Higher relative survival in breast cancer patients treated in certified and high-volume breast cancer centres - A population-based study in Belgium.

Objectives: The study was undertaken to assess the association between certification and volume of breast centres on the one hand and survival on the other in patients with invasive breast cancer (IBC).

Methods: The study comprises a cohort of 46,035 patients diagnosed with IBC between 2014 and 2018, selected from the nation-wide Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR) database, which was linked with health insurance, hospital discharge and vital status data. Overall and relative survival probabilities were obtained with Kaplan-Meier method and an actuarial approach based on Ederer II, respectively.

Quality of surgery and treatment and its association with hospital volume: A population-based study in more than 5000 Belgian ovarian cancer patients.

Background: Different sets of quality indicators are used to identify areas for improvement in ovarian cancer care. This study reports transparently on how (surgical) indicators were measured and on the association between hospital volume and indicator results in Belgium, a country setting without any centralisation of ovarian cancer care.

Methods: From the population-based Belgian Cancer Registry, patients with a borderline malignant or invasive epithelial ovarian tumour diagnosed between 2014 and 2018 were selected and linked to health insurance and vital status data (n = 5119).

Association between hospital volume and outcomes in invasive ovarian cancer in Belgium: A population-based study.

Objectives: To study the association between hospital volume and outcomes in patients with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

Methods: This study included 3988 patients diagnosed with invasive EOC between 2014 and 2018, selected from the population-based database of the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR), and coupled with health insurance and vital status data. The associations between hospital volume and observed survival since diagnosis were assessed with Cox proportional hazard models, while volume associations with 30-day post-operative mortality and complicated recovery were evaluated using logistic regression models.

Should systemic antibiotics be prescribed in periodontal abscesses and pericoronitis? A systematic review of the literature.

This study assessed whether systemic antibiotics are beneficial or harmful in patients who present with an acute periodontal abscess or pericoronitis, with or without systemic involvement, and, if antibiotics are beneficial, which type, dosage, and duration are the most effective. Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were screened from 1948 up to 1 April 2022 for systematic reviews, randomised clinical trials (RCTs), and other studies. Dedicated websites were consulted for systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines, and health technology assessments on the topic.

Antibiotics at replantation of avulsed permanent teeth? A systematic review.

Objectives: At present there is no clear consensus whether systemic antibiotics should be administered at replantation of an avulsed permanent tooth. This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the evidence on effectiveness and harms of the administration of systemic antibiotics at replantation of avulsed permanent teeth.

Methods: In August 2020 a systematic literature search was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, for systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials (RCT) and observational controlled studies in MEDLINE, PreMedline, Embase, and the Cochrane databases.

Are systemic antibiotics indicated in children presenting with an odontogenic abscess in the primary dentition? A systematic review of the literature.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to assess (1) whether systemic antibiotics are beneficial or harmful in healthy children who present with an odontogenic abscess in the primary dentition with or without systemic involvement and (2) if antibiotics are beneficial, which type, dosage and duration are the most effective.

Materials And Methods: Electronic databases (Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) were screened from 1948 up to August 2020. No filters with respect to study design were applied.

Improved survival in patients with head and neck cancer treated in higher volume centres: A population-based study in Belgium.

Objectives: The study investigated the association between hospital volume and observed survival of patients with a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: Overall, 9245 patients diagnosed with HNSCC between 2009 and 2014, were identified in the population-based Belgian Cancer Registry. This database was coupled with other databases providing information on diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, vital status, and comorbidities.

Comorbidity in head and neck cancer: Is it associated with therapeutic delay, post-treatment mortality and survival in a population-based study?

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the relationship between comorbidities and therapeutic delay, post-treatment mortality, overall and relative survival in patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC).

Patients And Methods: 9245 patients with a single HNSCC diagnosed between 2009 and 2014 were identified in the Belgian Cancer Registry. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was calculated for 8812 patients (95.

Head and Neck Cancer in Belgium: Quality of Diagnostic Management and Variability Across Belgian Hospitals Between 2009 and 2014.

The study assessed the quality of diagnosis and staging offered to patients with a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and the variability across Belgian hospitals. In total, 9,245 patients diagnosed with HNSCC between 2009 and 2014, were identified in the population-based Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR). The BCR data were coupled with other databases providing information on diagnostic and therapeutic procedures reimbursed by the compulsory health insurance, vital status data, and comorbidities.

Variability in elective day-surgery rates between Belgian hospitals - Analyses of administrative data explained by surgical experts.

Background: In the last decades, day surgery has steadily and significantly grown in many countries, yet the increase has been uneven. There are large variations in day-surgery activity between countries, but also within countries between hospitals and surgeons. This paper explores the variability in day-care activity for elective surgical procedures between Belgian hospitals.

Proton Therapy in Children: A Systematic Review of Clinical Effectiveness in 15 Pediatric Cancers.

