Publications by authors named "Foulon I"

Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection carries a significant burden with a 0.64% global prevalence and a 17-20% chance of serious long-term effects in children. Since the last guidelines, our understanding, particularly regarding primary maternal infections, has improved.

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Introduction: Neonates undergo neonatal hearing screening to detect congenital hearing loss at an early stage. Once confirmed, it is necessary to perform an etiological workup to start appropriate treatment. The study objective was to assess the different etiologies, risk factors, and hearing results of infants with permanent hearing loss and to evaluate the efficacy and consequences of the different screening devices over the last 21 years.

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Objectives: This study will list the most common comorbidities of congenital facial nerve palsy and how to detect and treat them, with special attention for ENT-problems such as hearing loss. Congenital facial nerve palsy is a very rare entity but in UZ Brussels hospital there was a follow-up of 16 children in the last 30 years.

Methods: Literature review has been done, combined with thorough research of our own series of 16 children with congenital facial nerve palsy.

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Objective: To examine hearing thresholds in senior adults of 80 years and older and compare this data to the current ISO 7029 reference values.

Design: A descriptive, prospective study testing pure-tone and speech audiometry in senior adults participating in the BUTTERFLY study or the BrUssels sTudy on The Early pRedictors of FraiLtY. A Gerontological study to identify determinants for active aging and for early stages of frailty in the oldest population.

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Objectives: Although vestibular deficits are more prevalent in hearing-impaired children and can affect their development on many levels, a pediatric vestibular assessment is still uncommon in clinical practice. Since early detection may allow for timely intervention, this pioneer project has implemented a basic vestibular screening test for each six-month-old hearing-impaired infant in Flanders, Belgium. This study aims to report the vestibular screening results over a period of three years and to define the most important risk factors for abnormal vestibular screening results.

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Objectives: Until today, there is no consensus about the ideal age for a myringoplasty in children. In this retrospective study, we study our own series to characterize different prognostic factors to answer questions/dilemmas such as when to carry out surgery in a child with an ear drum perforation, when to postpone surgery or when to use a different technique to improve the outcome after tympanoplasty.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study on charts of 97 children who underwent a myringoplasty.

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Objectives: This study analyzed cognitive differences between hearing-aid (HA) and non-HA users. We hypothesized that HA-use attenuates the auditory-cognitive cascade, thereby, the latter is more conspicuous in non-HA users. Since hearing impairment (HI) shows male predominance, we hypothesized gender differences within the auditory-cognitive relationship.

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Introduction: COVID-19 infection has resulted in thousands of critically ill patients admitted to ICUs and treated with mechanical ventilation. Percutaneous tracheostomy is a well-known technique utilised as a strategy to wean critically ill patients from mechanical ventilation. Worldwide differences exist in terms of methods, operators, and settings, and questions remain regarding timing and indications.

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Due to the close anatomical relationship between the auditory and vestibular end organs, hearing-impaired children have a higher risk for vestibular dysfunction, which can affect their (motor) development. Unfortunately, vestibular dysfunction often goes unnoticed, as vestibular assessment in these children is not standard of care nowadays. To timely detect vestibular dysfunction, the Vestibular Infant Screening-Flanders (VIS-Flanders) project has implemented a basic vestibular screening test for hearing-impaired infants in Flanders (Belgium) with a participation rate of 86.

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Cytomegalovirus is the most common congenital infection, affecting 0.5-2% of all live births and the main nongenetic cause of congenital sensorineural hearing loss and neurological damage. Congenital cytomegalovirus can follow maternal primary infection or nonprimary infection.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Maternal cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy can transmit to the fetus, leading to congenital CMV (cCMV), which is associated with serious health issues, especially hearing loss.
  • - Currently, there are no universal screening programs, vaccines, or effective treatments for preventing or addressing CMV infections in pregnant women and their infants, despite the need for such measures.
  • - Research shows various screening methods exist to identify at-risk individuals, but more clinical trials and studies on prevention strategies, biology, and cost-effectiveness are essential to reduce cases of cCMV, highlighting the importance of educating pregnant women on hygiene practices to prevent primary infections.
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Article Synopsis
  • Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a hereditary condition that leads to various tumors, prompting patients to undergo extensive annual MRI screenings, which can be expensive and time-consuming due to multiple Gadolinium injections.
  • A new 35-minute whole body MRI protocol was developed to efficiently detect VHL lesions while minimizing Gadolinium use, using a 1.5 Tesla scanner for better imaging speed and quality.
  • Results showed successful identification of lesions in 18 patients, leading to surgical interventions for significant tumors and effective imaging compared to traditional MRI methods.
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Objective: In this study, we determined the prevalence of hearing loss in 157 children with proven congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection. We looked at possible risk determinants for developing hearing loss and proposed recommendations for screening and follow-up in the newborn.

