Publications by authors named "Majanka Heijenbrok-Kal"
People fall more often when their gait stability is reduced. Gait stability can be directly manipulated by exerting forces or moments onto a person, ranging from simple walking sticks to complex wearable robotics. A systematic review of the literature was performed to determine: What is the level of evidence for different types of mechanical manipulations on improving gait stability? The study was registered at PROSPERO (CRD42020180631).
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- Advances in medical care have led to more survivors of severe brain injuries experiencing prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC), and early intensive neurorehabilitation (EIN) is recommended for better recovery outcomes.
- A study evaluated the effectiveness of a nationwide EIN program in the Netherlands, finding that 68% of participants improved to at least a minimal conscious state, with 44% fully regaining consciousness, although 6% died during the program.
- Despite frequent medical complications (with 30% requiring hospital readmission), most participants experienced little to no pain, and there was a reduction in cardiovascular medication and analgesics by 15%.
Article Synopsis
- Researchers wanted to know how satisfied COVID-19 patients were with their aftercare one year after being in the hospital.
- They used a special questionnaire to gather feedback from patients about their care, information they received, and any needs that weren't met.
- Most patients were generally happy with their care, especially their follow-up appointments, but many wanted more information about who to contact when they had health questions.
Objectives: Various mechanisms, such as immune dysregulation, viral reservoir, and auto-immunity, are hypothesized to underlie the pathogenesis of long-term health problems after hospitalization for COVID-19. We aimed to assess the effect of in-hospital COVID-19 treatments on prominent long-term health problems.
Methods: In this prospective multicenter cohort study, we enrolled patients (age ≥18 years) who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Netherlands between July 2020 and October 2021.
Immunological profiling in long COVID: overall low grade inflammation and T-lymphocyte senescence and increased monocyte activation correlating with increasing fatigue severity.
Front Immunol
October 2023
Background: Many patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection develop long COVID with fatigue as one of the most disabling symptoms. We performed clinical and immune profiling of fatigued and non-fatigued long COVID patients and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs).
Methods: Long COVID symptoms were assessed using patient-reported outcome measures, including the fatigue assessment scale (FAS, scores ≥22 denote fatigue), and followed up to one year after hospital discharge.
Objective: To examine the daily course of, and factors associated with, momentary fatigue after subarachnoid haemorrhage, and to explore subgroups of patients with distinct diurnal patterns of fatigue.
Design: Observational study using ecological momentary assessment.
Subjects: A total of 41 participants with subarachnoid haemorrhage.
Background: Fatigue is one of the most commonly reported symptoms after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and is indirectly associated with physical activity (PA). Associations between fatigue and PA are primarily examined based on conventional measures (i.e.
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- This study looked at whether doing surgery early is better than just treating patients with trauma-related brain bleeding (t-ICH) without surgery.
- They checked the results of 367 patients, where some had surgery and others didn't, to see how well they recovered after 6 months.
- The study found that early surgery might help people with certain types of injuries, but for milder injuries, not having surgery seemed to work better.
Article Synopsis
- A recent study called RESCUE-ASDH looked at two types of brain surgeries for treating a specific brain injury called acute subdural hematoma (ASDH).
- The research included data from many hospitals across Europe and Israel, tracking how often each surgery was used and the outcomes for patients over a few years.
- Results showed that there was a big difference among hospitals in how often they chose to use decompressive craniectomy (DC) compared to craniotomy, with some hospitals using DC for a lot of their patients, while others used it much less.
Cognitive and psychological recovery patterns across different care pathways 12 months after hospitalization for COVID-19: A multicenter cohort study (CO-FLOW).
Ann Phys Rehabil Med
June 2023
Background: The comparison of recovery patterns for different care pathways following COVID-19 is necessary for optimizing rehabilitation strategies.
Objectives: To evaluate cognitive and psychological outcomes across different care pathways up to 12 months after hospitalization for COVID-19.
Methods: CO-FLOW is an ongoing multicenter prospective cohort study with assessments at 3, 6, and 12 months after hospitalization for COVID-19.
Introduction: A large proportion of patients experience a wide range of sequelae after acute COVID-19, especially after severe illness. The long-term health sequelae need to be assessed. Our objective was to longitudinally assess persistence of symptoms and clusters of symptoms up to 12 months after hospitalisation for COVID-19 and to assess determinants of the main persistent symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Some individuals experience persistent symptoms after initial symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (often referred to as Long COVID).
Objective: To estimate the proportion of males and females with COVID-19, younger or older than 20 years of age, who had Long COVID symptoms in 2020 and 2021 and their Long COVID symptom duration.
Design, Setting, And Participants: Bayesian meta-regression and pooling of 54 studies and 2 medical record databases with data for 1.
Purpose: To evaluate physical fitness and its association with fatigue in patients with low grade glioma (LGG).
