Publications by authors named "Baal M"

Background: Nosocomial pneumonia is common in trauma patients and associated with an adverse prognosis. We recently externally validated and recalibrated an existing formula to predict nosocomial pneumonia risk. Identifying more potential predictors could aid in a more accurate prediction of nosocomial pneumonia risk in level-1 trauma patients.

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Objective: What is the effect of surgical or conservative treatment on the in-hospital outcomes of patients with combined fractures of the clavicle and ribs?

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Two level-1 trauma centers and academic teaching hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts.

Patients: All adult patients with a clavicle fracture and ≥3 rib fractures admitted from 2016 to 2021.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study aimed to validate a prediction model for early identification of patients at risk for nosocomial pneumonia in US level-1 trauma centers, which could enhance patient survival and reduce healthcare costs.
  • The research analyzed data from over 900,000 trauma patients, focusing on incidents of total nosocomial pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) over two time periods.
  • Results showed that the Croce model effectively discriminates patients at risk for pneumonia, suggesting its implementation in clinical practice could improve preventative strategies for those most vulnerable.*
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Background: This study investigated the incidence and clinical consequences of abnormal radiological and clinical findings during routinely performed 6-week outpatient visits in patients treated conservatively for multiple (3 or more) rib fractures.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted among patients with multiple rib fractures treated conservatively between 2018 and 2021 (Opvent database). The primary outcome was the incidence of abnormalities on chest X-ray (CXR) and their clinical consequences, which were categorized as requiring intervention or additional clinical/radiological examination.

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Purpose: What are reported definitions of HAP in trauma patient research?

Methods: A systematic review was performed using the PubMed/MEDLINE database. We included all English, Dutch, and German original research papers in adult trauma patients reporting diagnostic criteria for hospital-acquired pneumonia diagnosis. The risk of bias was assessed using the MINORS criteria.

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Study Objective: The aim of this review was to create an overview of available instruments used to evaluate the menstrual complaints of dysmenorrhea and heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) in adolescents.

Methods: The search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and PsycINFO on December 1, 2022. Studies published in English reporting on menstrual complaints among girls aged 10-19 were included.

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Background: The presence of in-house attending trauma surgeons has improved efficiency of processes in the treatment of polytrauma patients. However, literature remains equivocal regarding the influence of the presence of in-house attendings on mortality. In our hospital there is a double trauma surgeon on-call system.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of home-based monitoring versus hospital-controlled monitoring for frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) timing in women undergoing assisted reproductive techniques.
  • The trial involved 1,464 women, randomly assigned to either home-based or hospital-controlled monitoring, and aimed to determine if home monitoring could achieve similar pregnancy rates without needing hospital visits.
  • Results showed nearly identical ongoing pregnancy rates in both groups (20.8% for home-based and 20.9% for hospital-controlled), confirming that home monitoring is a viable alternative without compromising fertility outcomes.
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Background: Chest tubes are commonly placed in trauma care to treat life-threatening intrathoracic injuries by evacuating blood or air from the pleural cavity. Currently, it is common practice to routinely obtain chest radiographs between 1 to 8 hours after chest tube removal, while the necessity of it has been questioned. This study describes the "ins-and-outs" of chest tubes and evaluates the value of routine postremoval chest radiography in nonventilated trauma patients.

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Background: Clavicle and rib fractures are often sustained concomitantly. The combination of injuries may result in decreased stability of the chest wall, making these patients prone to (respiratory) complications and prolonged hospitalization. This study aimed to assess whether adding chest wall stability by performing clavicle fixation improves clinical outcomes in patients with concurrent clavicle and rib fractures.

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Introduction: Most studies about rib fractures focus on mortality and morbidity. Literature is scarce on long term and quality of life (QoL) outcomes. Therefore, we report QoL and long-term outcomes after rib fixation in flail chest patients.

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Purpose: The present study aims to assess whether CT-derived muscle mass, muscle density, and visceral fat mass are associated with in-hospital complications and clinical outcome in level-1 trauma patients.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on adult patients admitted to the University Medical Center Utrecht following a trauma between January 1 and December 31, 2017. Trauma patients aged 16 years or older without severe neurological injuries, who underwent a CT that included the abdomen within 7 days of admission, were included.

