Nurses' experiences of palliative end-of-life care in patients at risk of a carotid blowout syndrome: A qualitative exploration.

Purpose: Hospital nurses play an important role in providing palliative end-of-life care, for example for patients with carotid blowout. In such cases, dying is a severe event in which exsanguination occurs. Little is known about nurses' experiences regarding care to patients at risk of a carotid blowout.

Adjuvant immunotherapy in older patients with stage III and resected stage IV melanoma: Toxicity and recurrence-free survival outcomes from the Dutch melanoma treatment registry.

Background: Adjuvant anti-PD-1 therapy improves relapse free survival in stage III melanoma, but also leads to immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Older patients are of particular interest due to comorbidities and frailty, which may impact their ability to tolerate irAEs and benefit from anti-PD-1 therapy. This study aimed to explore associations between clinical parameters and the occurrence of grade ≥ 3 irAEs and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in older patients with radically resected stage III/IV cutaneous melanoma treated with adjuvant anti-PD-1 therapy.

Midostaurin added to 10-day decitabine, for patients unfit for intensive chemotherapy with AML and higher risk MDS, irrespective of FLT3 mutational status, does not improve outcome.

The treatment of older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) considered unfit for receiving intensive chemotherapy is challenging. Based on the hypothesis that addition of the broad tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) midostaurin could improve the response to hypomethylating agents, irrespective of FLT3 gene mutational status, we conducted a randomized phase II multicenter study to assess the tolerability and efficacy of the addition of midostaurin to a 10-day schedule of decitabine in unfit (i.e.

Characteristics and outcomes of emergency department patients across health care systems: an international multicenter cohort study.

Background: A wide variation of emergency medical system configurations across countries has limited the value of comparison of quality and performance measures in the past. Furthermore, lack of quantitative data on EDs prevents definition of the problems and possibilities for data driven improvement of quality of care. Therefore, the objective is to describe and compare Emergency Department (ED) populations and characteristics, and their outcomes in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia, using a recently developed template for uniform reporting of standardized measuring and describing of care provided in the ED (structure, staffing and governance, population, process times and outcomes).

Early evaluation of a screen-and-treat strategy using high-risk HPV testing for Uganda: Implications for screening coverage and treatment.

Background: Uganda has a high burden of cervical cancer and its current coverage of screening based on visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) is low. High-risk HPV (hrHPV) testing is recommended by the World Health Organization as part of the global elimination strategy for cervical cancer. In this context, country-specific health economic evaluations can inform national-level decisions regarding implementation.

Health care utilization up to 11 years after diagnosis among patients with a hematologic malignancy and its association with socioeconomic position.

Purpose: To investigate health care utilization among patients with hematologic malignancies and its association with socioeconomic position (SEP) and compare health care utilization with a cancer-free population.

Methods: Patients with aggressive lymphoma, indolent lymphoma, or multiple myeloma (MM), diagnosed between 1999-2010 and 2015-2019, participated in longitudinal patient-reported outcome research, up to 11 years post-diagnosis. Questionnaires assessed health care utilization at the general practitioner (GP), medical specialist, and additional health care.

Impact of comorbidity on health-related quality of life in newly diagnosed patients with lymphoma or multiple myeloma: results from the PROFILES-registry.

With the increasing prevalence of comorbidity in an ageing population, it is crucial to better understand the impact of comorbidity on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after lymphoma or multiple myeloma (MM) diagnosis. We included 261 newly diagnosed patients (67% response rate) diagnosed with lymphoma or MM between October 2020 and March 2023 in a longitudinal survey. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) questionnaires were used to measure generic and disease-specific HRQoL.

Severe Fatigue in Uncontrolled Asthma: Contributing Factors and Impact of Rehabilitation.

Background: Fatigue is a major concern for patients with severe asthma.

Objective: This observational study aims to assess fatigue severity and associated factors, to explore the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on fatigue, and to investigate which factors predict persistent severe fatigue.

Methods: Patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma referred for alpine altitude climate treatment (AACT) between 2007 and 2018 were systematically assessed before and after rehabilitation regarding clinical, inflammatory, functional, and psychological characteristics.

Doing the Right Thing? General Practitioners' Considerations in Achieving a Timely Dementia Diagnosis.

Objectives: Timely detection and diagnosis of dementia are beneficial for providing appropriate, anticipatory care and preventing acute situations. However, initiating diagnostic testing is a complex and dynamic process that requires general practitioners (GPs) to balance competing priorities. Previously identified barriers, such as a lack of time, knowledge, and resources, may not fully represent the challenges involved in this process.

Effect of tailoring biliopancreatic limb length based on total small bowel length versus standard limb length in one anastomosis gastric bypass: 1-year outcomes of the TAILOR randomized clinical superiority trial.

Background: Tailoring the biliopancreatic limb length in one anastomosis gastric bypass is proposed as beneficial in retrospective studies, yet randomized trials are lacking. The aim of this double-blind, single-centre RCT was to ascertain whether tailoring biliopancreatic limb length based on total small bowel length (TSBL) results in superior outcomes after one anastomosis gastric bypass compared with a fixed 150 cm biliopancreatic limb length.

