Omniflow II biosynthetic grafts versus expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts for infrainguinal bypass surgery. A single-center retrospective analysis.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of Omniflow II biosynthetic vascular grafts as compared to synthetic expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) grafts in infrainguinal bypass surgery.

Methods: A single-center, retrospective, observational study was performed reviewing patients with critical limb ischemia who underwent infrainguinal bypass surgery between 2014 and 2018. Patients characteristics, graft characteristics, and treatment outcomes were collected.

Cardiovascular risk in patients with new gout diagnosis: is monosodium urate volume at ankles and feet on dual-energy computed tomography associated with previous cardiovascular events?

Objectives: Chronic inflammation associated with hyperuricaemia and urate deposition may contribute to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular (CV) events (CVE) in patients with gout. The aim of this study was to explore whether urate deposition on dual-energy CT (DECT) present at the diagnosis of gout is associated with a history of CVE.

Methods: Patients from a study on clinical value of DECT with mono or oligoarthritis who had gout according the 2015 EULAR/ACR classification criteria were included in this cross-sectional study.

CHANGING NURSING CARE TIME AS AN EFFECT OF CHANGED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DIALYSIS POPULATION.

Background: The population of dialysis patients is ageing. Dialysis nurses are confronted with geriatric patients with multiple comorbidities. Nurses are confronted with an increasing burden of care.

Cardiovascular risk in patients with new gout: should we reclassify the risk?

Objectives: Chronic inflammation, as seen in gout, may contribute to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular (CV) events (CVE). The aim of the study was to explore the effect of adding gout as a chronic inflammatory disease to the Dutch SCORE, a tool predicting 10-year CV mortality and morbidity.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional substudy including new patients with gout according the 2015 EULAR/ACR classification criteria who had participated in a trial on diagnostic accuracy of DECT with mono or oligoarthritis.

The performance of dual-energy CT in the classification criteria of gout: a prospective study in subjects with unclassified arthritis.

Objective: To establish the performance of (subsets of) the 2015 ACR/EULAR gout classification criteria in patients with unclassified arthritis, and to determine the value of dual-energy CT (DECT) herein. Reference was the MSU crystal detection result in SF at polarization microscopy.

Methods: We included subjects with acute, unclassified mono or oligoarthritis, who underwent SF analysis and DECT.

Learning curve of robot-assisted laparoscopic sacrocolpo(recto)pexy: a cumulative sum analysis.

Background: Determination of the learning curve of new techniques is essential to improve safety and efficiency. Limited information is available regarding learning curves in robot-assisted laparoscopic pelvic floor surgery.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the learning curve in robot-assisted laparoscopic pelvic floor surgery.

Utility of zinc protoporphyrin in management of whole blood donors.

Background: Deferral for low hemoglobin (Hb) increases the likelihood that donors do not return for future donations. Zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) has been described as a sensitive marker of iron-deficient erythropoiesis, before Hb decreases. It is a relatively cheap, rapid, and easy-to-perform measurement in a drop of whole blood.

Differences in care burden of patients undergoing dialysis in different centres in the netherlands.

Background: A classification model was developed to simplify planning of personnel at dialysis centres. This model predicted the care burden based on dialysis characteristics. However, patient characteristics and different dialysis centre categories might also influence the amount of care time required.

Serum concentrations of psychotropic drugs in neonates as a PROgnOstic Factor for admission to the neonatology ward and withdrawal symptoms: PROOF-1.

The aim is to determine whether serum drug concentrations obtained from the neonate's umbilical cord can be used as a prognostic factor for admission to the neonatology ward and the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms. A retrospective observational monocenter cohort study was carried out among pregnant women using psychotropic drugs and their baby. Binary logistic regression was used for the multivariate analysis.

Treatment of painful bone metastases in prostate and breast cancer patients with the therapeutic radiopharmaceutical rhenium-188-HEDP. Clinical benefit in a real-world study.

Aim: Rhenium-188-HEDP ((188)Re-HEDP) is an effective radiopharmaceutical for the palliative treatment of osteoblastic bone metastases. However, only limited data on its routine use are available and its effect on quality of life (QoL) has not been studied. Therefore, we evaluated the clinical benefit of (188)Re-HEDP in routine clinical care.

Blood donors' physical characteristics are associated with pre- and post-donation symptoms - Donor InSight.

Background: Observational data suggest that some donors might benefit from donating while others may be harmed. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and potential, routinely measured, determinants of pre- and post-donation symptoms.

Materials And Methods: In Donor InSight, questionnaire data from 23,064 whole blood donors (53% female) were linked to routinely measured data on donors' physical characteristics (haemoglobin, blood pressure, body mass index and estimated blood volume) from the Dutch donor database.

