Methodological quality of 100 recent systematic reviews of health-related outcome measurement instruments: an overview of reviews.

Purpose: Systematic reviews evaluating and comparing the measurement properties of outcome measurement instruments (OMIs) play an important role in OMI selection. Earlier overviews of review quality (2007, 2014) evidenced substantial concerns with regards to alignment to scientific standards. This overview aimed to investigate whether the quality of recent systematic reviews of OMIs lives up to the current scientific standards.

Reliability parameters of the Timed 25-Foot-Walk (T25FW) in patients with Multiple Sclerosis: Lower walking speed is associated with greater Smallest Detectable Change.

Background: Reliability parameters of clinical measures should be sufficient in order to adequately monitor disease course and evaluate treatment in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of the Timed 25-Foot-Walk (T25FW) in patients with MS.

Methods: MS patients performed the T25FW twice with approximately one year in between.

The psychometric properties of the PROMIS® profile CAT in people with stroke.

Background: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® (PROMIS) Profile Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) consists of seven CATs and one single item measuring most relevant aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of our study was to determine construct validity and floor and ceiling effects of the PROMIS Profile CAT in Dutch people with stroke.

Methods: People with stroke receiving rehabilitation completed the PROMIS Profile CAT and the EuroQol-5 dimensions (EQ5D).

Functioning and recovery during stroke rehabilitation: a comparison between pre-stroke frail and non-frail patients.

Purpose: Pre-stroke frailty in older adults is associated with adverse outcomes after stroke in community-based and hospital-based populations. The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence of pre-stroke frailty among older stroke survivors receiving medical specialistic rehabilitation and its association with outcomes and recovery.

Methods: Pre-stroke frailty was measured by the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI, score ≥ 4 indicates frailty) in patients ≥ 65 years receiving stroke medical specialistic rehabilitation.

Stroke survivors' long-term participation in paid employment.

Background: Knowledge on long-term participation is scarce for patients with paid employment at the time of stroke.

Objective: Describe the characteristics and the course of participation (paid employment and overall participation) in patients who did and did not remain in paid employment.

Methods: Patients with paid employment at the time of stroke completed questions on work up to 30 months after starting rehabilitation, and the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation (USER-P, Frequency, Restrictions and Satisfaction scales) up to 24 months.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the ICHOM standard set for stroke: the Dutch version.

Introduction: The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) developed a standard set of patient-centered outcome measures for use in stroke patients. In addition to the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Global Health, it is comprised of 25 questions that are not part of a specific questionnaire. This study aimed to translate these 25 single questions into Dutch.

The trajectory of pain and pain intensity in the upper extremity after stroke over time: a prospective study in a rehabilitation population.

Purpose: To assess the presence of upper extremity pain after stroke over time and the course of its intensity in patients with persistent pain.

Materials And Methods: Patients with stroke completed a question on the presence of upper extremity pain (yes/no) and rated its intensity with a visual analogue scale (0-10) at 3, 18, and 30 months after starting multidisciplinary rehabilitation. The presence of upper extremity pain and its intensity over time were analysed with Generalized Estimating Equations models and Linear Mixed Models, respectively.

Use of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Measures in Clinical Research in Patients With Stroke: A Systematic Literature Review.

Objective: To systematically describe the use and outcomes of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures in clinical studies in populations with stroke.

Data Sources: A systematic search on the use of PROMIS measures in clinical stroke studies in 9 electronic databases.

Study Selection: Studies had to be original, reporting on outcome data using PROMIS measures in populations with stroke (ischemic and/or hemorrhagic), from January 1st, 2007.

Measurement properties and interpretability of the PROMIS item banks in stroke patients: a systematic review.

Purpose: Both the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement and the National Institutes of Health recommend the use of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) measures in clinical care and research for stroke patients. This study aimed to systematically review the literature on the measurement properties and interpretability of PROMIS measures in stroke patients.

Methods: Nine databases were searched from January 1st, 2007 till April 12th, 2021 for studies concerning the measurement properties and interpretability of PROMIS measures in stroke patients.

Patient Activation During the First 6 Months After the Start of Stroke Rehabilitation.

Objective: To examine patient activation from the start of stroke rehabilitation and its course up until the 6-month follow-up.

Design: Inception cohort study with a follow-up of 6 months.

Setting: Multidisciplinary rehabilitation facility.

Are There Differences in Long-Term Functioning and Recovery Between Hemorrhagic and Ischemic Stroke Patients Receiving Rehabilitation?

Objective: Previous research suggested better recovery in functioning of patients with hemorrhagic as compared to ischemic stroke. Now that more effective acute treatment for ischemic stroke, i.e.

Caregiver strain and fatigue are independent determinants of anxiety among patients early after stroke.

