Publications by authors named "Louis R"

Background And Objectives: The Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines classify rhinitis as "intermittent" or "persistent" and "mild" or "moderate-severe". To assess ARIA classes in a real-world study in terms of phenotypic differences and their association with asthma.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional real-world study based on users of the MASK-air® app who reported data for at least 3 different months.

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Asthma is a common respiratory disease, accounting for 3 to 10 % of severe cases. Among these, bronchiectasis is more frequent (prevalence between 15.5 % and 67.

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Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (iPAH) is a rare, rapidly progressive disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. It is characterized by endothelial dysfunction within the pulmonary vascular bed and gradually leads to an increase in the pulmonary vascular resistances. Its non-specific symptomatology delays the diagnosis and brings the most severe forms to right ventricular failure.

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Introduction: Physical inactivity due to shortness of breath is common among patients with uncontrolled asthma. We evaluated the body mass composition and exercise capacity of patients with poorly controlled asthma, despite maximal inhalation therapy.

Methods:  We recruited 56 patients from the Asthma Clinic of the University Hospital of Liège between September 2020 and December 2023, and 14 healthy subjects.

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Rationale: Knowledge about the clinical importance of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in severe asthma is limited.

Objectives: To assess whether and to what extent asthma exacerbations affect changes in PROMS over time and asthma-specific PROMs can predict exacerbations in adult patients with severe asthma in usual care.

Methods: Data of 421 patients with severe asthma (62% female; mean age 51.

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Benralizumab is a monoclonal antibody directed toward the α subunit of the interleukin-5 receptor. This drug has been established as a key treatment for severe hypereosinophilic asthma. Here we report results of the PROMISE study, an observational study conducted in 73 severe asthmatic patients treated at the asthma clinic of CHU Liège and whose blood eosinophil count was > 300/µl.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study involving 505 adult asthma patients from Belgium examined the relationship between detailed asthma symptoms reported by patients and their lung function and inflammation levels.
  • Key symptoms analyzed included cough, dyspnea, wheezing, chest tightness, and airway secretion, measured on a five-point scale, revealing several demographic and health-related factors influencing these symptoms.
  • The findings suggest that individualized treatment for asthma could be developed based on the specific symptoms and their associations with various demographic and health indicators.
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Background: Asthma is associated with accelerated rate of FEV decline.

Objective: To determine predictive factors associated with accelerated FEV decline in adult asthma and evaluate sputum cytokines as potential biomarkers for airflow decline.

Methods: We recruited 125 asthmatics evaluated at the asthma clinic of Liège and reevaluated them at least 5 years later.

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Background: COVID-19 has put a huge strain on the healthcare systems worldwide, requiring unprecedented intensive care resources. There is still an unmet clinical need for easily available biomarkers capable of predicting the risk for severe disease. The main goal of this prospective multicenter study was to identify biomarkers that could predict ICU admission and in-hospital mortality.

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This retrospective study including 93 patients who presented a new diagnosis of lung cancer at the University Hospital of Liege between January 2023 and April 2023 analyzed the prevalence of smoking cessation following the diagnosis announcement. It was also investigated whether certain factors influenced this rate (stage, histology, type of treatment received, tobacco monitoring,…) and whether the impact of this smoking cessation influenced the progression of the disease and the response to oncological treatments. The results show that 34.

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Background: In mesothelioma (MPM), clinical evidence indicates that the absolute eosinophil count negatively correlates with overall survival and response to standard chemotherapy. Since eosinophils poorly infiltrate MPM tumours, we hypothesised that endocrine rather than paracrine pathways mediate the therapeutic response. We thus studied the effect of eosinophil-associated factors on response to chemotherapy in mesothelioma.

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We monitored SARS-CoV-2 variants in Haiti from 2020-2023. Despite Haitian COVID-19 travel restrictions and in the setting of a vaccination rate of 2.7%, the timing and lineage evolution of the Haiti epidemic mirrored what was occurring in the rest of the world.

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Background: Mucociliary clearance (MCC) impairment can be due to mucus abnormalities or to a ciliary dysfunction, which can be innate, or secondary to infection and/or inflammation. In cystic fibrosis (CF), it is well documented that MCC is impaired due to mucus abnormalities, but little is known concerning ciliary beating. This study aimed to confirm that ciliary dyskinesia is present in CF, and if this might be innate or secondary to the chronic infection and/or inflammation.

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Background: Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are an heterogeneous group of infiltrating lung pathologies, for which prompt diagnosis and continuous assessment are of paramount importance. While chest CT is an established diagnostic tool for ILDs, there are no formal guidelines on the follow-up regimen, leaving the frequency and modality of follow-up largely at the clinician's discretion.

Methods: The study retrospectively evaluated the indication of chest CT in a cohort of 129 ILD patients selected from the ambulatory care polyclinic at University Hospital of Liège.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are tools that help assess a patient's health at a specific time and are important for personalized healthcare.
  • - The paper reviews the use of visual analog scales (VAS) for measuring asthma and allergic rhinitis control, particularly focusing on the MASK-air app, which includes electronic VAS forms.
  • - A randomized controlled trial was conducted to validate the electronic VAS, and further evaluations confirmed the effectiveness of VAS questions and additional medication scores for allergic asthma symptoms.
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Purpose: Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is a difficult-to-treat otitis media characterized by eosinophilic accumulation in the middle ear mucosa and effusion. It is refractory to conventional treatments and is strongly associated with asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). The diagnostic criteria for EOM were established by IINO in 2011.

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Background: Use of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in the intensive care unit (ICU) is increasing, yet reporting of nutrition intake, muscle thickness, or recovery outcomes in this population is limited.

Objective: The objective of this study was to quantify muscle thickness, nutrition intake, and functional recovery outcomes for patients receiving HFNC/NIV within the ICU.

Methods: A single-centre, prospective, observational study in adult ICU patients recruited within 48 hrs of commencing HFNC/NIV.

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Background: Oral intake in hospitalized patients is frequently below estimated targets. Multiple physiological symptoms are proposed to impact oral intake, yet many have not been quantified objectively.

Aim: To describe the challenges of objectively measuring physiological nutrition-impacting symptoms in hospitalized patients.

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Background: Nasal polyposis (NP) is a comorbidity of type 2 severe asthma (SA) which could influence response to SA biologics.

Methods: We evaluated (super-) response in SA patients with (NP +) and without NP (NP-) enrolled in the Belgian Severe Asthma Registry (BSAR).

Results: 914 patients, of whom 31% NP + , were included.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The traditional healthcare approach often overlooks patients' personal experiences and strengths, focusing mainly on disease treatment. Person-centered care aims to align medical decisions with individual values and preferences, particularly for those with chronic conditions.
  • - This paper seeks to enhance care for rhinitis and asthma by developing digital care pathways and incorporating real-world evidence to create a more patient-centered approach.
  • - Key components of the review include advancements in mHealth, the integration of artificial intelligence, a novel classification system for airway diseases, and proposals for the ARIA 2024 guidelines, all targeting a sustainable and applicable healthcare model.
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Allergen immunotherapy is still the only curative treatment for respiratory allergies. It is based on repeated administration of allergenic extracts to sensitized patients. It can be administered either by subcutaneous or by sublingual route.

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The observation is unequivocal: nearly half of cancer deaths could be avoided ! This statement, both alarming and hopeful, underscores the crucial importance of preventive measures in the fight against the scourge that is cancer. Indeed, if nearly half of cancer deaths are preventable, it means that it is possible to act on certain modifiable risk factors. Smoking and alcohol consumption are among the most influential behaviours in the risk of death from cancer.

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