Lifestyle management to prevent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: evidence and challenges.

Lifestyle management is the cornerstone of both primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and the importance of lifestyle management is emphasised by all major guidelines. Despite this, actual implementation of lifestyle management is poor. Lifestyle modification includes smoking cessation, weight loss, dietary change, increasing physical inactivity, and stress management.

Healthcare costs of ICU survivors are higher before and after ICU admission compared to a population based control group: A descriptive study combining healthcare insurance data and data from a Dutch national quality registry.

Purpose: To identify subgroups of ICU patients with high healthcare utilization for healthcare expenditure management purposes such as prevention and targeted care.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a descriptive cohort study, combining a national health insurance claims database and a national quality registry database for ICUs. Claims data in the timeframe 2012-2014 were combined with the clinical data of ICU patients admitted to an ICU during 2013.

User Survey of 3 Ankle Braces in Soccer, Volleyball, and Running: Which Brace Fits Best?

Context:   Recurrence rates for ankle sprains are high. Therefore, preventive measures such as ankle bracing during sports are recommended.

Objective:   To systematically evaluate the perceived ease of use, quality, comfort, stability, and hindrance of and the overall satisfaction with 3 contemporary brace types in 3 types of sports.

Body weight-supported bedside treadmill training facilitates ambulation in ICU patients: An interventional proof of concept study.

Purpose: Early mobilisation is advocated to improve recovery of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. However, severe weakness in combination with tubes, lines and machinery are practical barriers for the implementation of ambulation with critically ill patients. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of Body Weight-Supported Treadmill Training (BWSTT) in critically ill patients in the ICU.

[Secondary prevention of coronary heart disease: results of Euroaspire IV].

Objective: Secondary prevention is an important part of cardiovascular risk management. Since 1996, an inventory of cardiovascular risk factors and their treatment has been carried out periodically among patients with coronary heart disease within the framework of the European Action on Secondary Prevention by Intervention to Reduce Events (Euroaspire) project.

Design: Retrospective investigation of consecutively hospitalised patients with coronary heart disease.

Functional Recovery in Patients With and Without Intensive Care Unit-Acquired Weakness.

Objective: The aim of this work was to compare the patient-reported functional health status with regard to physical, psychological, and social functioning of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors with and without ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW).

Design: Single-center prospective study in ICU patients who were mechanically ventilated for more than 2 days and who survived to ICU discharge. Functional health status was assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months after ICU discharge, using the Sickness Impact Profile 68 (SIP68).

Safe and effective nursing shift handover with NURSEPASS: An interrupted time series.

Aim: Implementation of a locally developed evidence based nursing shift handover blueprint with a bedside-safety-check to determine the effect size on quality of handover.

Methods: A mixed methods design with: (1) an interrupted time series analysis to determine the effect on handover quality in six domains; (2) descriptive statistics to analyze the intercepted discrepancies by the bedside-safety-check; (3) evaluation sessions to gather experiences with the new handover process.

Results: We observed a continued trend of improvement in handover quality and a significant improvement in two domains of handover: organization/efficiency and contents.

The clinimetric properties of the COMFORT scale: A systematic review.

The COMFORT scale is a measurement tool to assess distress, sedation and pain in nonverbal paediatric patients. Several studies have described the COMFORT scale, but no formal assessment of the methodological quality has been undertaken. Therefore, we performed a systematic review to study the clinimetric properties of the (modified) COMFORT scale in children up to 18 years.

Validation of the SQUASH Physical Activity Questionnaire in a Multi-Ethnic Population: The HELIUS Study.

Purpose: To investigate the reliability and validity of the SQUASH physical activity (PA) questionnaire in a multi-ethnic population living in the Netherlands.

Methods: We included participants from the HELIUS study, a population-based cohort study. In this study we included Dutch (n = 114), Turkish (n = 88), Moroccan (n = 74), South-Asian Surinamese (n = 98) and African Surinamese (n = 91) adults, aged 18-70 years.

Effects of a nurse-coordinated prevention programme on health-related quality of life and depression in patients with an acute coronary syndrome: results from the RESPONSE randomised controlled trial.

Background: Improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important goal in preventive cardiology. HRQOL is also related to depressive symptoms, which represent a common co-morbidity and risk factor in patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Comprehensive nurse-coordinated prevention programmes (NCPP) in secondary care have been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk, however their effects on HRQOL and depressive symptoms have not been evaluated.

The telephone lifestyle intervention 'Hartcoach' has modest impact on coronary risk factors: A randomised multicentre trial.

Background: Unhealthy diets and inactivity are still common among patients with cardiovascular diseases. This study evaluates the effects of the telephonic lifestyle intervention 'Hartcoach' on risk factors and self-management in patients with recent coronary events.

Design: This was a randomised trial in five Dutch hospitals.

Preoperative functional status is not associated with postoperative surgical complications in low risk patients undergoing esophagectomy.

Preoperative functional status is a risk factor for developing postoperative complications (POC) in major abdominal and thoracic surgery, but this has hardly been evaluated in esophageal cancer patients undergoing esophagectomy. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to determine if preoperative functional status in esophageal cancer patients is associated with POC. From March 2012 to October 2014, esophageal cancer patients scheduled for esophagectomy at the outpatient clinic of a large tertiary referral center were eligible for the study.

Reported burden on informal caregivers of ICU survivors: a literature review.