Methods: Eligible patients, meeting International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) criteria for metabolic bariatric surgery, scheduled for primary one anastomosis gastric bypass surgery, and willing to be randomized, underwent TSBL measurement during surgery.

Long-Term Survival in Patients With Advanced Melanoma.

Importance: Long-term survival data from clinical trials show that survival curves of patients with advanced melanoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) gradually reach a plateau, suggesting that patients have a chance of achieving long-term survival.

Objective: To investigate long-term survival in patients with advanced melanoma treated with ICIs outside clinical trials.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cohort study using prospectively collected data from the nationwide Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry, including patients in the Netherlands with advanced melanoma treated with first-line ICIs from 2012 to 2019.

Understanding cervical cancer awareness in hard-to-reach areas of Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study involving women and household decisionmakers.

Introduction: In Bangladesh, the uptake of cervical cancer screening is low. Lack of knowledge and understanding of symptoms and risk factors contributes to low screening uptake. The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors and symptoms and to measure the association with socio-demographic characteristics among women and household decisionmakers living in hard-to-reach areas of Bangladesh.

Incidence and prevalence of primary biliary cholangitis in the Netherlands - A nationwide cohort study.

Background & Aims: Although primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is considered a rare disorder, accurate determination of its incidence and prevalence remains challenging due to limited comprehensive population-based registries. We aimed to assess the incidence and prevalence of PBC in the Netherlands over time through the nationwide Dutch PBC Cohort Study (DPCS).

Methods: DPCS retrospectively included every identifiable patient with PBC in the Netherlands from 1990 onwards in all 71 Dutch hospitals.

Using non-randomized trials to assess the clinical benefit of systemic anti-cancer treatments: Viable or not?

Background: The Dutch Committee for the Evaluation of Oncological Agents (cieBOM) assesses the clinical benefit of systemic anti-cancer treatments (SACTs). For SACTs tested in non-randomized trials (NRTs), cieBOM primarily utilizes response-related thresholds as assessment criteria. As sufficiency of NRT-based evidence for benefit assessments is questionable, this study investigated whether and how NRTs can be used to assess the clinical benefit of new SACTs initially appraised by cieBOM based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Improvement of bone mineral density and new vertebral fractures during 8 years of TNF-α inhibition in patients with axial spondyloarthritis.

Objective: In our prospective cohort with standardized bi-annual measurements of bone mineral density (BMD) and spinal radiographs, we evaluated the long-term course of BMD and the development of radiographic vertebral fractures (VFs) during 8 years of TNFi treatment in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA).

Methods: Consecutive axSpA patients from the GLAS cohort receiving TNFi for ≥8 years were included. Patients who received anti-osteoporotic treatment were excluded.

Effect of reduced follow-up care on patient satisfaction with care among patients with endometrial cancer: The ENSURE randomized controlled trial.

Background: Evidence on the optimal follow-up schedule after endometrial cancer is lacking. The study aim was to compare satisfaction with care between women who received reduced follow-up care and women who received usual guideline-directed follow-up care for three years after surgery.

Methods: The ENSURE (ENdometrial cancer SURvivors' follow-up carE) trial was a non-inferiority randomized controlled multicenter trial in 42 hospitals in the Netherlands.

Nutritional support in pancreatic cancer patients and its effect on nutritional status: an observational regional HPB network study investigating current practice.

Purpose: Preoperative malnutrition is associated with poor postoperative outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer. This study evaluated the effectiveness of current practice in nutritional support for patients with pancreatic cancer.

Methods: Observational multicenter HPB network study conducted at the Isala Clinics Zwolle, Medical Spectrum Twente, Medical Center Leeuwarden, and University Medical Center Groningen between October 2021 and May 2023.

Long-Term Functional Outcome After Early vs. Late Stoma Closure in Rectal Cancer Surgery: Sub-analysis of the Multicenter FORCE Trial.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of early stoma closure on bowel function after low anterior resection (LAR) for rectal cancer.

Methods: Patients participating in the FORCE trial who underwent LAR with protective stoma were included in this study. Patients were subdivided into an early closure group (< 3 months) and late closure group (> 3 months).

Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation After Rectal Cancer Surgery One-year follow-up of a Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial (FORCE trial).

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of pelvic floor rehabilitation (PFR) after low anterior resection (LAR) at one-year follow-up.

Summary Background Data: After LAR, with restoration of bowel continuity, up to 90% of patients develop anorectal dysfunction, significantly impacting their quality of life. However, standardized treatment is currently unavailable.

Time trends in case-mix and risk of revision following hip and knee arthroplasty in public and private hospitals: a cross-sectional analysis based on 476,312 procedures from the Dutch Arthroplasty Register.

Background And Purpose: This study aims to assess time trends in case-mix and to evaluate the risk of revision and causes following primary THA, TKA, and UKA in private and public hospitals in the Netherlands.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 476,312 primary arthroplasties (public: n = 413,560 and private n = 62,752) implanted between 2014 and 2023 using Dutch Arthroplasty Register data. We explored patient demographics, procedure details, trends over time, and revisions per hospital type.