Methods: Cross-sectional study. Muscle strength was measured with a digital dynamometer, cardiorespiratory fitness (peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), maximal workload (MWL)) by cardiopulmonary-exercise-testing, and fatigue by using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory.
Backgroud: The sudden COVID-19 pandemic forced quick development of care pathways for patients with different needs. Trajectories of physical recovery in hospitalized patients for COVID-19 following different care pathways are unknown. We aimed to assess trajectories of physical recovery and levels of physical function reached within the different care pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: While much of the attention on the COVID-19 pandemic was directed at the daily counts of cases and those with serious disease overwhelming health services, increasingly, reports have appeared of people who experience debilitating symptoms after the initial infection. This is popularly known as long COVID.
Objective: To estimate by country and territory of the number of patients affected by long COVID in 2020 and 2021, the severity of their symptoms and expected pattern of recovery.
Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of a high-volume and high-intensity functional training programme in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and to explore whether functional capacity improves. A further objective was to explore changes in muscle strength and aerobic capacity.
Methods: This pilot study comprised a 12-week intervention, with an 8-week follow-up period.
Article Synopsis
- The study looked at two ways to treat a serious brain injury called acute subdural haematoma: one where doctors do surgery right away and another where they wait and try other treatments first.
- Researchers included a lot of patients (1,407) and checked how well each treatment worked over six months.
- They found that only some patients had surgery right away (24%), and the choice of treatment varied a lot between different hospitals.
Fatigue is Associated with Reduced Participation and Health-Related Quality of Life Five Years After Perimesencephalic Subarachnoid Haemorrhage: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study.
J Rehabil Med
May 2022
Objective: To determine whether fatigue is associated with participation and health-related quality of life 5 years after perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage.
Design: Multicentre cross-sectional study.
Subjects: Forty-six patients with perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage.
Objective: To select a set of rehabilitation outcome instruments for a national Neurotrauma Quality Registry (Net-QuRe) among professionals involved in the care of patients with traumatic brain injury.
Design: A 3-round online Delphi procedure.
Subjects: Eighty professionals from multiple disciplines working in 1 of the 8 participating rehabilitation centres were invited to participate.
Purpose: To evaluate fatigue and cognitive functioning in patients with low-grade glioma and to assess whether cognitive functioning and employment status differ between patients with severe and non-severe mental fatigue.
Methods: Cross-sectional study. Fatigue was measured with the multidimensional fatigue inventory, objective cognitive functioning with a neuropsychological test battery, and mood with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale.
Persistent Health Problems beyond Pulmonary Recovery up to 6 Months after Hospitalization for COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study of Respiratory, Physical, and Psychological Outcomes.
Ann Am Thorac Soc
April 2022
Data on longitudinal recovery after hospitalization for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) currently remain scarce, just as outcomes beyond 3 months of follow-up do. To evaluate the sequelae up to 6 months after hospitalization for COVID-19 by considering ) recovery as it relates to pulmonary function, radiological abnormalities, physical and mental health status, and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) and ) the predictors of the most clinically relevant sequelae. Patients were evaluated at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after hospitalization by using pulmonary function testing, radiological evaluation, and online questionnaires on the physical and mental health status and HR-QoL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCO-FLOW: COvid-19 Follow-up care paths and Long-term Outcomes Within the Dutch health care system: study protocol of a multicenter prospective cohort study following patients 2 years after hospital discharge.
BMC Health Serv Res
August 2021
Background: First studies indicate that up to 6 months after hospital discharge, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes severe physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments, which may affect participation and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). After hospitalization for COVID-19, a number of patients are referred to medical rehabilitation centers or skilled nursing facilities for further treatment, while others go home with or without aftercare. The aftercare paths include 1] community-based rehabilitation; 2] in- and outpatient medical rehabilitation; 3] inpatient rehabilitation in skilled nursing facilities; and 4] sheltered care (inpatient).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate employment status and return to work in relation to fatigue in patients with World Health Organization (WHO) grade II glioma.
Design: Exploratory cross-sectional study.
Subjects: Patients with grade II glioma, who underwent surgery between 2005 and 2016.
Objective: To examine the association of fatigue with long-term participation in aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage survivors.
Design: Cohort study, 4 years post-onset.
Subjects: A total of 59 patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage.
Article Synopsis
- Prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC) after severe brain injury include unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and minimally conscious state (MCS), which may benefit from early intensive neurorehabilitation (EIN) provided in a specialized center in the Netherlands.
- The DOCTOR study is a prospective cohort study investigating outcomes for PDOC patients receiving EIN, measuring changes in consciousness, medical complications, mortality, disability, quality of life, and caregiver factors over a 2-year period.
- The study aims to identify recovery patterns and predictors for PDOC patients, ultimately helping to improve rehabilitation strategies and the organization of healthcare services for these individuals and their families.