Publications by authors named "Robert Hoekstra"

Background: International guidelines recommend germline genetic testing for men with metastatic prostate cancer. If offered to all patients by genetic healthcare professionals, there will be insufficient capacity to cope with the high patient numbers. In a mainstreaming pathway, non-genetic healthcare professionals (ngHCPs) discuss and order germline genetic testing instead of referring patients to genetic healthcare professionals.

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Laboratory-based surveillance for enteric pathogens causing diarrhea is foundational for monitoring foodborne diseases in the United States. However, diarrheal illnesses are not always confirmed by laboratory testing, so estimates of the true number of illnesses must adjust for underdiagnosis, including underdiagnosis due to ill persons not seeking medical care or submitting a stool sample for laboratory testing. We assessed these factors among persons with an acute diarrheal illness who responded to the most recent Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) Population Survey (2018-2019).

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Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of extended (e-PLND) and super-extended pelvic lymph node dissection (se-PLND) during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) by examining lymph node (LN) yield, complications, LN metastasis, and biochemical recurrence (BCR) incidence.

Methods: Between January 2016 and January 2020, 354 consecutive patients with > 5% risk of lymph node involvement (LNI), as predicted by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center nomogram, underwent RARP with (s)e-PLND at a high-volume center. The e-PLND involved removing fibrofatty lymphatic tissue around the obturator fossa, internal iliac region, and external iliac vessels.

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Background And Objective: A combined approach of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-targeted biopsy (TBx) and bilateral systematic biopsy (SBx) is advised in patients who have an increased risk of prostate cancer (PCa). The diagnostic gain of SBx in detecting PCa for treatment planning of patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is unknown. This study aims to determine the impact of omitting contralateral SBx on the surgical planning of patients undergoing RARP in terms of nerve-sparing surgery (NSS) and extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND).

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The aim of this study is to evaluate the major postoperative complication rate after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and to identify related risk factors. A consecutive series of patients who underwent RARP between September 2016 and May 2021, with or without extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) were analyzed for postoperative complications that occurred within 30 days following surgery. Potential risk factors related to complications were identified by means of a multivariate logistic analysis.

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We fit a power law distribution to US foodborne disease outbreaks to assess underdetection and underreporting. We predicted that 788 fewer than expected small outbreaks were identified annually during 1998-2017 and 365 fewer during 2018-2019, after whole-genome sequencing was implemented. Power law can help assess effectiveness of public health interventions.

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Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radioguided surgery (RGS) aims to optimize the peroperative detection and removal of PSMA-avid lymph node (LN) metastases (LNMs) and has been described in patients with recurrent prostate cancer (PCa). In newly diagnosed PCa patients undergoing pelvic LN dissections, PSMA RGS could guide the urologist toward PSMA-expressing LNMs as identified on preoperative F-PSMA PET/CT imaging. The objective was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of In-PSMA RGS in primary PCa patients with one or more suggestive LNs on preoperative F-PSMA PET/CT.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores the validity of using healthcare insurance claims data for urinary incontinence (UI) pad usage as a measure for assessing UI rates after radical prostatectomy (RP).
  • It involves 1624 RP patients in the Netherlands, with data collected on pad use and patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) to determine the correlation between these two measures.
  • Findings suggest claims data has moderate accuracy in reflecting UI rates compared to PROMs, indicating it could serve as a conservative indicator of quality in this context.
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Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of confocal laser microscopy (CLM) for intraoperative margin assessment as faster alternative to neurovascular structure-adjacent frozen-section examination (NeuroSAFE) during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP).

Patients And Methods: Surgical margins were assessed during 50 RARP procedures in patients scheduled for NeuroSAFE. Posterolateral sections were cut and imaged with CLM and further processed to conform with the NeuroSAFE protocol.

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Background: Case-control studies are commonly used to explore factors associated with enteric bacterial diseases. Control of confounding is challenging due to a large number of exposures of interest and the low frequencies of many of them.

Methods: We evaluated nearest-neighbors matching in a case-control study (originally 1:1 matched, published in 2004) of sporadic Campylobacter infections that included information on 433 exposures in 2632 subjects during 1998-1999.

