Publications by authors named "Annefleur R L van Hal"
Introduction: Tracheomalacia (TM) often occurs in children with oesophageal atresia (OA), leading to recurrent respiratory symptoms and in severe cases to blue spells or ultimately respiratory arrest. In some patients, a secondary posterior tracheopexy may then be indicated. This secondary surgery, as well as respiratory morbidity, may be prevented by performing a primary posterior tracheopexy (PPT) concurrent with primary OA correction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Oesophageal atresia (OA) is often accompanied by tracheomalacia (TM). The aim of this study was to evaluate its presence in OA patients during routine rigid tracheobronchoscopy (TBS) before primary correction and compare this to postoperative TBS and clinical signs of TM.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients born with OA between June 2013 and December 2022 who had received a TBS before OA correction and had been followed for at least twelve months.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines the long-term neurodevelopment of children born with oesophageal atresia (OA), focusing on neurocognitive outcomes and predictors.
- Out of 65 children assessed at around eight years old, most had normal intelligence, but over half displayed significant attention issues, particularly in sustained attention tasks.
- Key findings indicate that minimally invasive surgical methods and lower socio-economic status are significant predictors of these attention problems, highlighting the need for further studies to optimize care for these patients.
Objective: Intralesional steroid injections (ISI) are a widely used technique for various pediatric indications and represent a possible adjuvant treatment for anastomotic esophageal strictures. Yet, no consensus has been reached neither on their safety in the pediatric population or their effectiveness in esophageal atresia patients. This systematic review aimed to assess the safety of ISI in young children through a meta-analysis and to summarize the current knowledge on the effectiveness of ISI in anastomotic esophageal strictures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Endoscopic surveillance of adults with esophageal atresia is advocated, but the optimal surveillance strategy remains uncertain. This study aimed to provide recommendations on appropriate starting age and intervals of endoscopic surveillance in adults with esophageal atresia.
Methods: Participants underwent standardized upper endoscopies with biopsies.