Procedural and clinical outcomes of Adiana® hysteroscopic tubal occlusion in the Netherlands.

Background: The Adiana® Permanent Contraception System was a hysteroscopic tubal occlusion device but was withdrawn from the market in 2012.

Objective: To evaluate the safety, feasibility and efficacy of the Adiana hysteroscopic tubal occlusion.

Materials And Methods: A prospective observational multicentre cohort study of 300 women undergoing hysteroscopic sterilisation using the Adiana® was conducted in the Netherlands between 2009 and 2012.

Interhospital variations in diagnostic work-up following recall at biennial screening mammography-a population-based study.

Objectives: Quality control in breast cancer screening programmes has been subject of several studies. However, less is known about the clinical diagnostic work-up in recalled women with a suspicious finding at screening mammography. The current study focuses on interhospital differences in diagnostic work-up strategies.

Delayed kernels for longitudinal survival analysis and dynamic prediction.

Predicting patient survival probabilities based on observed covariates is an important assessment in clinical practice. These patient-specific covariates are often measured over multiple follow-up appointments. It is then of interest to predict survival based on the history of these longitudinal measurements, and to update predictions as more observations become available.

Bayesian federated inference for estimating statistical models based on non-shared multicenter data sets.

Identifying predictive factors for an outcome of interest via a multivariable analysis is often difficult when the data set is small. Combining data from different medical centers into a single (larger) database would alleviate this problem, but is in practice challenging due to regulatory and logistic problems. Federated learning (FL) is a machine learning approach that aims to construct from local inferences in separate data centers what would have been inferred had the data sets been merged.

Central Sensitisation Syndrome: A Frequent Finding in Women with Pelvic Floor Symptoms Without Evident Urogenital Prolapse.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Women with central sensitisation syndrome (CSS) experience poorer subjective post-operative outcomes even after successful pelvic floor reconstruction. This study tests the hypothesis that women with pelvic floor symptoms (PFS) without relevant pelvic organ prolapse (POP), are more likely to have CSS.

Methods: A questionnaire was sent to women who participated in the POP-UP study in 2017.

Assessing GFR With Proenkephalin.

Introduction: In clinical practice, kidney (dys)function is monitored through creatinine-based estimations of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR: Modification of Diet in Renal Disease [MDRD], Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration [CKD-EPI]). Creatinine is recognized as a late and insensitive biomarker of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The novel biomarker proenkephalin (PENK) may overcome these limitations, but no PENK-based equation for eGFR is currently available.

Causes and consequences of delayed diagnosis in breast cancer screening with a focus on mammographic features and tumour characteristics.

Purpose: To study the prevalence, causes and consequences of delayed breast cancer diagnosis in the screening population.

Methods: This retrospective study was performed in women who underwent biennial screening mammography between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2019. Patients were divided into 3 groups; screen-detectedbreast cancer (SDC) without a diagnostic delay, a primary diagnostic delay(i.

The effectiveness and safety of laparoscopic uterosacral ligament suspension: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Laparoscopic uterosacral ligament suspension (LUSLS) is a technique to correct apical pelvic organ prolapse (POP) by shortening the uterosacral ligaments with sutures.

Objective: A systematic review with meta-analysis of the effectiveness and safety of LUSLS as treatment for apical POP.

Search Strategy: PubMed and Cochrane search using 'pelvic organ prolapse', 'laparoscopy' and 'uterosacral', including synonyms.

Laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy versus vaginal sacrospinous fixation for vaginal vault prolapse: a randomised controlled trial and prospective cohort (SALTO-2 trial).

Objective: To determine whether laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LSC) or vaginal sacrospinous fixation (VSF) is the most optimal surgical treatment in patients with POP-Q stage ≥2 vaginal vault prolapse (VVP).

Design: Multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) and prospective cohort study alongside.

Setting: Seven non-university teaching hospitals and two university hospitals in the Netherlands.

Latent heterogeneity of muscle-invasive bladder cancer in patient characteristics and survival: A population-based nation-wide study in the Bladder Cancer Data Base Sweden (BladderBaSe).

Background: Patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) constitute a heterogenous group in terms of patient and tumour characteristics ('case-mix') and prognosis. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether differences in survival could be used to separate MIBC patients into separate classes using a recently developed latent class regression method for survival analysis with competing risks.

Methods: We selected all participants diagnosed with MIBC in the Bladder Cancer Data Base Sweden (BladderBase) and analysed inter-patient heterogeneity in risk of death from bladder cancer and other causes.

Fast and accurate recurrent event analysis for genome-wide association studies.

Many diseases recur after recovery, for example, recurrences in cancer and infections. However, research is often focused on analysing only time-to-first recurrence, thereby ignoring any subsequent recurrences that may occur after the first. Statistical models for the analysis of recurrent events are available, of which the extended Cox proportional hazards frailty model is the current state-of-the-art.

