La Revue de médecine interne
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Gout is a chronic disease due to the deposition of monosodium urate microcrystals in joints and tissues. Its incidence and prevalence are increasing worldwide in close relation with the epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome. ⋯ Demonstration of urate microcrystals arthritis allows diagnosis of gout but, in the absence of possibility of performing joint puncture, imaging may be useful for providing complementary diagnostic elements. Appropriate care is essential to reduce the number of flares and the evolution towards gouty arthropathy but also in terms of public health in order to reduce costs related to this pathology.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
[Association between psychiatric comorbidities and hospital length of stay in post-emergency internal medicine patients].
Patients with psychiatric disorders suffer from a higher rate of somatic disorders than those without psychiatric disorder, often inappropriately managed. Our study aimed to describe patients with psychiatric comorbidity in post-emergency internal medicine units and to compare their length of hospital stay to patients without psychiatric disease. ⋯ Patients with psychiatric comorbidity are frequent in post-emergency internal medicine wards. They experience longer hospital stays, only partly related with a higher burden of somatic disorders. Special attention should be paid to this vulnerable population.
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Case Reports
[Use of targeting therapy in Erdheim-Chester disease: A case report with neurologic involvement].
Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare multisystemic disease characterised by an infiltration of various organs by CD68+ CD1a- histiocytes. The clinical and radiological presentation is very variable. ⋯ Our case report shows the persistent diagnostic difficulty of the ECD and the particular gravity of neurologic involvement.
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Thyroiditis is a frequent and mostly benign disease that can sometimes disrupt the thyroid balance. Their diagnosis, as well as their aetiology, is a necessary step in the management of the patients. Painful thyroiditis includes acute thyroiditis of infectious origin and subacute thyroiditis. ⋯ The treatment of hypothyroidism will be based on thyroid replacement therapy according to the TSH level and the presence or absence of anti-TPO antibodies. Treatment of symptomatic hyperthyroidism may involve a prescription of beta-blockers, or synthetic antithyroid drugs in case of positive anti-TSH receptor antibodies. In all cases, it is desirable to contact an endocrinologist to confirm the diagnosis hypothesis and to decide on a suitable treatment.
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Tick-borne relapsing fever is a usual cause of fever in West Africa. Except relapsing febrile episodes, there are no pathognomonic signs and diagnosis is difficult because Borrelia density in patient's blood is low. ⋯ This diagnosis should be evocated in patients having fever after a trip in infested area, as malaria, both infections can be associated.