Added Value of Meat Inspection Data for Monitoring of Dairy Cattle Health in the Netherlands.

Meat inspection records of one large cattle slaughterhouse were analyzed to evaluate the added value of slaughterhouse data for cattle health surveillance in the Netherlands. Data were available from January 2015 to September 2018, consisting of 467,361 meat inspection records. Analyses included (1) an assessment of the representativeness of the cattle herds in the slaughterhouse data in relation to the cattle herd population in the Netherlands, and (2) multivariable analyses to quantify associations between meat inspection findings and farm of origin characteristics, and the trends in time of the findings in slaughtered cattle.

A challenging case of hypocalcemia supporting the concept that 25-hydroxyvitamin D status is important for intestinal calcium absorption.

Context: Intestinal mucosa seems to be responsive not only to circulating calcitriol but also to serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations.

Objective: We report a complex patient with chronic kidney disease who presented with symptomatic hypocalcemia (ionized calcium, 0.77 mmol/liter) despite regular calcitriol and calcium supplementation.

Value of routine blood tests for prediction of mortality risk in hip fracture patients.

Background: There is a 5- to 8-fold increased risk of mortality during the first 3 months after a hip fracture. Several risk factors are known. We studied the predictive value (for mortality) of routine blood tests taken on admission.

Sensitivity and specificity of bispectral index for classification of overt hepatic encephalopathy: a multicentre, observer blinded, validation study.

Background: The severity of hepatic encephalopathy is currently graded clinically using West Haven criteria and psychometric tests.

Objective: To assess the discriminative power of the bispectral index (BIS) monitor to classify the degree and progression of hepatic encephalopathy.

Design: A consecutive, multicentre, observer blinded validation study.