Recurrent treatment of refractory acute cellular rejection with alemtuzumab after lung transplantation.

We present an exceptional case of a lung transplant recipient successfully treated by multiple courses of alemtuzumab for refractory acute cellular rejection (ACR). The patient experienced multiple episodes of ACR following the transplantation procedure. Alemtuzumab was initiated as a third-line rejection treatment and was repeated 6 times.

Identifying health-related quality of life concepts to inform the development of the WOUND-Q.

Objective: The impact of hard-to-heal wounds extends beyond traditional clinical metrics, negatively affecting a patient's health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Yet treatment outcomes are seldom measured from the patient's perspective. The purpose of the present study was to perform in-depth qualitative interviews with patients diagnosed with varying types of hard-to-heal wounds to identify outcomes important to them.

Single dose tocilizumab for COVID-19 associated cytokine storm syndrome: Less is more.

Aims: We aim to evaluate the clinical pharmacokinetics of a single dose interleukin-6 (IL-6) antibody tocilizumab (TCZ) in methylprednisolone (MP)-treated COVID-19 patients with cytokine storm syndrome (CSS).

Methods: MP pre-treated patients with COVID-19-associated CSS, defined as at least two elevations of C-reactive protein (CRP) >100 mg/L, ferritin >900 μg/L or D-dimers >1500 μg/L, received intravenous TCZ (8 mg/kg, max. 800 mg) upon clinical deterioration.

Improving Patient Access to Hospital Pharmacists Using eConsults: Retrospective Descriptive Study.

Background: eConsults are increasingly used worldwide to reduce specialist referrals and increase access to medical care. An additional benefit of using an eConsult tool is a reduction of health care costs while improving the quality of health care and patient participation. Currently, shared decision making is increasingly implemented and preferred by patients.

SCI-QOL and WOUND-Q Have the Best Patient-reported Outcome Measure Design: A Systematic Literature Review of PROMs Used in Chronic Wounds.

Unlabelled: Chronic wounds are a significant burden on healthcare systems due to high costs of care (2%-4% total healthcare cost) and a considerable burden on patient's quality of life. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are questionnaires developed to enable patient self-assessments of their outcomes. A gap in knowledge exists because previous reviews on wound-specific PROMs did not evaluate the quality of the development.

Ad26.COV2.S priming provided a solid immunological base for mRNA-based COVID-19 booster vaccination.

The emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants led to the recommendation of booster vaccinations after Ad26.COV2.S priming.

Durability of Immune Responses After Boosting in Ad26.COV2.S-Primed Healthcare Workers.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants raised questions regarding the durability of immune responses after homologous or heterologous boosters after Ad26.COV2.S-priming.

International study to develop the WOUND-Q patient-reported outcome measure for all types of chronic wounds.

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for chronic wounds mainly focus on specific types of wounds. Our team developed the WOUND-Q for use with all types of wounds in any anatomic location. We conducted 60 concept elicitation interviews with patients in Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Tocilizumab in Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia and Concomitant Cytokine Release Syndrome.

Unlabelled: Younger patients with COVID-19 may experience an exaggerated immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and develop cytokine release syndrome (CRS), which may be life threatening. There is no proven antiviral therapy for COVID-19 so far, but profound immunosuppression has recently been suggested as a treatment for COVID-19-associated CRS. We present a case of life-threatening CRS caused by COVID-19 infection with a favourable response to immunosuppressive therapy with tocilizumab (TCZ).

Patient-reported experience measures are essential to improving quality of care for chronic wounds: An international qualitative study.

Traditional quality measures for chronic wounds have focused on objective outcomes that are challenging to risk adjust, lack patient input, and have limited ability to inform quality improvement interventions. Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) provide information from the patient perspective regarding health care quality and have potential to improve patient-centredness, increase care efficiency, and generate actionable data for quality improvement. The purpose of this study was to understand patient experiences and health care processes that impact quality of care among patients with chronic wounds.

International mixed methods study protocol to develop a patient-reported outcome measure for all types of chronic wounds (the WOUND-Q).

Introduction: Most patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) for chronic wounds are specific to a single wound type (eg, pressure ulcer) or part of the body. A barrier to outcome assessment in wound care and research is the lack of a rigorously designed PROM that can be used across wound types and locations. This mixed method study describes the protocol for an international collaboration to develop and validate a new PROM called the WOUND-Q for adults with chronic wounds.

The effectiveness of nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin and trimethoprim for the treatment of cystitis in relation to renal function.