Long-term pelvic floor symptoms and urogenital prolapse after hysterectomy.

Background: The aim of this study was to describe the natural course of pelvic floor symptoms and pelvic floor anatomy for women long-term after hysterectomy.

Methods: Women who underwent hysterectomy between 1996-2004 carried out the PFDI-20 questionnaire and POP-Q examination. We collected data on the presence and type of pelvic floor symptoms and its relation to the degree of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) per compartment (≥ stage 2).

Predicting progression-free survival after systemic therapy in advanced head and neck cancer: Bayesian regression and model development.

Background: Advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is associated with a poor prognosis, and biomarkers that predict response to treatment are highly desirable. The primary aim was to predict progression-free survival (PFS) with a multivariate risk prediction model.

Methods: Experimental covariates were derived from blood samples of 56 HNSCC patients which were prospectively obtained within a Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT02633800) at baseline and after the first treatment cycle of combined platinum-based chemotherapy with cetuximab treatment.

Laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy versus abdominal sacrocolpopexy for vaginal vault prolapse: long-term follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction And Hypothesis: The objective of this study was to evaluate long-term outcomes of laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LSC) versus abdominal sacrocolpopexy (ASC) for vaginal vault prolapse (VVP).

Methods: Long-term follow-up of a multicenter randomized controlled trial (SALTO trial). A total of 74 women were randomly assigned to LSC (n=37) or ASC (n=37).

Laparoscopic sacrohysteropexy versus vaginal sacrospinous hysteropexy as treatment for uterine descent: comparison of long-term outcomes.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a frequent occurring health issue, especially concerning elderly women. The objective of this study is to examine the long-term outcomes of laparoscopic sacrohysteropexy (LSH) and vaginal sacrospinous hysteropexy (SSHP) for treatment of uterine prolapse.

Methods: A retrospective study of patients who underwent a LSH or SSHP.

Estimating upper-extremity function from kinematics in stroke patients following goal-oriented computer-based training.

Introduction: After a stroke, a wide range of deficits can occur with varying onset latencies. As a result, assessing impairment and recovery are enormous challenges in neurorehabilitation. Although several clinical scales are generally accepted, they are time-consuming, show high inter-rater variability, have low ecological validity, and are vulnerable to biases introduced by compensatory movements and action modifications.

Chromatic periodic activity down to 120 megahertz in a fast radio burst.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are extragalactic astrophysical transients whose brightness requires emitters that are highly energetic yet compact enough to produce the short, millisecond-duration bursts. FRBs have thus far been detected at frequencies from 8 gigahertz (ref. ) down to 300 megahertz (ref.

Exact results on high-dimensional linear regression via statistical physics.

It is clear that conventional statistical inference protocols need to be revised to deal correctly with the high-dimensional data that are now common. Most recent studies aimed at achieving this revision rely on powerful approximation techniques that call for rigorous results against which they can be tested. In this context, the simplest case of high-dimensional linear regression has acquired significant new relevance and attention.

Genetic Risk, Lifestyle, and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Europe: The EYE-RISK Consortium.

Purpose: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common multifactorial disease in the elderly with a prominent genetic basis. Many risk variants have been identified, but the interpretation remains challenging. We investigated the genetic distribution of AMD-associated risk variants in a large European consortium, calculated attributable and pathway-specific genetic risks, and assessed the influence of lifestyle on genetic outcomes.

Pelvic organ prolapse after laparoscopic hysterectomy compared with vaginal hysterectomy: the POP-UP study.

Introduction And Hypothesis: The objective was to review the long-term prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) after laparoscopic hysterectomy (LH) compared with vaginal hysterectomy (VH).

Methods: An observational cohort study was conducted amongst women who underwent an LH or a VH for benign indications during the period 1996-2004: the POP-UP study. The prevalence of POP was inventoried by a questionnaire involving the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI-20) and a pelvic floor examination (POP-Q).

What Goes In Must Come Out: A Mixed-Method Study of Access to Contraceptive Implant Removal Services in Ghana.

Background: Access to quality removal services is a key component of informed choice in contraceptive implant use; however, limited data exist on users' access to removal services. In Ghana, implants are available across the country and are the most commonly used contraceptive method among married women.

Methods: From October 2017 and January 2018, we conducted a phone survey with a stratified random sample of 1,159 women who had obtained an implant from a public-sector Ghana Health Service clinic in 2 regions and 1,073 women who had an implant inserted through Marie Stopes International Ghana (MSIG) mobile outreach in 2 other regions.

Additional Breast Cancer Detection at Digital Screening Mammography through Quality Assurance Sessions between Technologists and Radiologists.

Background Screening technologists may function as readers in breast cancer screening programs. In the Netherlands, they attend quality assurance sessions. The frequency and characteristics of additional breast cancers detected through these sessions have not been reported.