Hemoglobin assessment: precision and practicability evaluated in the Netherlands-the HAPPEN study.

Background: Most donors do not like the invasive hemoglobin (Hb) measurement in fingerstick capillary samples. Alternative noninvasive devices have recently become available. In this study we assessed the precision and practicability of noninvasive devices and compared them with measurements in capillary and venous samples.

Centralisation of epithelial ovarian cancer surgery: results on survival from a peripheral teaching hospital.

Objective: The objective of this retrospective descriptive study was to assess overall survival and disease free survival of patients treated for epithelial ovarian cancer by a gynaecologic-oncologist in a single Dutch peripheral teaching hospital and to identify independent prognostic factors.

Study Design: A retrospective series of 242 patients treated for epithelial ovarian cancer between 1999 and 2011 at Meander Medical Centre was reviewed. Data on patient, tumour and treatment characteristics were collected.

Prediction of care burden of patients undergoing haemodialysis: development of a measuring tool.

Background: The ageing of the population and new options for therapy have led to an increase in the number of patients undergoing dialysis. Rising costs in health care and new financial structures impose funding constraints on dialysis departments and force the departments to deploy nurses more efficiently. Therefore, predicting the nursing time spent on the care of patients is important.

Travel behavior and deferral of Dutch blood donors: consequences for donor availability.

Background: Donors returning from areas with outbreaks of infectious diseases may donate infectious blood back home. Geographic donor deferral is an effective measure to ensure the blood safety, but donor deferral may pose a threat for the blood supply especially after holiday seasons. Insight into the travel behavior of blood donors is a first step to define appropriate deferral strategies.

Preemptive dosage reduction of nadroparin in patients with renal failure: a retrospective case series.

Background: Low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) are frequently used to treat arterial and venous thrombo-embolic events. LMWHs accumulate with renal failure, but only limited clinical data regarding appropriate dosage adjustments are available. Nevertheless, LMWHs are routinely used in these patients worldwide.

Cost-effectiveness of questionnaires in preventing transfusion-transmitted infections.

Background: The cost-effectiveness of the donor health questionnaire (DHQ) as a tool to assess donor eligibility has not been quantified. This study focused on cost-effectiveness of the DHQ in preventing transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs).

Study Design And Methods: Data on whole blood donor eligibility assessments in the Netherlands in 2008 to 2010 were analyzed.

Long-term effects of melatonin on quality of life and sleep in haemodialysis patients (Melody study): a randomized controlled trial.

Aim: The disturbed circadian rhythm in haemodialysis patients results in perturbed sleep. Short term melatonin supplementation has alleviated these sleep problems. Our aim was to investigate the effects of long-term melatonin supplementation on quality of life and sleep.

Hemoglobin level is positively associated with blood pressure in a large cohort of healthy individuals.

It has been hypothesized that an increased hemoglobin level elevates blood pressure. The present study investigated the association between hemoglobin level and systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in healthy persons. The study population was composed of 101 377 whole blood and plasma donors, who made 691 107 visits to the blood bank.

The effects of long-term omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on cognition and Alzheimer's pathology in animal models of Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

To date, only a few randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have investigated the effects of omega-3 fatty acids (FA) on Alzheimer's disease (AD). Some of these studies demonstrated that patients with very mild AD or mild cognitive impairment benefit from omega-3 FA treatment, but none showed significant improvements in cognitive function in patients with moderate or advanced AD. All these RCTs had a relatively short duration of supplementation, however, and we hypothesized that this might be one of the reasons why no effects of omega-3 FA supplementation could be observed in patients with "moderate" or "advanced" AD.

Systematic review of benefits and risks of second-line irinotecan monotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer.

This study was performed to obtain a comprehensive overview of the benefits and risks of second-line irinotecan monotherapy for advanced colorectal cancer. The literature was systematically reviewed to identify phase II and phase III trials that investigated the effect of second-line monotherapy with irinotecan. Thirty studies were included in this review: 25 phase II studies including 32 samples and five phase III studies including six samples.

Mifepristone and misoprostol versus Dilapan and sulprostone for second trimester termination of pregnancy.

Objective: To compare two methods for second trimester termination of pregnancy: mifepristone and misoprostol versus Dilapan and sulprostone.

Methods: This was a randomized study involving 16 patients with a singleton live fetus with congenital malformations or genetic disorders. Eight patients were treated with 200 mg mifepristone orally followed by 200 microg misoprostol vaginally 3 hourly and eight patients received a sulprostone infusion after cervical dilatation with Dilapan.