Changes in Maternal Heart Rate and Autonomic Regulation following the Antenatal Administration of Corticosteroids: A Secondary Analysis.

While the effect of antenatally administered corticosteroids on fetal heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) is well established, little information is available on how these drugs affect maternal physiology. In this secondary analysis of a prospective, observational cohort study, we quantify how corticosteroids affect maternal HR and HRV, which serve as a proxy measure for autonomic regulation. Abdominal ECG measurements were recorded before and in the five days following the administration of betamethasone—a corticosteroid commonly used for fetal maturation—in 46 women with singleton pregnancies.

Total hip arthroplasty in Belgium: the contribution of a social health insurer to the debate.

This study describes current clinical practice and outcomes of Total Hip Arthroplasty in Belgian hospitals. Orthopaedic registries concentrate on implant related analyses and sometimes on patient reported outcomes. Our aim was to describe the extent and to generate hypotheses about the determinants of the variability of health care practices and of prosthesis survival in Belgium.

Clinical and functional outcome of the Birmingham hip resurfacing.

The Birmingham hip resurfacing (BHR) arthroplasty has shown good medium-term results in the centres that have been involved in its development. A retrospective cohort study analyzing the clinical and functional outcome of 297 metal-on-metal BHR arthroplasties at an independent hospital was performed. At medium-term follow-up, 4 patients had died, 8 patients were lost to follow-up (2.

Podiatric care for diabetic patients with foot problems: an observational study.

The aims of this study were to describe podiatric care for diabetic patients with foot problems and to explore the changes in knowledge, self-care behaviour and physical functioning after podiatric care. The treatment characteristics of 26 diabetic patients referred to podiatry were assessed. Prior to the first podiatric visit (T1) and 20 weeks later (T2) these patients filled in a structured questionnaire and performed a six-minute walking test.

Clinical and functional correlates of foot pain in diabetic patients.

Purpose: Patients with diabetes mellitus frequently suffer from foot pain. This pain seems to be a neglected area in studies on the diabetic foot. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical variables associated with foot pain in diabetic patients.

Anti-CD40 plus interleukin-4-activated human naive B cell lines express unmutated immunoglobulin genes with intraclonal heavy chain isotype variability.

Combination of anti-CD40 antibody and interleukin-4 (IL-4) induces B cell clonal expansion reminiscent of the T-dependent proliferation following antigenic challenge in vivo. We have analyzed the usage of CH genes and the presence or absence of somatic mutations within the progeny of a single human naive B cell activated with anti-CD40 + IL-4. To address this issue, single-cell cultures of naive (sIgD+) tonsillar B lymphocytes expressing the VH1-restricted G8 idiotype were set up.

[A specialized outpatient foot clinic for diabetic patients decreases the number of amputations and is cost saving].

Objective: Evaluation of the effectiveness of a foot clinic for diabetes patients.

Design: Retrospective study and cost-effect analysis.

Setting: Spaarne Hospital, Heemstede.

Locking graft in the treatment of tibial pseudarthrosis.

Despite modern treatments of tibial fractures, we still have nonunions. In case of failure we used a method of treatment which has become less popular over the last decades. A rectangular inlay graft is harvested from the anteromedial tibial surface.

Internal fixation of tibial plateau fractures using the AO instrumentation.

Between January 1970 and December 1985, 76 patients (76 fractures) underwent internal fixation for tibial-plateau fractures as recommended by the AO-group (14). Fifty patients were available for follow-up. The long term results of this retrospective study are reported.

Acetabular bone stock reconstruction with frozen femoral head allografts and the use of a cementless screw cup in total hip revision surgery. A 5 years' clinical, radiologic and scintigraphic follow-up.

This prospective study reviews the behaviour of a cementless conical screw cup in total hip revision surgery with or without the use of bone grafts to reconstruct acetabular bone stock. Clinical and radiologic results are given. For proper radiographic interpretation a new classification system is suggested, based on histologic features, the principles of which are explained.

[Long-term results of the Krogius-Roux operation].

The authors have reviewed patients treated with the operation of Krogius-Roux with a long follow-up, especially on the indication of recurrent dislocation of the patella. Thirty-nine patients out of 76 operations have been evaluated.

A reinvestigation of the Geman-Miller respiratory oscillator model.

The model of Geman-Miller of the respiratory oscillator is reinvestigated for its interpretation of the parameters: W and T. It was found that the interpretation of Geman-Miller, that the parameters T and W represent the chemosensitive feedback, is incorrect. The extension to the model made by Engeman and Swanson is not necessary to produce afterdischarge.