Design of the Dutch multicentre study on opportunistic screening of geriatric patients for atrial fibrillation using a smartphone PPG app: the Dutch-GERAF study.

Background: Screening of high-risk patients is advocated to achieve early detection and treatment of clinical atrial fibrillation (AF). The Dutch-GERAF study will address two major issues. Firstly, the effectiveness and feasibility of an opportunistic screening strategy for clinical AF will be assessed in frail older patients and, secondly, observational data will be gathered regarding the efficacy and safety of oral anticoagulation (OAC).

Hysterosalpingo-foam sonography versus hysterosalpingography during fertility work-up: an economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial.

Study Question: What are the costs and effects of tubal patency testing by hysterosalpingo-foam sonography (HyFoSy) compared to hysterosalpingography (HSG) in infertile women during the fertility work-up?

Summary Answer: During the fertility work-up, clinical management based on the test results of HyFoSy leads to slightly lower, though not statistically significant, live birth rates, at lower costs, compared to management based on HSG results.

What Is Known Already: Traditionally, tubal patency testing during the fertility work-up is performed by HSG. The FOAM trial, formally a non-inferiority study, showed that management decisions based on the results of HyFoSy resulted in a comparable live birth rate at 12 months compared to HSG (46% versus 47%; difference -1.

A prediction model for lung metastases in patients with indeterminate pulmonary nodules in newly diagnosed colorectal cancer.

Introduction: Multidisciplinary teams treating patients with newly diagnosed Colorectal Cancer (CRC) often encounter the appearance of Indeterminate Pulmonary Nodules (IPNs) that warrants follow-up with repetitive medical imaging and anxiety for patients. We determined the incidence of IPNs in patients with newly diagnosed CRC and developed and validated a model for individualized risk prediction of IPNs being lung metastases.

Material And Methods: Newly diagnosed CRC who underwent surgery between November 2011 to June 2014 were included to create the risk model, developed using both clinical experience and statistical selection.

The impact of patient-reported frailty on cardiovascular outcomes in elderly patients after non-ST-acute coronary syndrome.

Background: As life expectancy increases, the population of older individuals with coronary artery disease and frailty is growing. We aimed to assess the impact of patient-reported frailty on the treatment and prognosis of elderly early survivors of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

Methods: Frailty data were obtained from two prospective trials, POPular Age and the POPular Age Registry, which both assessed elderly NSTE-ACS patients.

The value of preoperative diagnostic testing and geriatric assessment in frail institutionalized elderly with a hip fracture; a secondary analysis of the FRAIL-HIP study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of (preoperative and geriatric) diagnostic testing, abnormal diagnostic tests and their subsequent interventions, and clinical relevance in frail older adults with a hip fracture.

Methods: Data on clinical consultations, radiological, laboratory, and microbiological diagnostics were extracted from the medical files of all patients included in the FRAIL-HIP study (inclusion criteria: hip fracture, > 70 years, living in a nursing home with malnourishment/cachexia and/or impaired mobility and/or severe co-morbidity). Data were evaluated until hospital discharge in nonoperatively treated patients and until surgery in operatively treated patients.

Comparison of osteolysis around 3 different cement restrictors in total hip arthroplasty.

Background And Aim: Several studies reported osteolysis around polyethylene glycol/polybutylene terephthalate (PEG/PBT) based femoral cement restrictors. Our goal was to evaluate and compare osteolysis around 3 different plug designs: the slow biodegradable PEG/PBT cement restrictor; the fast biodegradable gelatin cement restrictor; and the non-biodegradable polyethylene plug.

Patients And Methods: In a retrospective multicentre cohort study chart data were extracted of patients who received a total hip arthroplasty between 2008 and 2012.

ECG-only explainable deep learning algorithm predicts the risk for malignant ventricular arrhythmia in phospholamban cardiomyopathy.

Background: Phospholamban (PLN) p.(Arg14del) variant carriers are at risk for development of malignant ventricular arrhythmia (MVA). Accurate risk stratification allows timely implantation of intracardiac defibrillators and is currently performed with a multimodality prediction model.

Acute kidney injury in patients undergoing endovascular or open repair of juxtarenal or pararenal aortic aneurysms.

Background: The aim of this cohort study was to report the proportion of patients who develop periprocedural acute kidney injury (AKI) after endovascular repair (ER) and open surgery (OS) in patients with juxta/pararenal abdominal aortic aneurysm and to assess potential risk factors for AKI. The study also aimed to report the short- and long-term outcomes of patients with and without AKI.

Methods: This was a multicenter cohort study of five European academic high-volume centers (>50 OS or 50 ER infrarenal AAA repairs, plus >15 complex AAA repairs per year).

