Publications by authors named "Esther T Maas"

Objective: To explore the frequency of administration and the usage of the Hip Disability and Knee injury Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores (HOOS/KOOS) and their Physical function Short forms (HOOS-PS/KOOS-PS) by physiotherapists after total hip and knee arthroplasties (THA/TKA).

Design: A cross-sectional study using an open online survey.

Setting: Primary care physiotherapy practices affiliated with the Dutch Association for Quality in Physiotherapy.

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Background: To describe the societal costs during one year of follow-up among older adults seeking chiropractic care due to a new episode of low back pain (LBP), and to determine what factors predict high societal costs in this population.

Methods: Prospective cohort study, within chiropractic private practices (n = 38) in the Netherlands. 223 people ≥ 55 years of age with a new episode of LBP seeking chiropractic care participated.

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Objectives: This study identifies work trajectories of patients with persistent complaints after a COVID-19 infection receiving allied healthcare and predictors of return work.

Methods: A prospective cohort of 1333 Dutch working-age patients with persistent complaints after a COVID-19 infection receiving allied healthcare between 2021 and 2022 were used. Sequence analysis was conducted to identify work trajectories over time and logistic regression to investigate predictors of return to work.

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Background: Transforaminal epidural injections with steroids (TESI) are increasingly being used in patients sciatica. The STAR (steroids against radiculopathy)-trial aimed to evaluate the (cost-) effectiveness of TESI in patients with acute sciatica (< 8 weeks). This article contains the economic evaluation of the STAR-trial.

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Objectives: This study evaluates the six-month cost-effectiveness and cost-benefits of motivational interviewing (MI) or a stratified vocational advice intervention (SVAI) added to usual case management (UC) for workers on sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders.

Methods: This study was conducted alongside a three-arm RCT including 514 employed workers on sick leave for at least 50% for ≥ 7 weeks. All participants received UC.

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Objectives: To develop and validate approaches for mapping Oswestry Disability Index responses to 3-level version of EQ-5D utility values and to evaluate the impact of using mapped utility values on cost-utility results compared with published regression models.

Methods: Three response mapping approaches were developed in a random sample of 70% of 18 692 patients with low back pain: nonparametric approach (Non-p), nonparametric approach excluding logical inconsistencies (Non-peLI), and ordinal logistic regression (OLR). Performance was assessed in the remaining 30% using R-square (R), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE).

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Purpose: To assess whether regression modeling can be used to predict EQ-5D-3L utility values from the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) in low back pain (LBP) patients for use in cost-effectiveness analysis.

Methods: EQ-5D-3L utility values of LBP patients were estimated using their ODI scores as independent variables using regression analyses, while adjusting for case-mix variables. Six different models were estimated: (1) Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, with total ODI score, (2) OLS, with ODI item scores as continuous variables, (3) OLS, with ODI item scores as ordinal variables, (4) Tobit model, with total ODI score, (5) Tobit model, with ODI item scores as continuous variables, and (6) Tobit model, with ODI item scores as ordinal variables.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study examines the relationship between gradual return to work (GRTW) and sustainable return to work (RTW) for seriously injured workers in British Columbia with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
  • It utilizes a retrospective cohort design, analyzing over 37,000 workers' compensation claims from 2010 to 2015, ultimately matching 12,494 workers who underwent GRTW with 12,494 who did not.
  • Results show that while GRTW may lead to more time-loss days initially, it contributes to a quicker sustainable RTW after 6 to 12 months, particularly benefiting women, those with soft-tissue injuries, and workers in the manufacturing or trades sectors.
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Objectives: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of radiofrequency denervation when added to a standardized exercise program for patients with chronic low back pain.

Methods: An economic evaluation was conducted alongside 3 pragmatic multicenter, nonblinded randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in The Netherlands with a follow up of 52 weeks. Eligible participants were included between January 1, 2013, and October 24, 2014, and had chronic low back pain; a positive diagnostic block at the facet joints (n = 251), sacroiliac (SI) joints (n = 228), or a combination of facet joints, SI joints, and intervertebral discs (n = 202); and were unresponsive to initial conservative care.

