Prospective Evaluation and Validation of the Laryngoscore and the mini-Laryngoscore.

Objective: The Laryngoscore was described in 2014 as a practical preoperative assessment tool to predict difficult laryngeal exposure (DLE) during transoral approaches to the larynx. In 2019 the authors proposed a version with a reduced number of variables, called the mini-Laryngoscore. We aim to critically appraise and externally validate these two tools and if needed and possible, to optimize these tools.

Immediate and 90-Day Clinical Outcome of Patients with Acute Stroke Treated with the NeVa-Vesalio Mechanical Thrombectomy Device: A Retrospective Case Series.

Objective: The NeVa stent retriever is a newly designed mechanical thrombectomy device for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion. We investigate the procedural characteristics and patients' clinical outcomes at discharge and at 90 days of follow-up.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a cohort of 75 patients (median age, 74 years) treated with the NeVa device for acute large vessel occlusion stroke.

An observational cohort study of histological screening for BK polyomavirus nephropathy following viral replication in plasma.

Systematic screening for BKPyV-DNAemia has been advocated to aid prevention and treatment of polyomavirus associated nephropathy (PyVAN), an important cause of kidney graft failure. The added value of performing a biopsy at time of BKPyV-DNAemia, to distinguish presumptive PyVAN (negative SV40 immunohistochemistry) and proven PyVAN (positive SV40) has not been established. Therefore, we studied an unselected cohort of 950 transplantations, performed between 2008-2017.

Predictors for unplanned hospital admissions in community dwelling adults: A dynamic cohort study.

Background: Polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use are associated with unplanned hospital admissions. Targeted interventions might reduce the hospitalization risk. Yet, it remains unclear which patient profiles derive the largest benefit from such interventions.

Secondary tricuspid valve regurgitation after isolated aortic valve replacement: outcomes and predictors.

Objectives: We sought to assess the evolution of secondary tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR) and its impact on mortality and to identify possible clinical and echocardiographic predictors of persisting and new-onset TR (TR de novo) after isolated AVR.

Methods: Clinical and echocardiographic data of 441 patients, consecutively operated for isolated AVR between January 2017 and January 2020, were retrospectively collected. Four time points were included: preoperative, discharge, 3-6 months and last available follow-up.

Factors influencing outcome of angiographic embolization for gastroduodenal hemorrhage related to peptic ulceration.

Purpose: Long-term outcome and prognostic factors of transcatheter embolization for gastroduodenal peptic ulcer bleeding are unknown. This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical outcome and factors associated with early recurrent bleeding and 30-day mortality of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for severe, upper gastroduodenal hemorrhage associated with peptic ulcer and refractory to medical and endoscopic therapy.

Methods: A monocenter, retrospective study from 2005 to 2020 including 76 consecutive patients who underwent TAE as first-line therapy for bleeding gastroduodenal peptic ulcers refractory to endoscopic therapy.

A combined multilevel factor analysis and covariance regression model with mixed effects in the mean and variance structure.

Li et al developed a multilevel covariance regression (MCR) model as an extension of the covariance regression model of Hoff and Niu. This model assumes a hierarchical structure for the mean and the covariance matrix. Here, we propose the combined multilevel factor analysis and covariance regression model in a Bayesian framework, simultaneously modeling the MCR model and a multilevel factor analysis (MFA) model.

Psychological symptoms do not discriminate between reflux phenotypes along the organic-functional refractory GERD spectrum.

Objective: Historically, psychological processes are associated with disorders at the functional end of the gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) spectrum. However, recent research suggests that psychological symptoms are relevant across the GERD spectrum. We aim to investigate whether psychological symptoms are associated with reflux phenotype (True GERD, Borderline GERD, reflux hypersensitivity, functional heartburn) along the GERD spectrum in a cohort of refractory reflux patients.

Comparison of Clinical Performance Between Two Types of Symmetric-Tip Hemodialysis Catheters: A Single-Centre, Randomized Trial.

Purpose: To compare the clinical performance of a newly designed, symmetric-tip Arrow-Clark™ VectorFlow® tunnelled haemodialysis catheter, with a Glidepath™, symmetric-tip tunnelled haemodialysis catheter.

Material And Methods: From November 2018 to October 2020, patients with End-Stage Renal Disease requiring a de novo tunnelled catheter for hemodialysis, were randomized to Vectorflow® (n = 50) or to Glidepath™ catheter (n = 48). The primary outcome was catheter patency at one year following catheter insertion.

Randomized phase II BGOG/ENGOT-cx1 study of paclitaxel-carboplatin with or without nintedanib in first-line recurrent or advanced cervical cancer.

Objective: Nintedanib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting, among others, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor. The aim was to establish the role of nintedanib in addition to paclitaxel and carboplatin in first-line recurrent/metastatic cervical cancer.

Methods: Double-blind phase II randomized study in patients with first-line recurrent or primary advanced (FIGO stage IVB) cervical cancer.