Objectives: We evaluated the effect of renal function on clinical failure rates of nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin and trimethoprim for the treatment of cystitis in primary care.

Methods: Data were retrospectively obtained from 78 Dutch general practitioner (GP) practices between 2013 and 2019. Eligible episodes in patients (>11 years) were those requiring 5 days of nitrofurantoin (NF5), single-dose fosfomycin-trometamol (FT1), 3 days of trimethoprim (TMP3) for uncomplicated cystitis, or 7 days of nitrofurantoin (NF7) or trimethoprim (TMP7) for complicated cystitis.

Risk factors for mortality in patients with pulmonary infections with non-tuberculous mycobacteria: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Infections with non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) represent an increasing problem. Their clinical relevance is still largely unknown as well as predictors for mortality in affected patients. The objective was to describe prevalence and clinical relevance of different NTM and to identify risk factors for mortality.

Inhaled mannitol for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: a randomised, controlled trial.

Rationale: Bronchiectasis is characterised by excessive production of mucus and pulmonary exacerbations. Inhaled osmotic agents may enhance mucociliary clearance, but few long-term clinical trials have been conducted.

Objectives: To determine the impact of inhaled mannitol on exacerbation rates in patients with non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis.

Effect of azithromycin maintenance treatment on infectious exacerbations among patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: the BAT randomized controlled trial.

Importance: Macrolide antibiotics have been shown beneficial in cystic fibrosis (CF) and diffuse panbronchiolitis, and earlier findings also suggest a benefit in non-CF bronchiectasis.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of macrolide maintenance treatment for adults with non-CF bronchiectasis.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The BAT (Bronchiectasis and Long-term Azithromycin Treatment) study, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted between April 2008 and September 2010 in 14 hospitals in The Netherlands among 83 outpatients with non-CF bronchiectasis and 3 or more lower respiratory tract infections in the preceding year.

[A man with persisting dyspnea].

A 67-year-old male was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism and treated with anticoagulants. Half a year later CT of the chest showed growth of the embolism and that pleural fluid and pleural noduli had appeared. A 18FDG-PET-CT showed uptake in these abnormalities and in several bones.

Effect of smoke-free legislation on the incidence of sudden circulatory arrest in the Netherlands.

Objective: To investigate whether smoke-free legislation in the Netherlands led to a decreased incidence of out-of-hospital sudden circulatory arrest (SCA). Smoke-free legislation was implemented in two phases: a workplace ban in 2004 and an extension of this ban to the hospitality sector on 1 July 2008.

Design: Weekly incidence data on SCA were obtained from the ambulance registry of South Limburg, the Netherlands.

Internal wave turbulence near a Texel beach.

A summer bather entering a calm sea from the beach may sense alternating warm and cold water. This can be felt when moving forward into the sea ('vertically homogeneous' and 'horizontally different'), but also when standing still between one's feet and body ('vertically different'). On a calm summer-day, an array of high-precision sensors has measured fast temperature-changes up to 1 °C near a Texel-island (NL) beach.

Lung cancer in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients diagnosed during or after lung transplantation.

Lung transplantation is an accepted therapy for patients with end-stage lung disease and offers a major survival benefit in selected patients. The most important indications are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis besides cystic fibrosis and pulmonary arterial hypertension. The incidence of lung cancer in patients after Ltx is 20-25 times higher than in the general population.

Complete video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy and its learning curve. A single center study introducing the technique in The Netherlands.

Data regarding the benefits for the complete video-assisted thoracic surgery (c-VATS) lobectomy over the open lobectomy are numerous. This article describes the experience of introducing this technique in a training hospital, the first reported cohort in The Netherlands. From March 2006 to November 2008, all patients operated on for proven or suspected lung cancer were analyzed.

Early mood swings as symptoms of the bipolar prodrome: preliminary results of a retrospective analysis.

Background/aims: Temperament and mood swings are promising indicators for the characterization of mood spectrum vulnerability. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between affective temperament and mood swings in bipolar disorder. We explored these clinical features retrospectively.

[Surgical treatment of lung cancer with complete VATS lobectomy, new in the Netherlands].

* In view of the favourable results of lobectomy with complete 'video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery' (c-VATS) as described in literature, we started to perform these totally endoscopic lung resections in the Netherlands in March 2006. * Essential aspects of the procedure are that the ribs are not spread and that the procedure is performed using the image on the monitor only. * In the 23 c-VATS lobectomies performed, the advantages described in literature were confirmed.