Publications by authors named "Yvonne van Megen"

Background: Quality of life (QoL) data for patients with inflammatory bowel disease switched from the reference infliximab to biosimilar CT-P13 is lacking. This study aims to demonstrate noninferiority for QoL and efficacy after switching.

Methods: OoL and clinical efficacy were measured prior to and after 2, 4, and 6 CT-P13 infusions.

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Background: Biological treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases has improved patient outcomes but increased health-care costs. Switching patients from originator infliximab to a biosimilar can reduce costs, but prospective data about pharmacokinetics and potential immunogenicity are scarce. We aimed to show that infliximab serum concentrations with biosimilar CT-P13 are non-inferior to those with originator infliximab after switching from originator infliximab in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

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Objective: Treatment with prolonged-release oxycodone/naloxone (PR OXN) has been shown to improve opioid induced constipation (OIC) in constipated patients. This publication reports on a real-life observational study investigating the efficacy of PR OXN with regard to bowel function in patients switching to PR OXN from WHO step 1, step 2 and step 3 opioids.

Methods: Patients with chronic pain experiencing insufficient pain relief and/or unacceptable side effects were switched to PR OXN and monitored in this observational study with respect to efficacy regarding bowel function and efficacy regarding pain relief in comparison with previous analgesic therapy.

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Background: Dutch clinical guidelines recommend that a standard laxative treatment (SLT) should be prescribed concomitantly when starting opioid treatment to prevent opioid-induced constipation (OIC).

Methods: Clinical evidence for SLT in the treatment of OIC is lacking, therefore an observational pilot study was performed to explore the efficacy and tolerability of SLT on OIC in patients treated with the opioid oxycodone.

Results: Twenty-four patients (58% female, median (range) age 65 (39-92)) were included in this pilot study.

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Purpose: Laxative-refractory opioid-induced constipation (OIC) is defined as OIC despite using 2 laxatives with a different mechanism of action (based on the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System level 4 term [contact laxatives, osmotically acting laxatives, softeners/emollients, enemas, and others]). OIC has a significant impact on the treatment and quality of life of patients with severe chronic pain. This noninterventional, observational, real-life study in Belgium investigated the efficacy of prolonged-release oxycodone/naloxone combination (PR OXN) treatment regarding pain relief and OIC compared with previous prolonged-release oxycodone (PR OXY) treatment for laxative-refractory OIC in daily clinical practice.

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Objective: The effects of combined oxycodone/naloxone prolonged release tablets (OXN PR) were investigated in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic cancer-related or non-cancer pain. All patients had opioid-induced constipation (OIC) which persisted despite substantial laxative therapy.

Research Design And Methods: This pooled analysis included 75 patients with OIC at study entry that was refractory to at least two laxatives with different modes of action.

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Biochemical oscillations, such as glycolytic oscillations, are often believed to be caused by a single so-called 'oscillophore'. The main characteristics of yeast glycolytic oscillations, such as frequency and amplitude, are however controlled by several enzymes. In this paper, we develop a method to quantify to which extent any enzyme determines the occurrence of oscillations.

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