Erector spinae plane block for postoperative analgesia in robotically-assisted coronary artery bypass surgery: Results of a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Study Objective: To investigate if an erector spinae plane (ESP) block decreases postoperative opioid consumption, pain and postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing robotically-assisted minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery (RAMIDCAB).

Design: A single-center, double-blind, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: Postoperative period; operating room, post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and hospital ward in a university hospital.

Coronary covered stents in the management of late-onset arterial complications post-hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery.

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the safety, efficacy, and late clinical outcome of coronary covered stent placement for the treatment of late-onset arterial complications after hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients presenting with post-hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery-related arterial lesions and subsequently treated with a covered coronary stent in the authors institution between January 2012 and November 2021 were included. Primary endpoints were technical and clinical success; secondary endpoints were covered stent patency and end-organ perfusion of the affected artery.

Mortality and Major Adverse Cardiac Events in Patients With Breast Cancer Receiving Radiotherapy: The First Decade.

Background Treatment for breast cancer (BC) frequently involves radiotherapy. Guidelines recommend screening for cardiac adverse events starting 10 years after radiotherapy. The rationale for this interval is unclear.

Improving Endometrial cancer assessment by combining the new techniqUe of GENomic profiling with surgical Extra uterIne disEase assessment (EUGENIE).

Background: The molecular classification of endometrial cancer revolutionized our knowledge of its biology but so far has not affected our surgical approach. The exact risk of extra-uterine metastasis and hence the type of surgical staging for each of the four molecular subgroups are currently unknown.

Primary Objective: To determine the association between molecular classification and disease stage.

Efficacy of erector spinae plane block for minimally invasive mitral valve surgery: Results of a double-blind, prospective randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Study Objective: To investigate if an erector spinae plane (ESP) block decreases postoperative opioid consumption, pain and postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS).

Design: A single-center, double-blind, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: Postoperative period; operating room, post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and hospital ward in a university hospital.

Normal tension glaucoma: A dynamic optical coherence tomography angiography study.

Purpose: Vascular dysregulation seems to play a role in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, in particular normal tension glaucoma (NTG). The development of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) enabled the measurement of the retinal microvasculature non-invasively and with high repeatability. Nonetheless, only a few studies transformed OCTA into a dynamic examination employing a sympathomimetic stimulus.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Registration and Care Provision of Mental Health Problems in General Practice: Registry-Based Study.

Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in general practice remains uncertain. Several studies showed an increase in terms of mental health problems during the pandemic. In Belgium, especially during the first waves of the pandemic, access to general practice was limited.

Correlation of TROP-2 expression with clinical-pathological characteristics and outcome in triple-negative breast cancer.

Limited data exist regarding the associations between TROP-2 protein expression, clinical-pathological characteristics, and outcome in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). TROP-2 expression was determined for patients diagnosed with TNBC between 2000 and 2017 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) (ab227689, Abcam) on whole slide tumor sections, and assessed as continuous and categorical variables (H-score high, 201-300, medium 100-200 and low < 100). We investigated the prognostic value of TROP-2 expression for relapse and survival, associations between TROP-2 expression and baseline patient and tumor characteristics, stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs), androgen receptor (AR), standardized mitotic index (SMI) and pathological complete response (pCR, in patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy) were assessed.

Retrospective Cohort Study of Practical Applications of Paramagnetic Seed Localisation in Breast Carcinoma and Other Malignancies.

(1) Background: Paramagnetic seeds are a safe alternative for the wire-guided localisation of non-palpable breast lesions, but can also be applied for non-breast lesions. This study presents the experience with a paramagnetic seed, MagSeed® (Endomagnetics Ltd., Cambridge, UK, CE-registered and FDA-cleared), in an academic and non-academic breast centre.

The doubling effect of COVID-19 cases on key health indicators.

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers advised policy makers to make informed decisions towards the adoption of mitigating interventions. Key easy-to-interpret metrics applied over time can measure the public health impact of epidemic outbreaks. We propose a novel method which quantifies the effect of hospitalizations or mortality when the number of COVID-19 cases doubles.

Blended care to discontinue benzodiazepine receptor agonists use in patients with chronic insomnia disorder: a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial in primary care.

Study Objectives: International guidelines recommend using benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA) for maximally four weeks. Nevertheless, long-term use for chronic insomnia disorder remains a common practice. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of blended care for discontinuing long-term BZRA use in general practice.

Changes in anticancer treatment plans in patients with solid cancer hospitalized with COVID-19: analysis of the nationwide BSMO-COVID registry providing lessons for the future.

Background: Solid cancer is an independent prognostic factor for poor outcome with COVID-19. As guidelines for patient management in that setting depend on retrospective efforts, we here present the first analyses of a nationwide database of patients with cancer hospitalized with COVID-19 in Belgium, with a focus on changes in anticancer treatment plans at the time of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods: Nineteen Belgian hospitals identified all patients with a history of solid cancer hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 2020 and February 2021.