Does distance to the hospital affect the course of treatment and follow-up for children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia?

Purpose: Centralization of specialized healthcare including treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has increased in high-income countries. We aimed to clarify whether the distance to the hospital for children with ALL affects the course of treatment regarding the number and duration of hospitalizations, outpatient clinic visits, missed appointments in the outpatient clinic, the duration of follow-up, or survival.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of children diagnosed with ALL aged 0-14 at Aalborg University Hospital from 1996 to 2018.

An assessment of the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the modified Gordon pin infection classification system.

Objectives: A grading system deployed for continuous at-home monitoring of pin sites would potentially increase the chances of early detection of pin-site infections and the commencement of early treatment. The first five grades of the Modified Gordon Pin Site Classification Scheme (MGS) meet the criteria for a visual-only, digital assessment-based grading system. The aim of this study was to assess the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the first five grades of the MGS from digital images.

Mortality after paediatric emergency calls for patients with or without pre-existing comorbidity: a nationwide population based cohort study.

Background: Life-threatening conditions are infrequent in children. Current literature in paediatric prehospital research is centred around trauma and paediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (POHCA). The aims of this study were to (1) outline the distribution of trauma, POHCA or other medical symptoms among survivors and non-survivors after paediatric emergency calls, and (2) to investigate these clinical presentations' association with mortality in children with and without pre-existing comorbidity, respectively.

Team-based digital communication reduced patient-initiated phone calls to the hospital and improved patient satisfaction after orthopedic surgery: a randomized controlled trial in 70 patients.

Background And Purpose: Post-discharge inquiries to the hospital are predominantly conducted through phone calls. The rigid timing of these calls is inconvenient for patients and disrupts the workflows of healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a team-based digital communication intervention (eDialogue) facilitated through a messenger-like commercial solution on patient-initiated phone calls to the hospital after discharge.

Correction: Hypertension genetic risk score is associated with burden of coronary heart disease among patients referred for coronary angiography.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Venous thromboembolism with use of hormonal contraception and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: nationwide cohort study.

Objective: To study the influence of concomitant use of hormonal contraception and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the risk of venous thromboembolism.

Design: Nationwide cohort study.

Setting: Denmark through national registries.

Does targeted positioning of the left ventricular pacing lead towards the latest local electrical activation in cardiac resynchronization therapy reduce the incidence of death or hospitalization for heart failure?

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) improves symptoms, health-related quality of life and long-term survival in patients with systolic heart failure (HF) and shortens QRS duration. However, up to one third of patients attain no measurable clinical benefit from CRT. An important determinant of clinical response is optimal choice in left ventricular (LV) pacing site.

Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Among Siblings of Children Who Died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Denmark.

Importance: Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remains a leading cause of death during the first year of life. The etiology of SIDS is complex and remains largely unknown.

Objective: To evaluate whether siblings of children who died of SIDS have a higher risk of SIDS compared with the general pediatric population.

Prehospital vital sign monitoring in paediatric patients: an interregional study of educational interventions.

Background: Prehospital vital sign documentation in paediatric patients is incomplete, especially in patients ≤ 2 years. The aim of the study was to increase vital sign registration in paediatric patients through specific educational initiatives.

Methods: Prospective quasi-experimental study with interrupted time-series design in the North Denmark and South Denmark regions.

Renal scars in children with febrile urinary tract infection - Looking for associated factors.

Introduction: Febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common childhood infection related to renal scarring and potentially long-term complications like chronic kidney disease. It would be of great benefit to find a correlation between easy-accessible factors in the acute phase of a febrile UTI and the development of renal scar formation and/or decreased renal function in order to identify children at risk of future complications.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with the development of decreased split renal function (DSRF) and/or permanent renal scar formation in children with febrile UTI.

M-ficolin: a valuable biomarker to identify leukaemia from juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Objective: Distinction on clinical grounds between acute lymphoblastic leukaemia presenting with arthropathy (ALL) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is difficult, as the clinical and paraclinical signs of leukaemia may be vague. The primary aim was to examine the use of lectin complement pathway proteins as markers to differentiate ALL from JIA. The secondary aims were to compare the protein levels at baseline and follow-up in a paired number of children with ALL and to examine the correlation with haematology counts, erythrocyte sedimentation reaction (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), blasts, relapse and death.

Insulin resistance genetic risk score and burden of coronary artery disease in patients referred for coronary angiography.

Aims: Insulin resistance associates with development of metabolic syndrome and risk of cardiovascular disease. The link between insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease is complex and multifactorial. Confirming the genetic link between insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and coronary artery disease, as well as the extent of coronary artery disease, is important and may provide better risk stratification for patients at risk.

Is regression gain or instantaneous gain the most reliable and reproducible gain value when performing video head impulse testing of the lateral semicircular canals?

