Clinical implementation of first trimester screening for congenital heart defects.

Objective: To examine the feasibility and performance of implementing a standardized fetal cardiac scan at the time of a routine first-trimester ultrasound scan.

Method: A retrospective, single-center study in an unselected population between March 2021 and July 2022. A standardized cardiac scan protocol consisting of a four-chamber and 3-vessel trachea view with color Doppler was implemented as part of the routine first-trimester scan.

Does group size matter during collaborative skills learning? A randomised study.

Background: Collaborative skills learning in the form of dyad learning compared with individual learning has been shown to lead to non-inferior skills retention and transfer. However, we have limited knowledge on which learning activities improve collaborative skills training and how the number of collaborators may impact skills transfer. We explored the effects of skills training individually, in dyads, triads or tetrads on learning activities during training and on subsequent skills transfer.

Refractory Fetal Supraventricular Tachycardia with Hydrops Successfully Converted by Intraperitoneal Flecainide in the Fetus: A Case Report.

Introduction: Supraventricular tachycardia is the most common fetal tachyarrhythmia and if persistent often associated with fetal hydrops which can cause intrauterine and neonatal death.

Case Presentation: We present a case of early second trimester supraventricular tachycardia in a hydropic fetus, initially refractory to transplacental treatment.

Conclusion: The supraventricular tachycardia was successfully treated when supplemented with intraperitoneal flecainide in the fetus.

Fetal rotation during vacuum extractions for prolonged labor: a prospective cohort study.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate fetal head rotation during vacuum extraction.

Material And Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study from November 2013 to July 2016 in seven European hospitals. Fetal head position was determined with transabdominal or transperineal ultrasound and categorized as occiput anterior (OA), occiput transverse (OT) or occiput posterior (OP) position.

Overweight in childhood and adolescence: Does it lead to airway hyperresponsiveness in adulthood?

Background: Obesity is increasing worldwide among children and adolescents, and has been associated with an increased incidence of asthma. However, the mechanisms underlying this association are incompletely understood.

Objective: In this cohort study we aimed to investigate whether being overweight in childhood and adolescence is associated with an increased risk of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), a hallmark of asthma, in early adulthood.

Sonographic prediction of outcome of vacuum deliveries: a multicenter, prospective cohort study.

Background: Safe management of the second stage of labor is of great importance. Unnecessary interventions should be avoided and correct timing of interventions should be focused. Ultrasound assessment of fetal position and station has a potential to improve the precision in diagnosing and managing prolonged or arrested labors.

YKL-40 and genetic status of CHI3L1 in a large group of asthmatics.

Background: Studies have shown a relationship between asthma, serum YKL-40, and the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (-131 C/G, rs4950928) in the CHI3L1 gene that codes for YKL-40. However, the findings differ. We studied the relationship between clinical asthma phenotypes, serum YKL-40, and SNP (-131 C/G, rs4950928).

Adverse outcomes of (post-)term births and differences in professional organisational contexts: an integral descriptive system approach.

Objective: The development and application of an integral descriptive model for monitoring and evaluation of patient flows and adverse outcomes of childbirth related to distinct categories of professional organisational contexts.

Setting: After categorisation of the individual professional contexts in which deliveries take place, the resulting framework has been superimposed on the 2002-2010 database of the Netherlands Perinatal Registry.

Participants: All Dutch hospitals and almost all first-line midwife practices recorded 1,469,955 (post-)term births from which only the patients with a spontaneous onset of labour (n=1,120,508) were included in a study on the quality of obstetric care outside office hours.

Airway hyperresponsiveness and development of lung function in adolescence and adulthood.

Background: Long-term longitudinal studies of lung function from childhood to adulthood are important in linking our understanding of childhood risk factors to adult disease. Airway hyperresponsiveness has been shown to independently affect lung function growth in studies of adolescence. The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that airway hyperresponsiveness has an independent deleterious effect on lung function in adolescence that extends into adulthood.

Risk of chronic bronchitis in twin pairs discordant for smoking.

Background: It is well known that smoking is a major risk factor for lung disease and respiratory symptoms. We examined the association between smoking and the risk of chronic bronchitis in a large twin sample.

Methods: In a population-based questionnaire study of 13,649 twins, aged 50-71 years, from the Danish Twin Registry, we identified 1,146 twin pairs, discordant for a lifetime history smoking.

Chronic mucus hypersecretion: prevalence and risk factors in younger individuals.

Setting: Chronic mucus hypersecretion (CMH) is a common condition in patients with chronic respiratory diseases. Little is known about the incidence, prevalence and determinants of CMH in younger individuals.

Objective: To determine prevalence, incidence and risk factors for CMH in a young general population.

Asthma patients who smoke have signs of chronic airflow limitation before age 45.

Background: The frequency of smokers among asthma patients often mirrors the frequency of smokers among healthy individuals. Smoking has been shown to increase the lung function decline in adult asthma patients and change the composition of the bronchial inflammation.

Objective: To examine the consequences of smoking in a large cohort of young asthma patients.

The effect of generalist and specialist care on quality of life in asthma patients with and without allergic rhinitis.

Background: Treatment of asthma and rhinitis patients is often provided by both generalists (GPs) and specialists (SPs). Studies have shown differences in clinical outcomes of treatment between these settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of GP and SP care on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

[Evaluation of walk-in lung function service for smokers in Copenhagen--a 1-year study].

Background: Early prevention of COPD and immediate consultation about tobacco cessation is a major issue in respiratory medicine.

Aim: To evaluate if a community-based walk-in lung function service, either in a clinic or a shopping mall, could result in early detection of COPD. Early detection would facilitate prevention.

A 3-year longitudinal study of asthma quality of life in undiagnosed and diagnosed asthma patients.

Setting: Juniper's Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire with standardised activities (AQLQ(S)) is commonly used to evaluate the effect of interventions in pharmaceutical trials, but rarely, if ever, used clinically in long-term follow-up of undiagnosed or diagnosed asthma patients.

Design: The AQLQ(S) was administered to 493 asthma patients who were randomised to treatment in primary or specialist care over a 3-year period.

Results: Of the 493 patients, 249 had not been diagnosed before screening and 244 had a doctor's diagnosis of asthma.