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Unlabelled: Thoracic injuries are infrequent among children, but still represent one of the leading causes of pediatric mortality. Studies on pediatric chest trauma are dated, and little is known of outcomes in different age categories. This study aims to provide an overview of the incidence, injury patterns, and in-hospital outcomes of children with chest injuries.

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Introduction: Nosocomial pneumonia has poor prognosis in hospitalized trauma patients. Croce et al. published a model to predict post-traumatic ventilator-associated pneumonia, which achieved high discrimination and reasonable sensitivity.

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Background: Aging, inactivity, and malnutrition are risk factors for adverse in-hospital outcomes and can manifest in bone loss. Use of bone mineral density (BMD) as an objective marker might improve early identification of patients at risk for complications.

Aim: To assess the association of computed tomography (CT) determined BMD values of the first lumbar vertebra with in-hospital complications and outcomes in trauma patients.

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Background: In-hospital complications after trauma may result in prolonged stays, higher costs, and adverse functional outcomes. Among reported risk factors for complications are pre-existing cardiopulmonary comorbidities. Objective and quick evaluation of cardiovascular risk would be beneficial for risk assessment in trauma patients.

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Background: Patients with multiple rib fractures without a clinical flail chest are increasingly being treated with rib fixation; however, high-quality evidence to support this development is lacking.

Methods: We conducted a prospective multicenter observational study comparing rib fixation to non-operative treatment in all patients aged 18 years and older with computed tomography confirmed multiple rib fractures without a clinical flail chest. Three centers performed rib fixation as standard of care.

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Study Question: The objective of this trial is to compare the effectiveness and costs of true natural cycle (true NC-) frozen embryo transfer (FET) using urinary LH tests to modified NC-FET using repeated ultrasound monitoring and ovulation trigger to time FET in the NC. Secondary outcomes are the cancellation rates of FET (ovulation before hCG or no dominant follicle, no ovulation by LH urine test, poor embryo survival), pregnancy outcomes (miscarriage rate, clinical pregnancy rates, multiple ongoing pregnancy rates, live birth rates, costs) and neonatal outcomes (including gestational age, birthweight and sex, congenital abnormalities or diseases of babies born).

What Is Known Already: FET is at the heart of modern IVF.

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Introduction: Adequate foot function is paramount in daily activities, yet the incidence of foot fractures shows a rising trend. Patient-reported outcome measures are increasingly used for research; however, the use of a wide variety of available instruments is undesirable. In the current study, an overview is provided of patient-reported outcome measures used in clinical research evaluating outcomes of foot fractures.

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Opportunistic screening for bone mineral density (BMD) of the first lumbar vertebra (L1) using computed tomography (CT) is increasingly used to identify patients at risk for osteoporosis. An extensive study in the United States has reported sex-specific normative values of CT-based BMD across all ages. The current study aims to validate North American reference values of CT-based bone mineral density in a Dutch population of level-1 trauma patients.

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Fusion remains the gold standard for post-traumatic osteoarthritis after ankle fractures in many institutes. Patient-reported outcomes on long-term quality of life and functionality of talocrural arthrodesis remain relatively unknown. In literature, low patient numbers and inadequate outcome measures provide a poor foundation for patient expectation management.

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Background: Skeletal muscle mass (SMM) determined on computed tomography (CT) is emerging as a novel imaging biomarker. Cross-sectional area (CSA) of SMM at the level of the third lumbar vertebra (L3) on abdominal imaging is considered the clinical reference standard for measuring SMM. In certain patient groups, such as those with oncological or non-oncological lung disease like COVID-19, a chest CT may be available while an abdominal CT is not.

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Purpose: The aim of this systematic review was to provide an overview of the incidence of combined clavicle and rib fractures and the association between these two injuries.

Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases on the 14 of August 2020. Outcome measures were incidence, hospital length of stay (HLOS), intensive care unit admission and length of stay (ILOS), duration of mechanical ventilation (DMV), mortality, chest tube duration, Constant-Murley score, union and complications.

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Purpose: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the necessity of routine chest radiographs after chest tube removal in ventilated and nonventilated trauma patients.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, and CINAHL on May 15, 2020. Quality assessment was performed using the Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies criteria.

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