Methods: In a prospective 22-year study, 157 children with proven cCMV infection were evaluated for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

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Background: Cytomegalovirus infection is the most common perinatal viral infection that can lead to severe long-term medical conditions. Antenatal identification of maternal cytomegalovirus infections with proven fetal transmission and potential postnatal clinical sequelae remains a major challenge in perinatology. There is a need to improve the prenatal counseling offered to patients and guide future clinical management decisions in cases of proven primary cytomegalovirus infection.

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We present the case of a 6-year-old boy who received a cochlear implant for profound sensorineural hearing loss after being born with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Even after 6 years, CMV DNA was still found in the perilymph of the cochlea. Our case shows that CMV DNA can be present in the cochlea years after congenital CMV infection, and it can explain why progressive and/or late-onset hearing loss occurs in these children.

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Objective: To predict sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and neurological impairment in congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection using MR imaging and define the best timing in pregnancy for prenatal assessment.

Methods: In 121 patients with confirmed cCMV infection, brain features at MR imaging were respectively graded from 1 to 5: normal; isolated frontal/parieto-occipital hyperintensity; temporal periventricular hyperintensity; temporal/occipital cysts and/or intraventricular septa; migration disorders. Grading was correlated with postnatal SNHL and neurological impairment using regression analysis.

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Objective: To evaluate the incidence of children with congenital CMV (cCMV) infection in a hearing rehabilitation center.

Methodology: This was a retrospective review of 309 children followed in a rehabilitation center for mild to total sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Seventy-five children had dried blood spots that we retrieved and retrospectively analyzed for the presence of CMV DNA by real time PCR.

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Unlabelled: Basilar skullfractures: the petrous bone.

Objectives: to provide suggestions for the management of three of the most dangerous or important lesions (internal carotid artery lesions, cerebrospinal fluid leaks and facial nerve paralysis) associated with the petrous part of basilar skull fractures, thereby trying to assess categories of evidence and determine strengths of recommendation.

Methodology: A PubMed-based literature review was carried out, as well as a consultation of online sources as encountered in the literature review.

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Objective: This study had three main goals: (1) to determine the hearing configuration in hearing-impaired children born with a congenital CMV (cCMV) infection, (2) to see whether auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) was present, and (3) to propose a flow chart for the follow-up of hearing in children with cCMV.

Design: Hearing configuration and the presence of ANSD in cCMV infected children was analysed. Selection criteria were: hearing-impaired children with a regular audiometric follow-up for at least 36 months, no other major risk factors for hearing loss, a normal middle-ear status, and an appropriate behavioral response to the given pure-tone stimuli.

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Since the introduction of Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) vaccinations in child immunisation programmes, a significant decline in the incidence of epiglottitis has been observed among children. However, recent studies show an increase in the incidence of adult epiglottitis without any identifiable predominant causative pathogen. Adult disease is known to have a slightly more protracted course.

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Objective: Hearing thresholds in children with a congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection are not always stable. Children can develop late onset hearing loss, fluctuations, progression (worsening) and improvement of hearing loss. Knowledge about these characteristics is important to understand why long term follow up in these children is mandatory.

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Objectives: The purpose of this work was to study the relation between maternal trimester of primary infection with cytomegalovirus and the occurrence of sensorineural hearing loss in the congenitally infected offspring.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-four consecutive live-born children diagnosed with a congenital cytomegalovirus infection after maternal primary cytomegalovirus infections were included in the study. Five were lost for follow-up, and 1 died.

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