From population reference to national standard: new and improved birthweight charts.

Background: Antenatal detection of intrauterine growth restriction remains a major obstetrical challenge, with the majority of cases not detected before birth. In these infants with undetected intrauterine growth restriction, the diagnosis must be made after birth. Clinicians use birthweight charts to identify infants as small-for-gestational-age if their birthweights are below a predefined threshold for gestational age.

Safety of vaccination against influenza A (H1N1) during pregnancy in the Netherlands: results on pregnancy outcomes and infant's health: cross-sectional linkage study.

Objective: This study aims to assess the safety of Influenza A(H1N1), vaccination administered during the second and third trimester and containing MF59 and thiomersal (Focetria(®) ), measured by pregnancy outcomes and infant's health.

Design: Cross-sectional linkage study.

Setting And Sample: A sample of pregnant women, eligible for prenatal screening, were invited to participate.

Choosing between hospitals: the influence of the experiences of other patients.

Objective: Publicly available information on hospital performance is increasing, with the aim to support consumers when choosing a hospital. Besides general hospital information and information on outcomes of care, there is increasing availability of systematically collected information on experiences of other patients. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of previous patients' experiences relative to other information when choosing a hospital for surgical treatment.

The relative importance of quality of care information when choosing a hospital for surgical treatment: a hospital choice experiment.

Objective: To assess the impact of quality of care and other hospital information on patients' choices between hospitals.

Methods: 665 former surgical patients were invited to respond to an Internet-based questionnaire including a choice-based conjoint analysis. Each patient was presented with 12 different comparisons of 2 hospitals, with each hospital characterized by 6 attributes containing 2 levels.