Characterization of fracture liaison service non-responders after invitation by home visits and questionnaires.

Unlabelled: This study aimed to gain insight in specific characteristics and beliefs of FLS non-responders.

Introduction: The proportion of non-responding fracture liaison service (FLS) invitees is high but characteristics of FLS non-responders are unknown.

Methods: We contacted FLS non-responders by telephone to consent with home visit (HV) and to fill in a questionnaire or, if HV was refused, to receive a questionnaire by post (Q), to gain insight in beliefs on fracture cause and subsequent fracture risk.

The use of pulse-echo ultrasound in women with a recent non-vertebral fracture to identify those without osteoporosis and/or a subclinical vertebral fracture: a pilot study.

Unlabelled: A pilot study on the use of P-EU to identify patients without osteoporosis and/or a subclinical vertebral fracture after a recently sustained non-vertebral fracture (NVF).

Introduction: Screening with portable devices at emergency departments or plaster rooms could be of interest to limit referrals for dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and vertebral fracture assessment (VFA). We calculated the number of negative tests for osteoporosis and/or subclinical vertebral fractures (VFs) using pulse-echo ultrasonometry (P-UE) at different thresholds.

Challenges and opportunities to improve fracture liaison service attendance: fracture registration and patient characteristics and motivations.

Unlabelled: This questionnaire-based study evaluated the reasons for attendance or non-attendance at the fracture liaison service in patients with a recent fracture. Frailty, male sex, living alone, and low education were associated with non-attendance, and the information perceived by the patient was associated with attendance.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate hospital registration- and patient-related factors associated with attendance or non-attendance to the Fracture Liaison Service (FLS).

Diabetes Mellitus-Related Fractional Glucose Uptake in Men and Women Imaged With F-FDG PET-CT.

Context: Cohort studies show that cognitive dysfunction and both vascular and Alzheimer's dementia are more common in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Objective: To review and compare brain volume and F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in brain of individuals age 60 to 70 years with or without type 2 diabetes.

Design: We searched 620 medical records for negative FDG PET-CT scans obtained during 33 months.

A dedicated Fracture Liaison Service telephone program and use of bone turnover markers for evaluating 1-year persistence with oral bisphosphonates.

Unlabelled: Telephone call intervention did not improve alendronate persistence in Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) patients in this study. A bone turnover marker cut-off point for alendronate persistence is proposed for individual FLS patients.

Introduction: FLS aims to prevent subsequent fractures, which should include improving patients' persistence with prescribed oral bisphosphonates.

The utility and yield of endoscopic ultrasonography for suspected choledocholithiasis in common gastroenterology practice.

Background And Study Aim: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is an established diagnostic modality for diagnosing common bile duct (CBD) stones. Its use has led to a reduction in the number of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures performed for suspected choledocholithiasis. We aimed to explore the role of EUS in detecting CBD stones and/or sludge in common gastroenterology practice.

The diagnostic value of component-resolved diagnostics in peanut allergy in children attending a Regional Paediatric Allergology Clinic.

Background: To date, diagnosing food allergies in children still presents a diagnostic dilemma, leading to uncertainty concerning the definite diagnosis of peanut allergy, as well as to the need for strict diets and the potential need for adrenalin auto-injectors. This uncertainty in particular is thought to contribute to a lower quality of life. In the diagnostic process double-blind food challenges are considered the gold standard, but they are time-consuming as well as potentially hazardous.

Meeting international standards of secondary fracture prevention: a survey on Fracture Liaison Services in the Netherlands.

Unlabelled: The Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) is advocated to be effective for the prevention of secondary fractures, but implementation is variable. A questionnaire based on the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Capture the Fracture® FLS standards was used in the current study. The results showed high compliancy with the IOF standards in the Dutch responding hospitals.

The impact of disease severity, age and surgical approach on the outcome of acute appendicitis in children.

Purpose: Although a national guideline has been implemented, the optimal approach for appendectomy in children remains subject of debate in the Netherlands. Opponents of laparoscopy raise their concerns regarding its use in complex appendicitis as it is reported to be associated with an increased incidence of intra-abdominal abscesses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of surgical approaches in both simple and complex appendicitis in paediatric patients.

Vitamin K1 monitoring in pregnancies after bariatric surgery: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Neonatal intracranial bleedings and birth defects have been reported, possibly related to maternal vitamin K1 deficiency during pregnancy after bariatric surgery. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of screening and supplementation on K1 serum levels in pregnant women with bariatric surgery, and to compare K1 levels and prothrombin time (PT %) in the first trimester with pregnant women without bariatric surgery.

Methods: A prospective cohort study including 49 pregnant women with bariatric surgery.

First quantification of calcium intake from calcium-dense dairy products in Dutch fracture patients (the Delft cohort study).

Recommendations for daily calcium intake from dairy products are variable and based on local consensus. To investigate whether patients with a recent fracture complied with these recommendations, we quantified the daily dairy calcium intake including milk, milk drinks, pudding, yoghurt, and cheese in a Dutch cohort of fracture patients and compared outcomes with recent data of a healthy U.S.

Comparison of MRI-assessed body fat content between lean women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and matched controls: less visceral fat with PCOS.

BACKGROUND Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous disorder. However, PCOS has a strong resemblance to the metabolic syndrome, including preponderance of visceral fat deposition. The aim of this study is to compare fat distribution between lean women with PCOS and controls matched for body composition but with regular menstrual cycles and proven fertility.

