Innovations in 2023 for Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases

Laurence Bamps, Leila Belkhir, Julien De Greef, Anne Vincent, Jean Cyr Yombi (1) Published in the journal : February 2024 Category : Médecine interne et maladies infectieuses

The Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc deals with pathologies that affect the whole body system, one of its priorities being to raise awareness and promote disease prevention. In this issue, we have tackled two very different themes, both of which having been the focus of ongoing innovation and discovery in recent years. These topics include on one hand the diagnosis of inborn errors of immunity in adults, which is a scarcely-known clinical entity within the medical world, though less rare than we would think. On the other hand figures the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, which is both a medical and societal concern

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Highlights and innovations in 2023

Olivier Devuyst1, Joëlle Thonnard1,2, Aline van Maanen3, Audrey Timmermans2, Yannick Barussaud4, Cédric Van Marcke5, Demet Yuksel2, Marianne Philippe2 Published in the journal : February 2024 Category : Rare Diseases

Rare diseases, most often of genetic origin, represent fertile ground for diagnostic and therapeutic innovations. The following two abstracts show how the development of genetic models, artificial intelligence, and computerized patient records are opening up new perspectives for these diseases and public health issues.

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Myelofibrosis, Multiple Myeloma, Anti-PF4 Antibodies, Acquired Hemophilia, Intravenous Iron, and Refractory Autoimmune Thrombocytopenia

Violaine Havelange1,2, Stefan N. Constantinescu1-5, Cédric Hermans1, Catherine Lambert1, Marie-Christiane Vekemans1 Published in the journal : February 2024 Category : Hematology/Oncology

Myelofibrosis is a myeloproliferative neoplasm with a poor survival rate, primarily characterized by anemia, splenomegaly, constitutional symptoms, bone pain, and cachexia. The only curative treatment is allogeneic peripheral stem cell transplantation, although it is associated with a non-negligible mortality and morbidity risk. JAK2 inhibitors help reduce spleen size and alleviate symptoms in these patients. The two most recent JAK2 inhibitors (pacritinib and momelotinib) may also confer erythropoietic benefits.

Despite therapeutic advances in multiple myeloma management, the disease remains incurable, largely due to the emergence of resistant tumor clones. Immunotherapy has made significant progress in recent years. In front-line therapy, the inclusion of monoclonal antibodies alters the outcomes for transplant-eligible patients, providing potential long-term disease control. In relapse, bispecific antibodies and CAR-T cells demonstrated notable efficacy in terms of survival and residual disease control, offering real hope for patients resistant to conventional treatments. These two aspects will be addressed in this article.

In patients presenting with venous or arterial thrombosis associated with thrombocytopenia, the presence of anti-PF4 antibodies and their properties (heparin dependence and platelet activation capacity) should be investigated. Widely adopted in congenital hemophilia, emicizumab, a bispecific antibody mimicking the action of factor VIII, is poised to become a first-line hemostatic treatment for patients with acquired hemophilia. These patients will benefit from better protection against bleeding, delaying the onset of severe and often deleterious immunosuppression in fragile patients. Certain intravenous iron formulations may lead to hypophosphatemia, a neglected but avoidable complication. For refractory forms of autoimmune thrombocytopenia, complement, Bruton's tyrosine kinase, CD38, and the neonatal Fc receptor represent promising therapeutic targets.

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Vascular malformations in 2023: Sirolimus confirms its efficacy and allows treatment in utero

Emmanuel Seront MD PhD1, An Van Damme MD PhD2, Julien Coulie MD3, Valérie Dekeuleneer MD3, Miikka Vikkula MD PhD4, Laurence M Boon, MD PhD3,4 Published in the journal : February 2024 Category : Chirurgie vasculaire

The mTOR pathway plays an essential role in the development of vascular malformations. A recently published VASE study confirms the efficacy of sirolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, in vascular malformations, with an efficacy rate of 85% and good overall safety.

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Innovations 2023 in Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology

Olivier Barbier*, Emmanuël Thienpont*, Olivier Cornu*, François Barbier, Pauline Gonzalez, Radegonde Versyck, Sebastiaan Arnauw, Seydou Diarra, Sami Ftaita, Louis Debarre, Karim Tribak, Dan Putineanu, Maïte Van Cauter, Jean-Emile Dubuc, et al Published in the journal : February 2024 Category : Chirurgie orthopédique et traumatologie

Peripheral nerve injuries leading to paralysis are not uncommon. Unfortunately, they are often approached with fatalism, most of us expecting a slow and often incomplete recovery as we are not familiar with the possibilities offered by nerve transfers. Being aware of the possibility of nerve transfers and the importance of not delaying referral enables patients to be directed to specialized teams and opens up new perspectives in terms of functional recovery.

