Effectiveness of transmural team-based palliative care in prevention of hospitalizations in patients at the end of life: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Team-based palliative care interventions have shown positive results for patients at the end of life in both hospital and community settings. However, evidence on the effectiveness of transmural, that is, spanning hospital and home, team-based palliative care collaborations is limited.

Aim: To systematically review whether transmural team-based palliative care interventions can prevent hospital admissions and increase death at home.

Accurate and fast urinalysis in febrile patients by flow cytometry.

Background: The urine culture is worldwide accepted as the gold standard in diagnosing urinary tract infections, but is time consuming and costly, other methods are fast but moderately reliable. We investigated whether counting the number of bacteria by flow cytometry could be a fast and accurate method to analyze urine samples in febrile patients at the emergency department (ED).

Methods: Urine samples were obtained from 140 febrile patients at the ED.

Accurate and fast diagnostic algorithm for febrile urinary tract infections in humans.

Background: The urine dipstick that detects nitrite and leukocyte esterase, and urine sediment is commonly used to diagnose or exclude urinary tract infections (UTIs) as the source of infection in febrile patients admitted to the emergency department of Dutch hospitals. However, the diagnostic accuracy of the urine dipstick and urine sediment has never been studied in this specific situation.

Methods: Urinary samples of 104 febrile consecutive patients were examined.

Impaired driving simulation in patients with Periodic Limb Movement Disorder and patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome.

Background: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is considered to be responsible for increased collision rate and impaired driving simulator performance in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) patients. Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD) patients also frequently report EDS and may also have impaired driving capacities.

Methods: PLMD patients (n=16), OSAS patients (n=18), and controls (n=16) performed a monotonous 25-min driving simulation task.

Abnormal parietal function in conversion paresis.

The etiology of medically unexplained symptoms such as conversion disorder is poorly understood. This is partly because the interpretation of neuroimaging results in conversion paresis has been complicated by the use of different control groups, tasks and statistical comparisons. The present study includes these different aspects in a single data set.