Clinical course of suspected familial and sporadic idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Data from the PROOF-Next registry.

Background And Objective: Real-life data on suspected familial fibrosis, defined as the occurrence of the disease in a patient younger than 50 and/or having at least one relative affected by pulmonary fibrosis remain scarce.

Methods: The Belgian and Luxembourg IPF registry (PROOF-Next) is a multicentric prospective longitudinal and observational study set in Belgium and Luxembourg. We compared characteristics and clinical course of patients with suspected familial pulmonary fibrosis (FPF) and sporadic IPF.

Infections and hospital bed-days among aging adults: A five-year retrospective study in a Belgian general hospital.

Background: Infectious disease in aging adults (≥61 years) often occurs in combination with other health conditions leading to long hospital stays. Detailed studies on infection in aging adults investigating this problem are sparse.

Aim: To quantify the effect of primary and secondary diagnosed infections on hospitalization bed-days among aging adult patients.

Explaining the formation of a plateau in rotavirus vaccine impact on rotavirus hospitalisations in Belgium.

Background: Observational data on the reduction in hospitalisations after rotavirus vaccine introduction in Belgium suggest that vaccine impact plateaued at an unexpectedly high residual hospitalisation rate. The objective of this analysis was to identify factors that influence real-world vaccine impact.

Methods: Data were collected on hospitalisations in children aged ≤ 5 years with rotavirus disease from 11 hospitals since 2005 (the RotaBIS study).

Real-World Treatment Patterns, Outcomes, Resource Utilization and Costs in Treatment-Resistant Major Depressive Disorder: PATTERN, a Retrospective Cohort Study in Belgium.

Objective: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD), a subgroup of major depressive disorder (MDD) that does not adequately respond to treatment, has a substantial impact on the quality of life of patients and is associated with higher medical and mental health care costs. This study aimed to report real-world treatment patterns, outcomes, resource utilization, and costs in the management of TRD by psychiatrists in Belgium.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, non-interventional cohort study of patients ≥ 18 years, with diagnosed MDD who are treatment-resistant, defined as not responding to two different antidepressant treatments in the current moderate to severe major depressive episode (MDE).

Complete pathological response to neoadjuvant treatment is associated with better survival outcomes in patients with soft tissue sarcoma: Results of a retrospective multicenter study.

Background: Locally advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS) management may include neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment by radiotherapy (RT), chemotherapy (CT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by wide surgical excision. While pathological complete response (pCR) to preoperative treatment is prognostic for survival in osteosarcomas, its significance for STS is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of pCR to pre-operative treatment on 3-year disease-free survival (3y-DFS) in STS patients.

Lessons Learned from Long-Term Assessment of Rotavirus Vaccination in a High-Income Country: The Case of the Rotavirus Vaccine Belgium Impact Study (RotaBIS).

Introduction: The rotavirus (RV) vaccine Belgium Impact Study (RotaBIS) evaluated the vaccine effect on RV-related hospital care in children up to 5 years old over a period of 13 years. Different forces were identified that influence the reduction in hospital care. Our analysis aims to report on the current RotaBIS dataset and explore through model simulation whether, how, and when the results could have been improved.

Retrospective chart review of hospitalizations and costs associated with the treatment of adults with Philadelphia-negative B-cell relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Belgium.

Objectives: To quantify hospitalizations and costs among adults with Philadelphia-negative relapsed or refractory (R/R) B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who received current salvage chemotherapies in Belgium.

Methods: A retrospective chart review identified patients aged ≥18 years and hospitalized between 2005 and 2015 for Ph-negative R/R B-cell ALL. Data were collected from the index date (first diagnosis of R/R ALL) until death or loss to follow-up.

The Sustained Rotavirus Vaccination Impact on Nosocomial Infection, Duration of Hospital Stay, and Age: The RotaBIS Study (2005-2012).

Introduction: The benefits of rotavirus (RV) vaccination in developed countries have focused on reductions in mortality, hospitalization and medical visits, and herd protection. We investigated other aspects related to RV-induced nosocomial infection, duration of hospital stay, age shift, and sustained vaccine impact (VI) over time.

Method: RotaBIS (Rotavirus Belgian Impact Study; ClinicalTrials.

Epidemiological trends for hospital admissions for acute rotavirus gastroenteritis in Belgium following the introduction of routine rotavirus vaccination and the subsequent switch from lyophilized to liquid formulation of Rotarix™.

This study describes epidemiological trends for acute rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) in Belgium in children aged ⩽5 years during the period June 2007 to May 2014 after the introduction of routine rotavirus (RV) vaccination. This period encompassed the switch from lyophilized to the liquid formulation of Rotarix™ (GlaxoSmithKline, Belgium) in August 2011. Uptake of RV vaccine remained consistently high throughout the study period with Rotarix the brand most often used.

Medium- to Long-Term Impact of Rotavirus Vaccination on Hospital Care in Belgium: A 7-Year Follow-Up of the Rotavirus Belgium Impact Study (RotaBIS).

Introduction: Rotavirus (RV) vaccination was introduced in Belgium in 2006. With the high uptake it had (>85%), a sharp decline in hospitalizations was observed during the first years after vaccine introduction. The objective of this study was to investigate whether this decline was maintained and to simulate projections.

Improvement in hospital Quality of Care (QoC) after the introduction of rotavirus vaccination: An evaluation study in Belgium.

During each winter period hospital emergency rooms and pediatric wards are often overwhelmed by high patient influx with infectious diseases leading to chaotic conditions with poor quality of care (QoC) delivery as a consequence. The conditions could be improved if we were able to better control the influx by introducing for instance better prevention strategies against some of the most frequent infectious diseases. New prevention strategies using vaccination against rotavirus infection were introduced in Belgium in November 2006.

A pilot cost-of-illness study on long-term complications/sequelae of AOM.

Objectives: Acute otitis media (AOM) commonly affects young children and occasionally results in serious complications/sequelae. This pilot cost-of-illness study aimed to assess the economic burden of long-term AOM complications/sequelae in Belgium, and to establish a thorough methodology for a larger study.

Methodology: We retrospectively reviewed charts of patients aged 10-20 years with long-term complications/sequelae considered to be AOM-related, and > or = 8 years of follow-up.

Multidisciplinary outpatient rehabilitation following cardiac revascularization or valve surgery: patient-related factors for uptake.

Background: There are concerns in Europe regarding the service provision and accessibility of multidisciplinary cardiac rehabilitation (MDCR) in general, and particularly in ambulatory settings. This paper analyses the utilization of outpatient MDCR and its determinants after cardiac revascularization or valve surgery in Belgium.

Methods: Claims rehabilitation data for all patients discharged in 2007 after a percutaneous cardiac intervention or cardiac surgery were available from the Belgian Common Sickness Funds Agency.

Reduction in pediatric rotavirus-related hospitalizations after universal rotavirus vaccination in Belgium.

Background: This study investigated the effect of pediatric vaccination against rotavirus on the number of rotavirus-related hospitalizations of children in Belgium.

Methods: This retrospective database study was conducted at 12 pediatric hospitals in Belgium (546 pediatric beds, 30.6% of Belgian total).

Cost-effectiveness analysis of aprepitant in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in Belgium.

Objectives: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) remains a major adverse effect of cancer chemotherapy which may increase morbidity, reduce quality of life and threaten the success of cancer therapy. Aprepitant is effective in preventing CINV, achieving higher complete response (no emesis and no rescue therapy) compared to standard prevention, in patients receiving either highly (HEC) or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC; absolute reduction = 11 and 13%, respectively). We assessed the cost effectiveness of aprepitant-based vs standard prevention in these indications in Belgium.