Publications by authors named "Willems D"

Background: Patients with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) cannot clearly express themselves. Therefore, tacit knowledge (TK) is crucial in caring for individuals with PIMD, while it possibly also plays a significant role in medical consultations.

Method: A qualitative inductive, thematic analysis was performed of 14 audio-taped consultations with intellectual disability physicians for patients with PIMD to explore how TK is represented and considered between parents and physicians.

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Unconventional gas flowback-produced waters, particularly those of marine origin from shale gas, can contain elevated concentrations of barium (Ba) and sodium chloride (NaCl). There are limited Ba water quality guideline values to help assess the potential risk of Ba exposure to freshwater biota. Barium toxicity is heavily influenced by sulfate concentrations as Ba and sulfate react, forming the highly water-insoluble and thus less bioavailable Ba sulfate.

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As migrant populations age, the care system is confronted with the question how to respond to care needs of an increasingly diverse population of older adults. We used qualitative intersectional analysis to examine differential preferences and experiences with care at the end of life of twenty-five patients and their relatives from Suriname, Morocco and Turkey living in The Netherlands. Our analysis focused on the question how - in light of impairment - ethnicity, religion and gender intersect to create differences in social position that shape preferences and experiences related to three main themes: place of care at the end of life; discussing prognosis, advance care, and end-of-life care; and, end-of-life decision-making.

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Background: Parents' tacit knowledge plays an important role in the care of persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). As little is known about its nature and use, we aimed to explore this parental tacit knowledge.

Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with parents ( = 11) about their tacit knowledge of their child, based upon video recordings they made of their child's behaviour, and analysed the data thematically.

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Article Synopsis
  • Most mammalian mRNAs have a 5' cap that usually binds to a protein called eIF4E for translation initiation.
  • Even when eIF4E is inhibited, mRNAs remain capped, indicating that other mechanisms can facilitate translation.
  • This study reveals that the ribosomal protein RACK1 can replace eIF4E by recruiting another protein, eIF3d, when a certain active form of PKCBII is present.
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Background: The increase in non-communicable disease burdens and aging populations has led to a rise in the need for palliative care across settings. In resource-limited settings such as Indonesia, however, notably in rural areas, there is a lack of professional palliative care. Little is known about specific palliative care navigation, as previous studies have mostly focused on cancer care navigation.

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Unlabelled: Sequential romosozumab-to-alendronate or sequential teriparatide-to-alendronate can be a cost-effective treatment option for postmenopausal women at very high risk of fracture.

Purpose: To estimate the 10-year probability of a major osteoporotic fracture (MOF) at which sequential treatment with romosozumab or teriparatide followed by alendronate, compared with alendronate alone, becomes cost-effective in a UK setting.

Methods: A microsimulation model with a Markov structure was used to simulate fractures, costs, and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), in women receiving sequential treatment with either romosozumab or teriparatide followed by alendronate, compared with alendronate alone.

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Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a major health problem, and immediate treatment is essential for improving the chances of survival. The development of technological solutions to detect out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and alert emergency responders is gaining momentum; multiple research consortia are currently developing wearable technology for this purpose. For the responsible design and implementation of this technology, it is necessary to attend to the ethical implications.

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  • The study assessed the effectiveness of bimekizumab versus risankizumab in treating psoriatic arthritis (PsA) over 52 weeks, focusing on patients either new to biologic treatment (bDMARD naïve) or those who had previously not responded to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi-IR).
  • Data from relevant clinical trials were matched and analyzed using statistical methods to account for differences between the trial populations, ensuring a fair comparison of outcomes like the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response criteria and minimal disease activity (MDA).
  • Results indicated that bimekizumab showed a significantly higher likelihood of response at Wk52 compared to ris
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  • A previous study found that bimekizumab, an inhibitor targeting both IL-17A and IL-17F, is effective for treating radiographic axial spondyloarthritis compared to other treatments like secukinumab and ixekizumab over 16 weeks.
  • This analysis used individual patient data from the BE MOBILE 2 trial and compared it with pooled data from multiple trials involving secukinumab and ixekizumab by adjusting for factors like age and baseline disease severity.
  • Results indicated that after 52 weeks, patients on bimekizumab showed a greater chance of improvement in key efficacy measures compared to secukinumab, while differences with ixekizumab were mostly not significant, highlighting
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Background: Treatment preference research can support shared and informed decision making for currently available atopic dermatitis (AD) treatments, and simultaneously guide research and development for future therapies. In this systematic literature review, we aimed to provide an overview of preferences for AD treatments.

Methods: This systematic literature review was conducted in the Medline and Embase (via Ovid) databases, supplemented by manual searching.