Background: Critical illness and the problems faced after ICU discharge do not only affect the patient, it also negatively impacts patients' informal caregivers. There is no review which summarizes all types of burden reported in informal caregivers of ICU survivors. It is important that the burdens these informal caregivers suffer are systematically assessed so the caregivers can receive the professional care they need.

Effective components of nurse-coordinated care to prevent recurrent coronary events: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Current guidelines on secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease recommend nurse-coordinated care (NCC) as an effective intervention. However, NCC programmes differ widely and the efficacy of NCC components has not been studied. To investigate the efficacy of NCC and its components in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Smoking cessation after an acute coronary syndrome: immediate quitters are successful quitters.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention guidelines stress the importance of smoking cessation and recommend intensive follow-up. To guide the development of such cessation support strategies, we analysed the characteristics that are associated with successful smoking cessation after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: We used data from the Randomised Evaluation of Secondary Prevention for ACS patients coordinated by Outpatient Nurse SpEcialists (RESPONSE) trial (n = 754).

Factors determining the patients' care intensity for surgeons and surgical nurses: a conjoint analysis.

Background: Surgeons and nurses sometimes perceive a high workload on the surgical wards, which may influence admission decisions and staffing policy. This study aimed to explore the relative contribution of various patient and care characteristics to the perceived patients' care intensity and whether differences exist in the perception of surgeons and nurses.

Methods: We invited surgeons and surgical nurses in the Netherlands for a conjoint analysis study through internet and e-mail invitations.

Nurse staffing issues are just the tip of the iceberg: a qualitative study about nurses' perceptions of nurse staffing.

Objective: To obtain in-depth insight into the perceptions of nurses in the Netherlands regarding current nurse staffing levels and use of nurse-to-patient-ratios (NPR) and patient classification systems (PCS).

Background: In response to rising health care demands due to ageing of the patient population and increasing complexity of healthcare, hospital boards have been implementing NPRs and PCSs. However, many nurses at the unit level believe that staffing levels have become critically low, endangering the quality and safety of their patient care.

Quality indicators for safe medication preparation and administration: a systematic review.

Background: One-third of all medication errors causing harm to hospitalized patients occur in the medication preparation and administration phase, which is predominantly a nursing activity. To monitor, evaluate and improve the quality and safety of this process, evidence-based quality indicators can be used.

Objectives: The aim of study was to identify evidence-based quality indicators (structure, process and outcome) for safe in-hospital medication preparation and administration.

Generalized joint hypermobility, muscle strength and physical function in healthy adolescents and young adults.

Background: Generalized Joint Hypermobility (GJH) is regarded as the main diagnostic criterion for Hypermobility Syndrome and is assumed to be of importance for the development of musculoskeletal complaints and functional decline. However GJH is also highly prevalent amongst healthy individuals whereas its consequences for physical functioning are unclear. Therefore the objective of the study was to determine the association of GJH with physical functioning in healthy adolescents and young adults.

Evaluating the effect of a web-based quality improvement system with feedback and outreach visits on guideline concordance in the field of cardiac rehabilitation: rationale and study protocol.

Background: Implementation of clinical practice guidelines into daily care is hampered by a variety of barriers related to professional knowledge and collaboration in teams and organizations. To improve guideline concordance by changing the clinical decision-making behavior of professionals, computerized decision support (CDS) has been shown to be one of the most effective instruments. However, to address barriers at the organizational level, additional interventions are needed.

Selecting an optimal instrument to identify active ingredients of the motivational interviewing-process.

Objective: Motivational Interviewing (MI) can effectively stimulate motivation for health behavior change, but the active ingredients of MI are not well known. To help clinicians further stimulate motivation, they need to know the active ingredients of MI. A psychometrically sound instrument is required to identify those ingredients.

The functional consequences of generalized joint hypermobility: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Generalized Joint Hypermobility (GJH) has been found to be associated with musculoskeletal complaints and disability. For others GJH is seen as a prerequisite in order to excel in certain sports like dance. However, it remains unclear what the role is of GJH in human performance.

An Evidence-Based Multidisciplinary Practice Guideline to Reduce the Workload due to Lifting for Preventing Work-Related Low Back Pain.

We developed an evidence-based practice guideline to support occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals in assessing the risk due to lifting and in selecting effective preventive measures for low back pain (LBP) in the Netherlands. The guideline was developed at the request of the Dutch government by a project team of experts and OSH professionals in lifting and work-related LBP. The recommendations for risk assessment were based on the quality of instruments to assess the risk on LBP due to lifting.

Nurses assessing pain with the Nociception Coma Scale: interrater reliability and validity.

The Nociception Coma Scale (NCS) is a pain observation tool, developed for patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) due to acquired brain injury (ABI). The aim of this study was to assess the interrater reliability of the NCS and NCS-R among nurses for the assessment of pain in ABI patients with DOC. A secondary aim was further validation of both scales by assessing its discriminating abilities for the presence or absence of pain.

Factors and models associated with the amount of hospital care services as demanded by hospitalized patients: a systematic review.

Background: Hospitals are constantly being challenged to provide high-quality care despite ageing populations, diminishing resources, and budgetary restraints. While the costs of care depend on the patients' needs, it is not clear which patient characteristics are associated with the demand for care and inherent costs. The aim of this study was to ascertain which patient-related characteristics or models can predict the need for medical and nursing care in general hospital settings.