Anxiety and depression are common mental health disorders in stroke patients, and often co-occur. However, in contrast to depression, there is limited research about anxiety after stroke, although impact of anxiety can be substantial. Therefore, this cross-sectional observational study investigated determinants of anxiety after stroke and compared them with determinants of depression after stroke.

Improved ROSC rates in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients after introduction of a text message alert system for trained volunteers.

Objective: To evaluate whether a text message (TM) alert system for trained volunteers contributed to early cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients in a region with above-average survival rates.

Design: Data on all OHCA patients in 2012 (non-TM group) were compared with those of all OHCA patients in 2018 (TM group). The association of the presence of a TM alert system with ROSC and survival was assessed with multivariate regression analyses.

Determining the minimal important change of the 6-minute walking test in Multiple Sclerosis patients using a predictive modelling anchor-based method.

Background: The minimal important change (MIC) of the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is not clear for patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), hampering treatment evaluation. The aim of our study was therefore to determine the MIC of the 6MWT in MS patients.

Methods: MS patients did the 6MWT using the instruction to walk at comfortable speed twice with approximately one year in between.

Depression is an independent determinant of life satisfaction early after stroke.

Objective: Life satisfaction is reduced in stroke patients. However, as a rule, rehabilitation goals are not aimed at life satisfaction, but at activities and participation. In order to optimize life satisfaction in stroke patients, rehabilitation should take into account the determinants of life satisfaction.

Identifying genetic risk variants for coronary heart disease in familial hypercholesterolemia: an extreme genetics approach.

Mutations in the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene cause familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), a disorder characterized by coronary heart disease (CHD) at young age. We aimed to apply an extreme sampling method to enhance the statistical power to identify novel genetic risk variants for CHD in individuals with FH. We selected cases and controls with an extreme contrast in CHD risk from 17,000 FH patients from the Netherlands, whose functional LDLR mutation was unequivocally established.

Anxiety and low life satisfaction associate with high caregiver strain early after stroke.

Objective: Caregivers play an important role in the well-being of stroke patients, and are known to experience considerable strain 3 months or more after patient discharge. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of caregiver strain early after discharge.

Methods: Six weeks after discharge from the hospital or rehabilitation setting stroke-surviving patients and their caregivers were seen by a specialized nurse.

Low-density lipoprotein receptor mutations generate synthetic genome-wide associations.

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have discovered multiple common genetic risk variants related to common diseases. It has been proposed that a number of these signals of common polymorphisms are based on synthetic associations that are generated by rare causative variants. We investigated if mutations in the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene causing familial hypercholesterolemia (FH, OMIM #143890) produce such signals.

Differential diagnosis of recurrent or bilateral peripheral facial palsy.

Objective: To describe the differential diagnosis of recurrent or bilateral peripheral facial palsy.

Method: Case report and literature review.

Results: Two patients with recurrent, alternating, peripheral facial palsy are described.

Apolipoprotein isoform E4 does not increase coronary heart disease risk in carriers of low-density lipoprotein receptor mutations.

Background: In humans, the E4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene is associated with increased coronary heart disease risk. Surprisingly, in rodents, apolipoprotein E4 only accelerates the atherosclerotic process when transgenic for the human low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) protein. We therefore investigated whether the LDLR locus interacted with the apolipoprotein E gene genotype on coronary heart disease risk in patients clinically diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia with and without LDLR mutation.

Maternal inheritance of familial hypercholesterolemia caused by the V408M low-density lipoprotein receptor mutation increases mortality.

Objective: Fetal exposure to maternal hypercholesterolemia increases the extent of fatty-streak formation in fetal aortas as well as the rate of progression, and may therefore increase coronary heart disease (CHD) risk later in life. We hypothesized that the risk of CHD in untreated individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is more extreme when the disease is transmitted maternally.

Methods: In a large Dutch pedigree carrying the V408M mutation in the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene, 161 individuals over seven generations were identified for which FH status and parent of origin of FH were known.

Sydenham's chorea: a practical overview of the current literature.

Sydenham's chorea is characterized by uncoordinated movements, emotional instability, and hypotonia. It can occur up to several months after group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus infection. A diagnosis of Sydenham's chorea in a patient with acute chorea involves an application of the Jones criteria and the exclusion of other causes of chorea.

A frequent variant in the ABCA1 gene is associated with increased coronary heart disease risk and a better response to statin treatment in familial hypercholesterolemia patients.

Aims: Statins are essential for the reduction of risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). One of many genes influenced by statin treatment is the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) gene, which plays an important role in metabolism of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The present aim was to test if the ABCA1 C69T polymorphism influences CHD risk and response to statin treatment.