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We sought to determine which Salmonella serotypes cause illness related to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States and to foods disproportionately eaten then (e.g., turkey).

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Treatment of Shiga toxin-producing O157 (O157) diarrhea with antimicrobials might alter the risk of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). However, full characterization of which antimicrobials might affect risk is lacking, particularly among adults. To inform clinical management, we conducted a case-control study of residents of the FoodNet surveillance areas with O157 diarrhea during a 4-year period to assess antimicrobial class-specific associations with HUS among persons with O157 diarrhea.

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Estimates of the overall human health impact of agents transmitted commonly through food complement surveillance and help guide food safety interventions and regulatory initiatives. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarize the methods and reporting practices used in studies that estimate the total number of illnesses caused by these agents. We identified and included 43 studies published from January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2019, by searching PubMed and screening selected articles for other relevant publications.

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Background: The minimum volume standard is 100 robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) procedures per hospital in the Netherlands, so patients have to be referred to high-volume surgical centers for RARP. During preoperative work-up, prostate biopsies taken elsewhere are reassessed, with upgrading or downgrading of the initial Gleason grade group a possible consequence.

Objective: To determine if prostate biopsy reassessment leads to adjustment of the surgical plan regarding a nerve-sparing approach and extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) during RARP.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Salmonella is a significant cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., with antimicrobial-resistant strains presenting a serious public health concern.
  • - A study using data from CDC surveillance systems found a 40% rise in resistant nontyphoidal Salmonella infections from 2004-2008 to 2015-2016, estimating around 222,000 infections in the latter period.
  • - The increase in clinically important resistance was mostly linked to specific serotypes, with ciprofloxacin-nonsusceptible infections making up over half of the rise, highlighting the need for targeted prevention efforts.
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A 52-year-old man with a history of urolithiasis presents to the emergency department with a sudden, sharp, continuous right flank colicky pain. Laboratory workup demonstrates acute kidney injury with a mild hyperkalaemia. During the observation period, the patient develops an atypical broad complex sinus bradycardia and eventually short asystolic periods.

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Provision of safe drinking water in the United States is a great public health achievement. However, new waterborne disease challenges have emerged (e.g.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Out of 47 men analyzed, the scan showed high specificity (92%) and positive predictive value (82%), confirming many detected metastases, but its sensitivity (43%) and negative predictive value (67%) were lower, indicating it missed some cases.
  • * The authors concluded that while 18F-fluciclovine PET/CT is reliable for detecting lymph node metastases, its limitations in sensitivity call for further studies to better identify which patients might benefit
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Most nontyphoidal (NTS) illnesses in the United States are thought to be foodborne. However, transmission routes likely vary among the different serotypes. We developed a relative ranking of NTS serotypes according to the strength of their association with foodborne transmission.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted in the Netherlands to assess the occurrence of penile intraepithelial neoplasia (a type of premalignant penile lesion) using a comprehensive histopathology registry.
  • The research analyzed data from 380 patients diagnosed with various premalignant lesions, with the majority classified as severe lesions (66%) and located primarily on the prepuce and glans.
  • The findings indicate that penile intraepithelial neoplasia is rare, and the researchers suggest simplifying the terminology used to refer to these lesions to prevent confusion.
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The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks resistance among Salmonella infections. The annual number of Salmonella isolates of a particular serotype from states may be small, making direct estimation of resistance proportions unreliable. We developed a Bayesian hierarchical model to improve estimation by borrowing strength from relevant sampling units.

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The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) is currently using a negative binomial (NB) regression model to estimate temporal changes in the incidence of Campylobacter infection. FoodNet active surveillance in 483 counties collected data on 40,212 Campylobacter cases between years 2004 and 2011. We explored models that disaggregated these data to allow us to account for demographic, geographic, and seasonal factors when examining changes in incidence of Campylobacter infection.

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Objective: To identify modifiable risk factors contributing to Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) infection.

Methods: A case-control investigation was conducted. Case patients were soft contact lens wearers with laboratory-confirmed AK.

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Salmonella infections are a major cause of illness in the United States. The antimicrobial agents used to treat severe infections include ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and ampicillin. Antimicrobial drug resistance has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes.

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