On the other hand, the rate of meniscectomy beyond the age of 50 has been an indicator of clear deviation from good medical practice for the INAMI since April 2023, as meniscectomy beyond a certain age is considered to precipitate arthritis and the need for arthroplasty. The establishment of this indicator may lead to perverse behavior by increasing the number of patients operated on under the age of 50. Knee osteoarthritis is not directly correlated with age, and many factors need to be considered. We propose an algorithm for managing knee pain beyond the age of 50 and recommend that authorities review this indicator to prevent further drifts and unnecessary penalization of patients who should receive justified care.

Finally, the application of quotas in accessing specialties have, for the first time, significantly limited the number of candidates entering our specialty. We question these measures, the consequences of which, already visible in general medicine, will presumably be equally damaging in our specialty in a few years, with a significant reduction in the workforce, even though the needs of the population in our sector tend to increase. We are concerned about the perspectives for health in Europe and Belgium.

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Rhythmology news in 2023

Christophe Scavée, Varnavas Varnavas, Sébastien Marchandise Published in the journal : February 2024 Category : Cardiology

The annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology has traditionally published new recommendations on cardiac pacing and arrhythmias since 2019, but it was not the case in 2023. New guidelines are considered as a beacon of light for many. However, the absence of new guidelines does not mean that this year has not seen any new developments in the field of electrophysiology and pacemakers. Many topics could have been addressed in this review, but we have decided to focus this article on three of the most important ongoing innovations.

The first is a success story: the possibility of implanting leadless pacemakers. The first capsules have been implanted 10 years ago, but the current trend is towards more sophisticated systems, targeting the atrioventricular synchronous pacing, in other words, providing a more physiological stimulation. Pacing as close as possible to normal cardiac physiology is essential to avoid the risks of ventricular dysfunction observed in some patients, especially if the pacing is delivered to the apex of the right ventricle. This is how the pacing of the left branch of the His bundle was developed. This is a particularly ingenious technique, whose feasibility still lacks solid data, but which is extremely promising and constitutes the second point of the review.

The final point refers to the development of an alternative energy source to radiofrequency or cryotherapy for treating atrial fibrillation, known as electroporation. This non-thermal technique applies bipolar electric shocks and disconnects rapidly the pulmonary veins. The results of the first randomized study have just been published, opening up new perspectives in terms of efficacy.

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Innovations 2023 in Cardiology

Agnès Pasquet, Laurence Bamps, Leila Belkhir, Mélanie Dechamps, Julien De Greef, Véronique Roelants, Jean Cyr Yombi Published in the journal : February 2024 Category : Cardiology

The year 2023 was marked by the publication of new recommendations on infective endocarditis and new advances in our understanding of the relationship between dyslipidemias and cardiovascular diseases.

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Innovations 2023 in Hematological Biology

Madeleine Rousseaux1, Jean Cyr Yombi2, Leïla Belkhir2, Julien De Greef2, Andrea Penaloza-Baeza3, Arnaud Nevraumont1, Martin Vanderdonck1, Alice Brochier1, Kamila Lamraoui1, Pascale Saussoy1 Published in the journal : February 2024 Category : Biologie Hématologique

The Hematology department is delighted to announce the introduction of a new molecular technique in its hematology and cytology laboratory. This breakthrough marks our commitment to continuous improvement in the management of patients with suspected malaria, reinforcing our ability to provide accurate and rapid results for better clinical management.

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Implementation of a new software for the blood bank

Véronique Deneys1, Youssra Khaouch1, Christine Pirlet1, Johan Majewski², Sébastien Thibou³, Edith Rubin Winkler4, Corentin Streel1 et l’équipe EPIC des Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc Published in the journal : February 2024 Category : Banque de sang

The computerization of the blood bank and the erythrocyte immunology laboratory represented a major challenge since it required the parameterization of two software packages – an equation with two unknowns. This project would not have been possible without the outstanding collaboration of the IT and blood bank teams.

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The environmental challenge and healthcare: an introduction

Anne Berquin (1), David Grimaldi (2), Edouard Hosten (3), Pauline Modrie (4), Félix Scholtes (5), Grégoire Wieërs (6) Published in the journal : January 2024 Category : Durabilité et Soins de Santé: Quels Défis pour le Futur

The global crisis we are facing (climate, health, energy, wars, etc.) is a unique opportunity to rethink the way we operate and to commit ourselves to establishing high-quality, sustainable, and equitable healthcare. To this end, a comprehensive understanding of the issues and challenges is required. This introductory article outlines the forecasts regarding the environment, resources, and health, before describing the environmental impact of healthcare and the possible strategies for redesigning healthcare and, consequently, education. These measures are based on the convergence of health, quality of life, environmental impact, cost, and resilience issues, thereby generating positive reinforcement loops (“co-benefits”).

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