Because it spares many normal tissues and reduces the integral dose, proton therapy (PT) is the preferred tumor irradiation technique for treating childhood cancer. However, to the best of our knowledge, no systematic review of the clinical effectiveness of PT in children has been reported in the scientific literature. A systematic search for clinical outcome studies on PT published between 2007 and 2015 was performed in Medline (through OVID), EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library.

Effect evaluation of an oral health promotion intervention in preschool children.

Objective: This study evaluates the effectiveness of a multi-component oral health intervention in preschool children in a non-randomized intervention study with a complementary baseline control.

Methods: Participants in the main study were 2137 children born between October 2003 and July 2004 in Flanders, Belgium. In the intervention group (50.

Oral health-care utilization in adults with disabilities in Belgium.

Reports on oral health-service utilization among individuals with disabilities are very sparse. Nevertheless, such data are a prerequisite for the provision of proper care and for the development of optimal reimbursement schemes and may ultimately lead to better access to care. The objective of the present study was to provide data on oral health-care utilization in Belgian residents with disabilities and to compare these data with the utilization pattern of their peers without special needs.

Objective and subjective oral health care needs among adults with various disabilities.

Objectives: The present study explored the objective and subjective oral health care needs and the association between both among Belgian adults with disabilities.

Materials And Methods: A two-stage sampling methodology was used to select a sample of adults (22-65 years old) with disabilities, from various types of residential settings, day care centers, and sheltered workplaces and spread over the ten provinces. Oral screenings were performed by 28 trained dentists; subjective oral health care needs were collected through questionnaires.

Oral health care utilization in children with disabilities.

Objectives: The objectives of this report were to survey the utilization of oral health care in children and adolescents with disabilities over a 7-year period and to compare these data with the utilization pattern of their peers without disabilities. For most countries, these data have not been published in the international literature so far.

Material And Methods: The cohort used was the Permanent Sample of Socially Insured Persons, an anonymous representative sample of Belgian residents.

Estimating emergence sequences of permanent teeth in Flemish schoolchildren using interval-censored biplots: a graphical display of tooth emergence sequences.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the pattern of emergence of permanent teeth using nonparametric techniques.

Materials And Methods: Data were obtained from the Signal-Tandmobiel project, a 6-year prospective dental study conducted in Flanders (Belgium) in which 4468 primary school children born in 1989 were annually examined. A new exploratory method for interval-censored data, the IC-biplot, was applied to estimate individual sequences of emergence.

Dental attendance in preschool children - a prospective study.

Background: At present, our understanding of the use of dental care services is incomplete, certainly where preschool children are concerned.

Objectives: To investigate what proportion of 3- and 5-year-olds living in Flanders (Belgium) have already visited the dentist, to describe parents' experience about their child's dental visit, and to explore factors that may have an impact on children's early dental visit.

Design: Data were collected from 1057 children; validated questionnaires were completed, and children were examined by trained dentist at ages 3 and 5.

Impact of caries onset on number and distribution of new lesions in preschool children.

Background: Caries in preschool children remains an important public health issue.

Aim: To determine (i) which teeth and tooth surfaces are most susceptible to dental caries by age 3, (ii) where do caries lesions develop during 2-year follow-up, and (iii) to evaluate the impact of caries onset on the distribution of new caries experience.

Design: One thousand and fifty seven consecutively born children were recruited in Flanders (Belgium).

Risk factors for caries incidence in a cohort of Flemish preschool children.

The main objective of this study was to identify the risk factors for the incidence of visible caries experience in a cohort of preschool children living in Flanders. Data were collected from 1,057 children; validated questionnaires on oral health-related behaviour were completed by parents at birth (2003-2004), at age 3 (2007) and 5 years (2009). At ages 3 and 5, the children were examined by trained dentists.

Methodological issues in epidemiological studies of periodontitis--how can it be improved?

Background: This position paper was commissioned by the European Association of Dental Public Health, which has established six working groups to investigate the current status of six topics related to oral public health. One of these areas is epidemiology of periodontal diseases.

Methods: Two theses "A systematic review of definitions of periodontitis and the methods that have been used to identify periodontitis" 1 and "Factors affecting community oral health care needs and provision" 2 formed the starting point for this position paper.

Caries experience in primary molars and its impact on the variability in permanent tooth emergence sequences.

Objectives: A history of caries in the primary molars is associated with an advanced emergence of their permanent successors. Hence, caries in the primary molars may have an impact on the emergence order of the permanent teeth. The aim of the present study was to fully investigate the variability in permanent tooth emergence, taking into account the (caries) status of the primary molars.

Factors associated with prevalence and severity of caries experience in preschool children.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence and severity of caries experience in the primary dentition of preschool children and to assess the association of disease distribution with oral hygiene levels, reported oral health behaviours and socio-demographic factors.

Methods: Study samples comprised 1250 3-year-old and 1283 5-year-old pre-school children from four distinct geographical areas in Flanders. Information on oral hygiene and dietary habits, oral health behaviours and socio-demographic variables was collected using questionnaires completed by the parents.