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  • This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of bimekizumab (BKZ) for treating axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) compared to other IL-17 inhibitors like secukinumab (SEC) and ixekizumab (IXE) from the perspective of NHS Scotland.
  • A decision tree and lifetime Markov model were used to analyze treatment pathways, focusing on the cost and quality of life outcomes measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) using data on efficacy, costs, and patient transitions based on disease activity.
  • The findings indicated that BKZ had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £24,801/QALY compared to SEC, with similar costs and health benefits when
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Background: The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine has prompted the development of numerous ethical guidelines, while the involvement of patients in the creation of these documents lags behind. As part of the European PROFID project we explore patient perspectives on the ethical implications of AI in care for patients at increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD).

Aim: Explore perspectives of patients on the ethical use of AI, particularly in clinical decision-making regarding the implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).

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Unlabelled: This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of sequential treatment with romosozumab-to-alendronate compared to alendronate monotherapy and teriparatide-to-alendronate, in postmenopausal osteoporotic women from a Belgian healthcare perspective. Romosozumab-to-alendronate was found to be cost-effective compared to alendronate monotherapy and dominant compared to teriparatide-to-alendronate for osteoporotic women at high risk of fracture in Belgium.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of sequential treatment with romosozumab followed by alendronate compared to alendronate monotherapy and teriparatide followed by alendronate, in postmenopausal osteoporotic women at high risk of fracture, from a Belgian healthcare perspective.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study utilized matching-adjusted indirect comparisons (MAIC) to evaluate the effectiveness of bimekizumab versus guselkumab in treating patients with psoriatic arthritis who had not previously received biologic therapy or had inadequate responses to TNF inhibitors.
  • - Data were collected from systematic literature reviews and multiple clinical trials, allowing for comparisons of treatment outcomes based on individual patient data and summary data from various studies.
  • - Results showed that bimekizumab was significantly more effective than guselkumab in achieving higher rates of improvement in American College of Rheumatology scores and minimal disease activity in both treatment-naïve and TNFi-resistant patient groups.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study used Matching-Adjusted Indirect Comparisons (MAICs) to evaluate the effectiveness of bimekizumab versus secukinumab in treating psoriatic arthritis after 52 weeks of treatment in patients who had either never received biologics or had inadequate responses to TNF inhibitors.
  • Patients from two bimekizumab trials had their data matched to aggregate data from another trial involving secukinumab to ensure fair comparisons based on similar baseline characteristics.
  • The results indicated that bimekizumab showed a significantly higher likelihood of achieving major improvement scores (ACR20/50/70) and minimal disease activity compared to both doses of secukinumab in both
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Background: In the last decade, there has been a growing concern to make palliative care more culturally sensitive and contextually appropriate. This concern is also relevant in Indonesia, where the progress of palliative care, particularly in home-based care, has been slow. Like elsewhere in the world, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of shifting from a curative orientation towards a palliative one, especially in cases where further medical treatment is futile.

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Background: Specialist palliative care teams are consulted during hospital admission for advice on complex palliative care. These consultations need to be timely to prevent symptom burden and maintain quality of life. Insight into specialist palliative care teams may help improve the outcomes of palliative care.

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  • Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) significantly affects work productivity and leisure activities, and this study aimed to evaluate the impact of biologic and targeted synthetic DMARDs on these factors.
  • A systematic review analyzed data from 12 studies involving 3,741 employed patients, measuring outcomes like absenteeism, presenteeism, and total work productivity using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI).
  • Results showed notable improvements in work productivity and activity impairment after 24 weeks of treatment, with total work productivity experiencing a mean relative improvement of 41%.
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  • The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of bimekizumab, a drug targeting specific proteins in the immune system, compared to other treatments for Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) through a network meta-analysis.
  • A systematic review of randomized controlled trials identified 41 studies involving 22 different biologic and targeted synthetic DMARDs to analyze their outcomes at 12-24 weeks.
  • Results indicated that bimekizumab performed well in achieving minimal disease activity and other response measures, ranking highly for both new and experienced patients, with a safety profile similar to other treatments, making it a promising option for PsA patients.
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Introduction: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) has a profound negative impact on patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Here we summarize the evidence on HRQoL and Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) in patients with HS in real-world settings by conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) of observational studies.

Methods: Data sources included MEDLINE, Embase & PsycINFO between January 1, 2010 and August 29, 2021, and conference proceedings between 2019 and 2021.

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Background: Persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) increasingly outlive their parents. Therefore, we designed a structured group conversation to support family members and care professionals in exploring together how parental roles may be taken over by others when necessary.

Method: We conducted a mixed methods study, with a focus on the qualitative data, to describe and evaluate three group conversations.

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