Association between surgical volume and post-operative mortality and survival after surgical resection in lung cancer in Belgium: A population-based study.

Objectives: The existence of a relationship between hospital surgical volume and outcome after lung cancer surgery remains an ongoing debate. We aimed to evaluate the association between volume and 60-day mortality, 1- and 3-year observed survival (OS) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in Belgium.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with NSCLC in 2010-2011 were identified in the database of the Belgian Cancer Registry, excluding patients with multiple tumours.

Use of health insurance data to identify and quantify the prevalence of main comorbidities in lung cancer patients.

Background: Identifying comorbidities in lung cancer patients is a complex process in population-based studies and no gold standard exists. The current study aims to identify and measure the main comorbidities using administrative health insurance data, which were available on a population-based level.

Method: A literature search was conducted to identify comorbidities in lung cancer patients and to select Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical codes to measure them.

Quality of care and variability in lung cancer management across Belgian hospitals: a population-based study using routinely available data.

Objective: To evaluate the quality of care for all patients diagnosed with lung cancer in Belgium based on a set of evidence-based quality indicators and to study the variability of care between hospitals.

Design, Setting, Participants: A retrospective study based on linked data from the cancer registry, insurance claims and vital status for all patients diagnosed with lung cancer between 2010 and 2011. Evidence-based quality indicators were identified from a systematic literature search.

[Impact of the use of point of care devices on the morbidity and the mortality of patients with oral anticoagulation].

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of International Normalized Ratio testing by point of care devices, on morbidity and mortality of patients treated with oral anticoagulants, in comparison with usual testing in laboratory.A systematic review of literature is performed. Data from selected trials are summarized in a global meta-analysis and also in subgroups meta-analysis, according to the fact that the user of POC device is the patient himself, with or without personal treatment adaptation, the general practitioner or a health professional in an anticoagulation clinic.

Measuring appropriate use of antibiotics in pyelonephritis in Belgian hospitals.

Inappropriate use of antibiotics can induce antibiotic resistance, treatment failure, increased costs and even mortality. We developed a methodology for measuring guideline compliance of hospital antibiotic prescriptions in community-acquired acute pyelonephritis in Belgium. The claims and clinical data of all Belgian hospitalizations for community-acquired acute pyelonephritis were extracted from a nationwide administrative database.