Potent cytotoxic effects of Calomeria amaranthoides on ovarian cancers.

Background: Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynaecological malignancy. More than 60% of the patients are presenting the disease in stage III or IV. In spite of combination of chemotherapy and surgery the prognosis stays poor for therapy regimen.

Appetite suppression through smelling of dark chocolate correlates with changes in ghrelin in young women.

Cephalic effects on appetite are mediated by vagal tone and altered gastrointestinal hormones. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between appetite and levels of gastrointestinal hormones after smelling chocolate and after melt-and-swallow 30 g chocolate (1.059 oz, 85% cocoa, 12.

Citrulline and intestinal fatty acid-binding protein: longitudinal markers of postweaning small intestinal function in pigs?

The objective of the current study was to investigate whether plasma citrulline or intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) concentrations might be used as longitudinal markers for small intestinal function in piglets after weaning. Plasma citrulline and I-FABP concentrations were measured longitudinally in weaned and unweaned piglets, and related to intestinal absorption values (i.e.

Absence of interaction of fondaparinux sodium with aspirin and piroxicam in healthy male volunteers.

Objective: Patients undergoing major orthopaedic surgery who are being treated with fondaparinux sodium for prevention of venous thromboembolism may be receiving treatment for coronary artery disease or chronic inflammatory disease of the joints or arthritis. Two separate studies assessed any possible interaction between fondaparinux sodium at steady state and aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) or piroxicam in healthy volunteers.

Design: In the first study a single dose of aspirin 975mg was assessed initially, followed by single doses of aspirin or placebo on the fourth day of an 8-day regimen of subcutaneous fondaparinux sodium (10mg once daily).

Introduction of enteral feeding in neonates on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation after evaluation of intestinal permeability changes.

Background/purpose: Neonates meeting criteria for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) often suffer from variable periods of hypoxia. During ECMO, starvation of the gut is common practice in many centres as splanchnic ischemia results in loss of intestinal integrity, which in turn predisposes for bacterial translocation and sepsis and eventually necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and multiorgan failure. However, minimal enteral feeding is thought to be of benefit in the critically ill.

Gastrointestinal blood loss after non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Measurement by selective determination of faecal porphyrins.

1. A method for the detection of gastrointestinal blood loss based upon the selective measurement of faecal porphyrins was tested in two studies in healthy volunteers. 2.

Vitamin K1 levels and K1-dependent coagulation factors II and X in preterm and small-for-date neonates.

In 17 preterm neonates and 7 small-for-date neonates, all formula-fed, vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors II and X remained near 45% of adult values from the moment of birth until 28 days postnatally. Vitamin K1 levels, however, showed a remarkable rise from below the detection limit of 0.022 ng/ml in umbilical cord blood, to serum levels with a range of 0.

Vitamin K1 levels and coagulation factors in healthy term newborns till 4 weeks after birth.

Vitamin K1 serum levels were assessed by means of an off-line multidimensional liquid chromatography in 18 mothers, shortly after delivery, and in their healthy term infants. Umbilical cord and venous blood samples were assayed up to 4 weeks of life. Concurrently, levels of coagulation factors II and X, antithrombin III and platelets were established.

Chromatography of urinary indole derivatives.

Latest strategies are discussed for the routine chromatographic analysis of clinically important indole derivatives in urine. Analysis of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and, perhaps more importantly, serotonin and 5-hydroxytryptophan remains attractive in the screening for carcinoid tumours and their differentiation. Analyses of two precursors of the skin pigment eumelanin seem to be promising in the monitoring of treatment of malignant melanoma and screening for pigmentation disorders and gallstone formation.

Routine clinical determination of carotene, vitamin E, vitamin A, 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 and trans-vitamin K1 in human serum by straight phase HPLC.

A universal extraction procedure is described for fat-soluble vitamins in human serum. Methods are presented for routine quantitative analysis by isocratic straight phase HPLC with UV-detection of (alpha + beta)-carotene, vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) and vitamin A (all-trans-retinol) in one single run, and of vitamin K1 (trans-phylloquinone) and 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 after sample clean-up using disposable reversed-phase cartridges. The limits of detection, precisions and selectivities of the developed assays are shown to be satisfactory after more than three years' experience.

Direct concurrent measurement of urinary vanillylmandelic acid, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid by HPLC. Three methodologies compared.

Three different direct HPLC methods for the determination of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxymandelic acid (VMA, vanillylmandelic acid), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (HVA, homovanillic acid) in urine were compared: two spectrofluorometric methods, applying discontinuous gradients, and one serial coulometric linear gradient method. The imprecision study (n = 6) revealed comparable coefficients of variation (CV), intra-assay ranging 1.4-11.

Assay of urinary 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid: two methodologies compared.

Udenfriend's (Sjoerdsma A, Weissbach H, Udenfriend S. J Am Med Assoc 1955; 159: 397) classical screening method for urinary 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) is known to be subject to error due to food and drug interferences. Goldenberg (Goldenberg H.

Quantitation of trans-vitamin K1 in small serum samples by off-line multidimensional liquid chromatography.

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography method for vitamin K1 using normal-phase fractionation was updated in order to cope with the limited volume of blood samples obtained from newborns. The method combines sample clean-up, normal-phase fractionation with reversed-phase chromatography using post-column electrochemical reduction and fluorescence detection. It was possible to measure vitamin K1 concentration in at least 0.