Association between lower extremity arterial calcification and coronary arterial calcification in a population at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Introduction: There is conflicting evidence whether lower extremity arterial calcification coincides with coronary arterial calcification (CAC). The aims of this study were to investigate the associations between (1) femoral and crural calcification with CAC, and (2) femoral and crural calcification pattern with CAC.

Research Design And Methods: This cross-sectional study included 405 individuals (74% men, 62.

Acute care pathway assessed through performance indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic in OECD countries (2020-2021): a scoping review.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted care for non-COVID patients. Performance indicators to monitor acute care, timely reported and internationally accepted, lacked during the pandemic in OECD countries. This study aims to summarize the performance indicators available in the literature to monitor changes in the quality of acute care in OECD countries during the first year and a half of the pandemic (2020-July 2021) and to assess their trends.

Feasibility and effectiveness of communication tools for addressing intimacy and sexuality in patients with cancer: a systematic review.

Purpose: Patients diagnosed with cancer might experience changes in intimacy and sexuality due to the illness itself, treatment, or psychological and social factors. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) often feel reluctant to discuss these changes. This study aimed to provide an overview of the feasibility and effectiveness of communication tools that support communication regarding changes in intimacy or sexuality among patients with cancer.

Standardised training for endoscopic mucosal resection of large non-pedunculated colorectal polyps to reduce recurrence (*STAR-LNPCP study): a multicentre cluster randomised trial.

Objective: Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is the preferred treatment for non-invasive large (≥20 mm) non-pedunculated colorectal polyps (LNPCPs) but is associated with an early recurrence rate of up to 30%. We evaluated whether standardised EMR training could reduce recurrence rates in Dutch community hospitals.

Design: In this multicentre cluster randomised trial, 59 endoscopists from 30 hospitals were randomly assigned to the intervention group (e-learning and 2-day training including hands-on session) or control group.

Individualised gonadotropin dose selection using markers of ovarian reserve for women undergoing in vitro fertilisation plus intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI).

Background: During a stimulated cycle of in vitro fertilisation or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI), women receive daily doses of gonadotropin follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) to induce multifollicular development in the ovaries. A normal response to stimulation (e.g.

Efficacy of cola ingestion for oesophageal food bolus impaction: open label, multicentre, randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To determine the efficacy and safety of cola in resolving complete oesophageal food bolus impaction.

Design: Open label, multicentre, randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Emergency departments of five Dutch hospitals at the secondary and tertiary level, between 22 December 2019 and 16 June 2022.

Determinants of Physical Activity among Patients with Colorectal Cancer: From Diagnosis to 5 Years after Diagnosis.

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) is associated with higher quality of life and probably better prognosis among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. This study focuses on determinants of PA among CRC patients from diagnosis until 5 yr postdiagnosis.

Methods: Sociodemographic and disease-related factors of participants of two large CRC cohort studies were combined.

The Use of Oral Anticoagulation Is Not Independently Associated with Mortality in Frail Older Patients with Repeated Falls.

Background: Particularly in frail patients, anticoagulation may be underused because of the fear of bleeding.

Objective: To determine whether the use of antithrombotic medication is an independent risk factor for mortality in frail elderly with repeated falls.

Methods: All patients aged 65 years or older at the Fall and Syncope Clinic were eligible.

Use of loop diuretics in patients with chronic heart failure: an observational overview.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the use and dose of loop diuretics (LDs) across the entire ejection fraction (EF) spectrum in a large, 'real-world' cohort of chronic heart failure (HF) patients.

Methods: A total of 10 366 patients with chronic HF from 34 Dutch outpatient HF clinics were analysed regarding diuretic use and diuretic dose. Data regarding daily diuretic dose were stratified by furosemide dose equivalent (FDE)>80 mg or ≤80 mg.

Risk Factors for Neurodevelopmental Impairment at 2- and 5-Years Corrected Age in Preterm Infants with Established Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at 2- and 5-years corrected age (CA) in a cohort of preterm infants with established bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study included infants born between 2009 and 2016 at a gestational age (GA) <30 weeks with moderate or severe BPD at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age. Perinatal characteristics, (social) demographics, and comorbidities were collected from the electronic patient records.

The INCH-trial: a multicenter randomized controlled trial comparing short- and long-term outcomes of open and laparoscopic surgery for incisional hernia repair.

Background: Laparoscopic incisional hernia repair is increasingly performed worldwide and expected to be superior to conventional open repair regarding hospital stay and quality of life (QoL). The INCisional Hernia-Trial was designed to test this hypothesis.

Methods: A multicenter parallel randomized controlled open-label trial with a superiority design was conducted in six hospitals in the Netherlands.