Publications by authors named "Luc Meeus"

Advancements in clinical science have shown the necessity for a paradigm shift away from a biomedical toward a biopsychosocial approach. Yet, the translation from clinical science into clinical practice is challenging. The aim of this study was to assess the short-term and mid-term changes in pain knowledge and attitudes and guideline-adherent recommendations of healthcare professionals (HCP) by means of an interdisciplinary training program (ITP) about chronic pain.

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Background: Many applied postgraduate pain training programs are monodisciplinary, whereas interdisciplinary training programs potentially improve interdisciplinary collaboration, which is favourable for managing patients with chronic pain. However, limited research exists on the development and impact of interdisciplinary training programs, particularly in the context of chronic pain.

Methods: This study aimed to describe the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary training program regarding the management of patients with chronic pain, which is part of a type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation study.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study compares joint health, pain levels, and quality of life between elderly individuals with mild and moderate/severe haemophilia and healthy controls.
  • Findings indicate that those with moderate/severe haemophilia have significantly worse joint issues, pain, and health-related quality of life compared to mild haemophilia patients and healthy controls.
  • Some mild haemophilia patients also experience joint abnormalities and pain but do not show significant differences in quality of life compared to healthy individuals.
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  • Joint pain in people with haemophilia (PwH) is often overlooked and needs individualized management based on the type of pain (nociceptive, neuropathic, nociplastic).
  • A study using IASP's criteria found that out of 94 PwH, 15% had at least possible nociplastic pain, while the majority had "unlikely" nociplastic pain.
  • Those with nociplastic pain showed higher levels of unhelpful psychological factors compared to healthy individuals, and age might influence differences in body height and psychological factors.
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Background: Joint pain is the hallmark of haemophilia; therefore it seems clinically rather a musculoskeletal than a bleeding disorder. Although joint pain in people with haemophilia (PwH) is a complex and multidimensional problem, pain assessment remains primarily focused on the structural evaluation of their joints. Whereas, only few data are available on the potential implication of psychophysical and psychological factors.

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Introduction: People with haemophilia (PwH) suffer from knee and ankle joint pain, but the association with structural damage remains underexplored. They report activity limitations but it is unclear which factors contribute to lower limb activity limitations (LL-AL).

Aims: This study aimed (i) to analyse the association between ankle joint pain and structure and (ii) explore the contribution of haemophilia-related, individual and psychological factors to LL-AL in PwH.

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Introduction: Pain is a major issue in people with haemophilia (PwH). Few studies comprehensively assessed pain in PwH using a biopsychosocial framework and studies in mild PwH are lacking.

Aim: To assess pain prevalence, pain interference and their relationship with health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) in male adults with haemophilia.

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Introduction: To assess activity limitations in people with haemophilia (PwH), the self-reported Haemophilia Activity List (HAL) is widely employed, despite several methodological limitations impacting the interpretation of categorical scores. Modern psychometric approaches avoid these limitations by using a probabilistic model, such as the Rasch model. The ACTIVLIM is a Rasch-built measurement of activity limitations previously validated in several clinical conditions like neuromuscular disorders.

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Background: Cyclooxygenase inhibitors are commonly used in infants with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), but the benefit of these drugs is uncertain.

Methods: In this multicenter, noninferiority trial, we randomly assigned infants with echocardiographically confirmed PDA (diameter, >1.5 mm, with left-to-right shunting) who were extremely preterm (<28 weeks' gestational age) to receive either expectant management or early ibuprofen treatment.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates whether patients with chronic temporomandibular disorders (TMD) have a higher tendency to develop secondary mechanical hyperalgesia due to central nervous system sensitization compared to healthy individuals.
  • By testing 20 chronic TMD patients and 20 matching controls using high-frequency electrical stimulation, researchers found that the area of induced hyperalgesia was significantly larger (76% increase) in the TMD group.
  • The findings suggest that chronic TMD patients exhibit an increased propensity for hyperalgesia, enhancing the understanding of the disorder's underlying mechanisms.
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Introduction: Despite the fact that joint bleeds (haemarthrosis) frequently occur in people with haemophilia (PwH) with invalidating arthropathies as result, the clinical pain experience has received only limited attention. A sudden increase in pain intensity can be linked to a bleed, but in most cases, no acute bleed is confirmed. Nevertheless, a patient's perception of an acute bleed as cause of the pain might impact the patients' behaviour in response to pain.

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  • The study investigates the effectiveness of definitive radiotherapy (dRT) for treating unresectable soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) in patients from 2009 to 2020, noting a lack of previous data.
  • Key findings include that out of 116 patients, over half achieved stable disease or partial response, with 3-year local failure, progression-free survival, and overall survival rates of 43.2%, 16.6%, and 34%, respectively.
  • The research concludes that modern dRT is a safe and effective option for selected patients with unresectable STS, with certain factors like tumor grade and radiation dosage impacting survival outcomes.
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Background: Conflicting results exist between somatosensory profiles of patients with temporomandibular myalgia (TMDm). The objective of this review was to examine whether adults with TMDm show altered responses to dynamic quantitative sensory tests compared with healthy controls.

Methods: We searched five electronic databases for studies, excluding those without suitable controls or where TMDm was associated with confounding non-musculoskeletal disorders.

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Introduction: Ankle arthropathy is highly prevalent among people with haemophilia (PwH), even with prophylaxis, and leads to pain and disability. Mechanisms and consequences of painful symptoms related to ankle arthropathy have not been extensively studied.

Methods: A consecutive sample of 30 adult PwH was included (60 ankles).

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Progress in malaria control has led to a significant reduction of the malaria burden. Interventions that interrupt transmission are now needed to achieve the elimination goal. Transmission-blocking vaccines (TBV) that aim to prevent mosquito infections represent promising tools and several vaccine candidates targeting different stages of the parasite's lifecycle are currently under development.

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Introduction: Standardization of BCR-ABL1 messenger RNA quantification by real-time PCR on the International Scale (IS) is critical for monitoring therapy response in chronic myelogenous leukaemia. Since 2006, BCR-ABL1 IS standardization is propagated along reference laboratories by calculating a laboratory-specific conversion factor (CF), co-ordinated in Europe through the European Treatment and Outcome Study project. Although this process has proven successful to some extent, it has not been achievable for all laboratories due to the complexity of the process and the stringent requirements in terms of numbers of samples to be exchanged.

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In Belgium, the calcimimetic cinacalcet is initially reimbursed for < or = 4 months in dialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) > or = 800 pg/mL, or iPTH 300-800 pg/ mL and Ca x P > 55 mg 2/dL2 despite > or = 6 months' optimal treatment with vitamin D sterols and/or phosphate binders. The Belgian, multicentre, observational study ECHO-B evaluated cinacalcet in such patients. Patients who began cinacalcet treatment after March 1, 2007 were eligible.

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