Background: Several different video Head Impulse Test (vHIT) systems exist. The function of each individual semicircular canal (SCC) may be determined by performing this test. All vHIT systems provide information about the function of the vestibular ocular reflex by means of two modalities: SACCADES and GAIN.

Wideband tympanometry as a diagnostic tool for Meniere's disease: a retrospective case-control study.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of wide band tympanometry (WBT) as a diagnostic tool for Ménière's disease (MD) by comparing differences in absorbance measures between normal hearing ears and patient diagnosed with MD.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study. From a cohort of 116 patients diagnosed with Ménière disease, 52 MD patients and 99 normal hearing adults with no history of otological disease served as subjects.

Are gain values significantly altered by manual data selection when performing the video Head Impulse Test (v-HIT) on all six semicircular canals with two different v-HIT systems.

Background: It has not yet been tested whether averaged gain values and the presence of pathological saccades are significantly altered by manual data selection or if data selection only done by the incorporated software detection algorithms provides a reliable data set following v-HIT testing.

Objective: The primary endpoint was to evaluate whether the averaged gain values of all six SCCs are significantly altered by manual data selection with two different v-HIT systems.

Method: 120 subjects with previously neither vestibular nor neurological disorders underwent four separate tests of all six SCCs with either EyeSeeCam® or ICS Impulse®.

Uncertainty in classification of death from fatal myocardial infarction: A nationwide analysis of regional variation in incidence and diagnostic support.

Aims: The usefulness of mortality statistics relies on the validity of death certificate diagnosis. However, diagnosing the causal sequence of conditions leading to death is not simple. We examined diagnostic support for fatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and investigated its association with regional variation.

Comparison of test results from two separate video head impulse test systems in a cohort of patients diagnosed with a unilateral vestibular schwannoma.

Purpose: Video head impulse testing (vHIT) is a relatively new technology enabling evaluation of vestibular function. The aim of this study was to compare the test results from two separate vHIT systems in a group of patients diagnosed with a unilateral vestibular schwannoma (VS) with regards to sensitivity, specificity and inter-examiner differences.

Methods: Forty-two patients were examined with two separate vHIT systems: EyeSeeCam (system A) and ICS Impulse (system B), by one of two examiners.

Associations of health literacy with socioeconomic position, health risk behavior, and health status: a large national population-based survey among Danish adults.

Background: Health literacy concerns the ability of citizens to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. Data on the distribution of health literacy in general populations and how health literacy impacts health behavior and general health remains scarce. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of health literacy levels and associations of health literacy with socioeconomic position, health risk behavior, and health status at a population level.

Sibling history is associated with heart failure after a first myocardial infarction.

Objective: Morbidity and mortality due to heart failure (HF) as a complication of myocardial infarction (MI) is high, and remains among the leading causes of death and hospitalisation. This study investigated the association between family history of MI with or without HF, and the risk of developing HF after first MI.

Methods: Through nationwide registries, we identified all individuals aged 18-50 years hospitalised with first MI from 1997 to 2016 in Denmark.

Study on wideband tympanometry and absorbance within a Danish cohort of normal hearing adults.

Purpose: The objectives of this study was to present wideband tympanometry (WBT) data and absorbance with normal hearing and normal middle ear status.

Methods: Data were collected in 99 adult Caucasians with normal hearing and middle ear status. Energy absorbance was measured with an Interacoustics Titan using clicks for 1/24-octave frequency-intervals (0.

The relationship between serum potassium concentrations and electrocardiographic characteristics in 163,547 individuals from primary care.

Aims: Potassium disturbances are common and associated with increased morbidity and mortality, even in patients without prior cardiovascular disease. We examined six electrocardiographic (ECG) measures and their association to serum potassium levels.

Methods And Results: From the Copenhagen General Practitioners' Laboratory, we identified 163,547 individuals aged ≥16 years with a first available ECG and a concomitant serum potassium measurement during 2001-2011.

Socioeconomic differences in outcomes after hospital admission for atrial fibrillation or flutter.

Aims: To examine socioeconomic differences in care and outcomes in a 1-year period beginning 30 days after hospital discharge for first-time atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF) hospitalization.

Methods And Results: This nationwide register-based follow-up cohort study investigated AF 30-day discharge survivors in Denmark during 2005-2014 and examined associations between patient's socioeconomic status (SES) and selected outcomes during a 1-year follow-up period beginning 30 days post-discharge after first-time hospitalization for AF. Patient SES was defined in four groups (lowest, second lowest, second highest, and highest) according to each patient's equivalized income.

Polygenic predisposition to breast cancer and the risk of coronary artery disease.

Background: Whether the increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with breast cancer may be linked to shared genetics is unknown. Our objective was to investigate the association of genetic predisposition to breast cancer with CAD risk via 1) a polygenic risk score 2) a nationwide case-control study.

Methods And Results: We studied the associations of a polygenic risk score based on 91 single nucleotide polymorphisms previously associated with breast cancer in genome-wide association studies with the risk of CAD in a sample of patients undergoing coronary angiography.