreuses études ces dernières décennies. Le travail de nuit a encore récemment attiré l'attention quand il a été déclaré cancérigène probable (catégorie 2A) par le Centre international de recherches sur le cancer. Ainsi dans cet article, seront passés en revue les troubles de la santé qui peuvent être générés ou aggravés par le travail de nuit. Deux cas pratiques illustreront la problématique et permettront d'aborder la conduite à tenir. 20% of employees in industrialized countries are concerned by shift work. Nevertheless, there is very little information in general medical journals about the effects of shift work on health. Shift work can have several major effects on health such as cardiovascular and digestive disorders among others, as demonstrated by several studies in recent decades. Shift work has attracted considerable attention recently when it was declared probable carcinogen by the International Agency for research on cancer. We review the health disorders that may be generated or aggravated by shift work and illustrate the problem by two case studies of occupational medicine and discuss the appropriate attitude to take

Reduction des risques au cabinet du généraliste chez les consommateurs de cocaine: une perspective motivationnelle [Risk reduction among cocaine users: a motivational approach in the GP's office]

Today, cocaine use is a public health issue. Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant drug which use is increasing among some part of the population. After a brief description of the physical and psychological effects of cocaine use, the article presents a motivational way for general practitioners to deal with risk-reduction issues. Based on the Transtheoretical Model of human behavior change and providing clinical examples, the article focuses particularly on the two earliest stages of change: "pre-contemplation" and "contemplation".

Modifications neurocomportementales secondaires à la sclérose en plaques [Neurobehavioral changes occurring during multiple sclerosis]

Behavioral changes occurring in patients affected by multiple sclerosis (MSI are often neglected by physicians but are actually part of the clinical spectrum of the disease. In addition, they are known to be responsible for a decline in the quality of life of MS patients. Recently, there has been a growing interest to investigate changes in the emotional experience of MS patients and their decision making, showing that the ability to take advantageous decisions was altered in MS. This paper reviews existing data on this topic.

Rapport d'évaluation des prestations du service d'éducation sexuelle de Profa en milieu scolaire

Ce rapport a pour objectif général d'évaluer l'offre en matière d'éducation sexuelle dans les écoles vaudoises en vue de l'adapter à l'évolution de la société et de répondre aux exigences de la loi sur les subventions. Confiée à l'Institut universitaire de médecine sociale et préventive, l'évaluation comprend un inventaire des prestations en éducation sexuelle dispensées aux écoliers vaudois, une description de leur articulation avec le monde scolaire, une revue de la littérature et des cadres de référence existants, une comparaison avec la situation prévalant dans les cantons romands, ainsi qu'un recueil des besoins et attentes des partenaires dans le domaine de l'éducation sexuelle.

Quand faut-il opérer une fracture isolée du tiers moyen de la clavicule [When to operate an isolated midshaft clavicle fracture?]

Slightly displaced clavicular midshaft fracture is currently treated nonoperatively. There is considerable debate about whether acute displaced fractures should be treated operatively. Nonunion rate after displaced fracture has been underestimated for a long time, and malunion clinical impact often minimized. It is known that operative treatment decreases these rates. However, operating all displaced fractures may lead to overtreatment. Acute operative treatment of midshaft fractures with delayed treatment of established nonunion showed no significant difference in the outcome, but malunion surgical management is technically demanding. Consequently these fractures could be treated surgically, but operative indication should be adapted to patient expectations.