Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol
January 2025
Objective: Early-onset fetal growth restriction affects about 0.3% of pregnancies, posing high perinatal risks due to placental insufficiency. Early-onset fetal growth restriction often coincides with early-onset pre-eclampsia, associated with significant mortality and morbidity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Low-value care is healthcare leading to no or little clinical benefit for the patient. The best (combinations of) interventions to reduce low-value care are unclear.
Purpose: To provide an overview of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating deimplementation strategies, to quantify the effectiveness and describe different combinations of strategies.
PLoS Med
February 2022
Background: Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The recurrence rate of spontaneous preterm birth is high, and additional preventive measures are required. Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of low-dose aspirin compared to placebo in the prevention of preterm birth in women with a previous spontaneous preterm birth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Implementation of new diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are still a subject of debate, mostly due to concerns regarding the effects on the number of women diagnosed with GDM and the risk profile of the women newly diagnosed.
Aim: To estimate the impact of the World Health Organization (WHO) 2013 criteria compared with the WHO 1999 criteria on the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus as well as to determine the diagnostic accuracy for detecting adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a single center Dutch cohort of 3338 women undergoing a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test where the WHO 1999 criteria to diagnose GDM were clinically applied.
Introduction: Little is known about the pathophysiology of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). Proposed underlying causes are multifactorial and thyroid function is hypothesized to be causally involved. In this study, we aimed to assess the utility of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) as a marker and predictor for the severity and clinical course of HG.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: It is recognised that medical tests are overused in primary care; however, it is unclear how best to reduce their use.
Aim: To identify which strategies are effective in reducing the use of low-value medical tests in primary care settings.
Design And Setting: Systematic review.
Background: Because diagnosing asthma in school-aged children is challenging, a variety of proxies for asthma are used in clinical practice and research settings as indicators of this disease. We aimed to provide insight into the agreement between various asthma indicators based on parental report, medical diagnosis and spirometry.
Methods: Children from the WHISTLER birth cohort performed spirometry and were followed up with parental ISAAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) questionnaires about asthma at 5 and 8 years of age.
Background: While epidural analgesia (EA) is associated with maternal fever during labor, the impact on the risk for maternal and/or neonatal sepsis is unknown.
Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effect of epidural-related intrapartum fever on maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Methods: OVID MEDLINE, OVID Embase, the Cochrane Library, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials, and clinical trial registries were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and observational cohort studies from inception to November 2018.
Introduction: Preterm birth complicates >15 million pregnancies annually worldwide. In many countries, women who present with signs of preterm labour are treated with tocolytics for 48 hours. Although this delays birth, it has never been shown to improve neonatal outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine whether updating a diagnostic prediction model by adding a combination assay (tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, interferon γ induced protein-10 and C reactive protein (CRP)) can accurately identify children with pneumonia or other serious bacterial infections (SBIs).
Design: Observational double-blind diagnostic study.
Setting: Two hospitals in Israel and four hospitals in the Netherlands.
BMJ Open
August 2019
Introduction: In women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) requiring pharmacotherapy, insulin was the established first-line treatment. More recently, oral glucose lowering drugs (OGLDs) have gained popularity as a patient-friendly, less expensive and safe alternative. Monotherapy with metformin or glibenclamide (glyburide) is incorporated in several international guidelines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes significant mortality in hospitalized adults. Prediction of poor outcomes improves targeted management and clinical outcomes. We externally validated and updated existing models to predict poor outcome in hospitalized RSV-infected adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Inappropriate use of laboratory testing is a challenging problem. Estimated overuse rates of approximately 20% have been reported. Effective, sustainable solutions to stimulate optimal use are needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To demonstrate how decision analytic models (DAMs) can be used to quantify impact of using a (diagnostic or prognostic) prediction model in clinical practice and provide general guidance on how to perform such assessments.
Study Design And Setting: A DAM was developed to assess the impact of using the HEART score for predicting major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Impact on patient health outcomes and health care costs was assessed in scenarios by varying compliance with and informed deviation (ID) (using additional clinical knowledge) from HEART score management recommendations.
Objective: If a gold standard is lacking in a diagnostic test accuracy study, expert diagnosis is frequently used as reference standard. However, interobserver and intraobserver agreements are imperfect. The aim of this study was to quantify the reproducibility of a panel diagnosis for pediatric infectious diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The objective of this study was to study the impact of ignoring uncertainty by forcing dichotomous classification (presence or absence) of the target disease on estimates of diagnostic accuracy of an index test.
Study Design And Setting: We evaluated the bias in estimated index test accuracy when forcing an expert panel to make a dichotomous target disease classification for each individual. Data for various scenarios with expert panels were simulated by varying the number and accuracy of "component reference tests" available to the expert panel, index test sensitivity and specificity, and target disease prevalence.
Objective: To perform an external validation of all published prognostic models for first-trimester prediction of the risk of developing preeclampsia (PE).
Methods: Women <14 weeks of pregnancy were recruited in the Netherlands. All systematically identified prognostic models for PE that contained predictors commonly available were eligible for external validation.
Severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection during infancy is associated with ongoing respiratory morbidity. In a large birth cohort of 2210 healthy preterm infants born at 32-35 weeks of gestation, we aimed to determine the role of atopy in the link between RSV hospitalization and current wheeze at age 6. We defined current wheeze as parent-reported wheeze or the use of respiratory medication in the past 12 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The objective of the Dutch Sildenafil therapy in dismal prognosis early onset fetal growth restriction (STRIDER) randomised clinical trial is to assess the beneficial and harmful effects of sildenafil versus placebo on fetal and neonatal mortality in pregnant women with severe early-onset fetal growth restriction. The objective of this detailed statistical analysis plan is to minimize the risks of selective reporting and data-driven analysis.
Setting: The setting is 10 tertiary care hospitals and one secondary care hospital in The Netherlands.
Background: Studies addressing the appropriateness of laboratory testing have revealed approximately 20% overutilization. We conducted a narrative review to (1) describe current interventions aimed at reducing unnecessary laboratory testing, specifically in hospital settings, and (2) provide estimates of their efficacy in reducing test order volume and improving patient-related clinical outcomes.
Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health-Health Technology Assessment databases were searched for studies describing the effects of interventions aimed at reducing unnecessary laboratory tests.
Aim: Diabetes is associated with a high risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Optimal glycaemic control is fundamental and is traditionally monitored with self-measured glucose profiles and periodic HbA1c measurements. We investigated the effectiveness of additional use of retrospective continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in diabetic pregnancies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) during the first year of life. Antibiotic treatment is recommended in cases suspected of bacterial coinfection. The aim of this prospective study was to estimate the incidence of bacterial coinfections and the amount of antibiotic overuse in children infected with RSV using expert panel diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF