Which intrauterine growth restricted fetuses at term benefit from early labour induction? A secondary analysis of the DIGITAT randomised trial.

Objective: The Disproportionate Intrauterine Growth Intervention Trial at Term (DIGITAT trial) showed that in women with suspected intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) at term, there were no substantial outcome differences between induction of labour and expectant monitoring. The objective of the present analysis is to evaluate whether maternal or fetal markers could identify IUGR fetuses who would benefit from early labour induction.

Study Design: The DIGITAT trial was a multicenter, parallel and open-label randomised controlled trial in women who had a singleton pregnancy beyond 36+0 weeks' gestation with suspected IUGR (n=650).

Primary aortoduodenal fistula and Q-fever.

Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are prone to vascular infection with chronic Q-fever. There is a rising incidence of up to 8% of chronic Q-fever in The Netherlands. Increased vascular aortic aneurysm infection with chronic Q-fever is reported.

The influence of age, muscle strength and speed of information processing on recovery responses to external perturbations in gait.

Dynamic imbalance caused by external perturbations to gait can successfully be counteracted by adequate recovery responses. The current study investigated how the recovery response is moderated by age, walking speed, muscle strength and speed of information processing. The gait pattern of 50 young and 45 elderly subjects was repeatedly perturbed at 20% and 80% of the first half of the swing phase using the Timed Rapid impact Perturbation (TRiP) set-up.

Three twentieth-century multiauthored neurological handbooks--a historical analysis and bibliometric comparison.

The emergence of neurology as a separate specialty from internal medicine and psychiatry took several decades, starting at the end of the nineteenth century. This can be adequately reconstructed by focusing on the establishment of specialized journals, societies, university chairs, the invention and application of specific instruments, medical practices, and certainly also the publication of pivotal textbooks in the field. Particularly around 1900, the German-speaking countries played an integral role in this process.

Duplex-guided percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in iliac arterial occlusive disease.

Background: Chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) is a growing global problem. PTA can be performed without nephrotoxic contrast, utilizing Doppler-ultrasound (Duplex) guidance. Duplex-guided infra-inguinal interventions and access-related interventions have been reported.

Evolution of radiographic damage in ankylosing spondylitis: a 12 year prospective follow-up of the OASIS study.

Objectives: To describe the evolution of radiographic abnormalities of the spine in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).

Methods: Patients with AS were followed prospectively with 2 yearly radiographs for 12 years. The modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score (mSASSS) was scored by two readers (R1 and R2).

Radionuclide-guided biopsy of bone lesions in cancer patients; a reliable, well-tolerated technique.

Objectives: In follow up or primary analysis of malignant disease, use of nuclear medicine imaging techniques is increasing. The lesions, detected by these modalities, do not always present with a matching radiological abnormality suitable for radiological biopsy. A method to confirm, or rule out, metastatic disease in these cases is radionuclide-guided surgical biopsy.

Cluster headache and oxygen: is it possible to predict which patients will be relieved? A prospective cross-sectional correlation study.

Response to 100 % oxygen as acute treatment for cluster headache is relative low considering certain subgroups or predictors. The primary purpose of the present study was to find prospectively which factors differ between responders and non-responders to oxygen therapy. The second goal was to find whether any of these differences would clarify the mechanism of pain reduction by oxygen and cluster headache pathophysiology.

Screening for brain metastases in patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer: Is there additive value of magnetic resonance imaging above a contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the brain?

Introduction: Stage III NSCLC patients are candidates for treatment with curative intent. Current guidelines advise post contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or contrast enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) of the brain in these patients to exclude brain metastases (BM). In previous small studies MRI was reported to be superior to CE-CT.

Antiepileptic drugs and high prevalence of low bone mineral density in a group of inpatients with chronic epilepsy.

Purpose: Long-term antiepileptic drug use is associated with low bone mineral density (BMD), fractures and abnormalities in bone metabolism. We aimed at determining the prevalence of bone mineral disorders in patients with refractory epilepsy treated with antiepileptic drugs.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in adult patients (n = 205) from a residential unit of a tertiary epilepsy centre.

To know or not to know, disclosure of a newborn carrier screening test result for cystic fibrosis.

Purpose: Most newborn screening (NBS) strategies for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) also identify carriers. However, it is unclear if parents want to be informed about their child's carrier status or not.

Methods: Focus group discussions with pregnant couples to explore their opinions about disclosure of a carrier result for CF of their newborn.

Anterior tibial artery aneurysm: Case report and literature review.

Introduction: We present a patient with a true anterior tibial artery aneurysm without any causative history.

Presentation Of Case: A 59 year old male was referred with a swelling on his left lateral ankle which he noticed 2 months ago, with symptoms of soaring pain. Additional radiological research showed a true arterial tibialis anterior aneurysm.

Hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies. Diagnosis in the first family (1947) confirmed.

In 1947, the Dutch neurologist De Jong published the first family with, what later would be called, hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP). We recently found a new case from this family and were able to confirm the diagnosis by DNA analysis.

Symptomatic pectus excavatum in seniors: an exploratory study on clinical presentation and incidence in daily practice.

Objectives. Doctors all over the world consider a pectus excavatum usually as an incidental finding. There is some evidence suggesting that a pectus excavatum may cause symptoms in the elderly.

Optimizing chronic HIV care in the Dutch Caribbean: a questionnaire based study on experience and perception of healthcare workers.

Objective: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has become a chronic disorder for which adaptation of current healthcare practices is needed. In Curaçao, a new organization of chronic HIV care is being set up based on task shifting in which healthcare workers (HCWs) will deliver HIV care more prominently within the primary healthcare system. In preparation for implementation of the proposed task-shifting model, we investigated the perception of HCWs regarding existing HIV care in Curaçao and the need for training in HIV/AIDS among HCWs.

Severity of pulmonary involvement and (18)F-FDG PET activity in sarcoidosis.

Background: Assessing inflammatory activity is useful in the management of persistent symptomatic sarcoidosis patients. (18)F-FDG PET (PET) has been shown to be a sensitive technique to assess inflammatory activity in sarcoidosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the severity of pulmonary involvement is associated with PET activity in persistent symptomatic sarcoidosis patients.

The predictive value of first trimester fetal volume measurements, a prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To determine if fetal volume (FV) measurements with three-dimensional ultrasound in the first trimester of pregnancy can detect the fetus at risk for preterm birth and/or low birth weight.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 538 participants were included during the routine first trimester ultrasound examination. Volume measurements were performed with VOCAL (9°).

Importance of correcting for individual differences in the clinical diagnosis of gait disorders.

Objective: To quantify the effects of subject characteristics on gait parameters using acceleration-based gait analysis.

Design: Cross-sectional study with a single group cohort.

Setting: Hospital setting.

The contraceptive vaginal ring, NuvaRing(®), a decade after its introduction.

Objectives: To review the clinical experience with the contraceptive vaginal ring (CVR, NuvaRing(®)) since its introduction over ten years ago.

Methods: The literature was searched on efficacy, cycle control, safety, user preference and satisfaction of the CVR in comparison with combined oral contraceptives (COCs) and the patch, with special attention to recent developments.

Results: The ring has the same working mechanism and contraindications as COCs.

Volume-related measurement error by three-dimensional ultrasound with a rotational multiplanar technique.

Background: The goal of this study was to calculate the accuracy of three-dimensional volume measurements with the rotational multiplanar technique VOCAL (Volume Organ Computer-aided AnaLysis).

Methods: An ultrasound phantom with 13 objects (volume 10.2-40.

Which ultrasonographic measure has the upper hand in ulnar neuropathy at the elbow?

Objective: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonographic ulnar nerve diameter, cross-sectional area (CSA) and swelling ratio measurement in ulnar neuropathy at the elbow (UNE).

Methods: Ultrasonographic diameter, CSA, and swelling ratio measurements were compared with a reference standard including clinical examination, electrophysiological studies, and follow-up in a prospective cohort of patients. All patients in whom a diagnosis of UNE was considered were eligible for the study.

A predictive tool for an effective use of (18)F-FDG PET in assessing activity of sarcoidosis.

Background: (18)F-FDG PET/CT (PET) is useful in assessing inflammatory activity in sarcoidosis. However, no appropriate indications are available. The aim of this study was to develop a prediction rule that can be used to identify symptomatic sarcoidosis patients who have a high probability of PET-positivity.

The history of oxygen inhalation as a treatment for cluster headache.

Overview: Oxygen has been a generally accepted treatment method for cluster headache attacks ever since Kudrow (1981) conducted a controlled trial showing that oxygen was equally or even more effective than ergotamine injections.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to provide a historical perspective of oxygen treatment in cluster headache and to find the origin of this treatment. Oxygen for cluster headache was first described by Horton in 1952 and for migraine patients in 1940 by Alvarez.