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Objectives: This study examined time to return-to-work (RTW) among direct healthcare and social workers with violence-related incidents compared with these workers with non-violence-related incidents in British Columbia, Canada.

Methods: Accepted workers' compensation lost-time claims were extracted between 2010 and 2014. Workers with violence-related incidents and with non-violence-related incidents were matched using coarsened exact matching (n=5762).

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Objective: This study investigates the injury, socio-demographic, workplace, and temporal characteristics related with gradual return to work (RTW) among workers with a work-acquired musculoskeletal disorder in British Columbia, Canada.

Methods: Accepted workers' compensation lost-time claims were extracted between 2010 and 2015 (n = 141,490). A multivariable logistic regression model was used to analyze the determinants of Gradual RTW.

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Background: Societal costs of low back pain (LBP) are high, yet few studies have been performed to identify the predictive factors of high societal costs among chronic LBP patients. This study aimed to determine which factors predict high societal costs in patients with chronic LBP.

Methods: Data of 6,316 chronic LBP patients were used.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study examines the outcomes of participants in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for low back pain (LBP) compared to those in a related observational study over a 3-month period.
  • It finds no significant differences in symptom outcomes between RCT participants and those who met the eligibility criteria in the observational study, while those who didn't meet the criteria showed worse results.
  • The findings suggest that the results from the MinT RCTs are likely applicable to broader clinical practices, but further research is needed to determine if this is true for all LBP-related RCTs.
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Objective: To identify, appraise and synthesise studies that have examined the degree to which new workers are at an elevated risk of work-related acute injuries and musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries.

Method: We searched three relevant electronic databases for studies published between 1995 and early 2018. Fifty-one studies using multivariate analyses met our relevance and quality appraisal criteria.

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Introduction: Multiple jobholders (MJHs) have a higher risk of injury compared to single jobholders (SJHs), but it is unknown if return-to-work (RTW) after a work injury is affected by multiple jobholding. This study examined the association between multiple versus single jobholding and time to RTW for workers with a work-related musculoskeletal disorder (MSD).

Methods: We used administrative workers' compensation data to identify injured workers with an accepted MSD lost-time claim between 2010-2014 in British Columbia, Canada (n = 125,639 SJHs and 9,029 MJHs).

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Importance: Radiofrequency denervation is a commonly used treatment for chronic low back pain, but high-quality evidence for its effectiveness is lacking.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of radiofrequency denervation added to a standardized exercise program for patients with chronic low back pain.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Three pragmatic multicenter, nonblinded randomized clinical trials on the effectiveness of minimal interventional treatments for participants with chronic low back pain (Mint study) were conducted in 16 multidisciplinary pain clinics in the Netherlands.

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Background: Transforaminal epidural injections with steroids (TESI) are used increasingly for patients with sciatica. However there is much debate about their safety and effectiveness. It is important to identify patients that benefit most from TESI and only few trials have yet evaluated the effects in patients with acute sciatica.

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Background: Radiofrequency (RF) denervation, an invasive treatment for chronic low back pain (CLBP), is used most often for pain suspected to arise from facet joints, sacroiliac (SI) joints or discs. Many (uncontrolled) studies have shown substantial variation in its use between countries and continued uncertainty regarding its effectiveness.

Objectives: The objective of this review is to assess the effectiveness of RF denervation procedures for the treatment of patients with CLBP.

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Background: Minimal interventional procedures are frequently applied in patients with mechanical low back pain which is defined as pain presumably resulting from single sources: facet, disc, sacroiliac joint or a combination of these. Usually, these minimal interventional procedures are an integral part of a multidisciplinary pain programme. A recent systematic review issued by the Dutch Health Insurance Council showed that the effectiveness of these procedures for the total group of patients with chronic low back pain is yet unclear and cost-effectiveness unknown.

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