Evidence for a Cystic Fibrosis Enteropathy.

Background: Previous studies have suggested the existence of enteropathy in cystic fibrosis (CF), which may contribute to intestinal function impairment, a poor nutritional status and decline in lung function. This study evaluated enterocyte damage and intestinal inflammation in CF and studied its associations with nutritional status, CF-related morbidities such as impaired lung function and diabetes, and medication use.

Methods: Sixty-eight CF patients and 107 controls were studied.

Reducing tobacco smoking and smoke exposure to prevent preterm birth and its complications.

Tobacco smoking and smoke exposure during pregnancy are associated with a range of adverse health outcomes, including preterm birth. Also, children born preterm have a higher risk of complications including bronchopulmonary dysplasia and asthma when their mothers smoked during pregnancy. Smoking cessation in early pregnancy can help reduce the adverse impact on offspring health.

Exposure to and experiences with a computerized decision support intervention in primary care: results from a process evaluation.

Background: Trials evaluating the effects of interventions usually provide little insight into the factors responsible for (lack of) changes in desired outcomes. A process evaluation alongside a trial can shed light on the mechanisms responsible for the outcomes of a trial. The aim of this study was to investigate exposure to and experiences with a computerized decision support system (CDSS) intervention, in order to gain insight into the intervention's impact and to provide suggestions for improvement.

Response profiles of oxygen uptake efficiency during exercise in healthy children.

Background: Oxygen uptake efficiency (OUE), the relation between oxygen uptake (VO2) and minute ventilation (VE), differs between healthy children and children with heart disease. This study aimed to investigate the normal response profiles of OUE during a progressive cardiopulmonary exercise test.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Smoke-free legislation and the incidence of paediatric respiratory infections and wheezing/asthma: interrupted time series analyses in the four UK nations.

We investigated the association between introduction of smoke-free legislation in the UK (March 2006 for Scotland, April 2007 for Wales and Northern Ireland, and July 2007 for England) and the incidence of respiratory diseases among children. We extracted monthly counts of new diagnoses of wheezing/asthma and RTIs among children aged 0-12 years from all general practices in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink during 1997-2012. Interrupted time series analyses were performed using generalised additive mixed models, adjusting for underlying incidence trends, population size changes, seasonal factors, and pandemic influenza, as appropriate.

Implementation of multiple-domain covering computerized decision support systems in primary care: a focus group study on perceived barriers.

Background: Despite the widespread availability of computerized decision support systems (CDSSs) in various healthcare settings, evidence on their uptake and effectiveness is still limited. Most barrier studies focus on CDSSs that are aimed at a limited number of decision points within selected small-scale academic settings. The aim of this study was to identify the perceived barriers to using large-scale implemented CDSSs covering multiple disease areas in primary care.

Neighborhood Environment is Associated with Overweight and Obesity, Particularly in Older Residents: Results from Cross-Sectional Study in Dutch Municipality.

We explored whether overweight and obesity were associated with the physical and social environment at neighborhood level. Data from Maastricht municipality survey (The Netherlands) were used (n = 9771 adults). Multinomial regression models were computed (outcome being normal weight, overweight, or obese).

Rationale, design and baseline characteristics of a randomized controlled trial of a web-based computer-tailored physical activity intervention for adults from Quebec City.

Background: The relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) protection is well documented. Numerous factors (e.g.

Instruments for the evaluation of motor abilities for children with severe multiple disabilities: A systematic review of the literature.

Based on a systematic review, psychometric characteristics of currently available instruments on motor abilities of children with disabilities were evaluated, with the aim to identify candidates for use in children with severe multiple (intellectual and motor) disabilities. In addition, motor abilities are essential for independent functioning, but are severely compromised in these children. The methodological quality of all studies was evaluated with the Consensus Based Standards for the Selection of Health Status Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) Checklist; overall levels of evidence per instrument were based on the Cochrane Back Review Group strategy.

Tobacco control policies and perinatal and child health: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

Introduction: Children experience considerable morbidity and mortality due to tobacco smoke exposure. Tobacco control policies may benefit child health by reducing this exposure. We aim to comprehensively assess the effects of the range of tobacco control policies advocated by the WHO on perinatal and child health.

Erythrocytapheresis versus phlebotomy in the maintenance treatment of HFE hemochromatosis patients: results from a randomized crossover trial.

Background: Phlebotomy is standard maintenance treatment of patients with hereditary hemochromatosis (HH). Erythrocytapheresis, which selectively removes red blood cells, provides a new, potentially more effective treatment option. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of erythrocytapheresis over phlebotomy for maintenance therapy in patients with HH.

A Web-Based Respondent Driven Sampling Pilot Targeting Young People at Risk for Chlamydia Trachomatis in Social and Sexual Networks with Testing: A Use Evaluation.

Background: With the aim of targeting high-risk hidden heterosexual young people for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) testing, an innovative web-based screening strategy using Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) and home-based CT testing, was developed, piloted and evaluated.

Methods: Two STI clinic nurses encouraged 37 CT positive heterosexual young people (aged 16-25 years), called index clients, to recruit peers from their social and sexual networks using the web-based screening strategy. Eligible peers (young, living in the study area) could request a home-based CT test and recruit other peers.

Conditions for sustainability of Academic Collaborative Centres for Public Health in the Netherlands: a mixed methods design.

Background: Contemporary research should increasingly be carried out in the context of application. Nowotny called this new form of knowledge production Mode-2. In line with Mode-2 knowledge production, the Dutch government in 2006 initiated the so-called Academic Collaborative Centres (ACC) for Public Health.

Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), extended-spectrum (ESBL)- and plasmid-mediated AmpC ß-lactamase -producing Gram-negative bacteria associated with skin and soft tissue infections in hospital and community settings.

Aim: To investigate the characteristics of meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), extended-spectrum (ESBL), and plasmid-mediated AmpC beta-lactamase producing Gram-negative bacteria causing skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in hospital and outpatient settings of Zenica-Doboj Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Methods: Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by disc-diffusion and broth microdillution methods according to CLSI guidelines.

Self-reported adherence to anticoagulation and its determinants using the Morisky medication adherence scale.

Background: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are used for treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF). Given the shorter half-life and lack of laboratory monitoring compared to vitamin-K antagonists (VKAs), adequate adherence to DOACs is important. Reported anticoagulation adherence is unclear in clinical practice.

Antibiotic Exposure and Other Risk Factors for Antimicrobial Resistance in Nasal Commensal Staphylococcus aureus: An Ecological Study in 8 European Countries.

Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a global public health concern which threatens the effective treatment of bacterial infections. Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA) increasingly appears in individuals with no healthcare associated risks. Our study assessed risk factors for nasal carriage of resistant S.

Distribution of Risk Factors in Male and Female Primary Health Care Patients with Osteoarthritis in Albania.

Aim: We aimed to describe the distribution of the main risk factors among primary health care users diagnosed with osteoarthritis in Albania, a post-communist country in South Eastern Europe.

Methods: Our study involved all individuals who were diagnosed with osteoarthritis over a two-year period (January 2013 - December 2014) in several primary health care centers in Tirana, the Albanian capital. On the whole, during this two-year period, 1179 adult individuals were diagnosed with osteoarthritis (521 men aged 60.

Clinical Interpretation of Elevated Concentrations of Cardiac Troponin T, but Not Troponin I, in Nursing Home Residents.

Objective: Cardiac troponins T (cTnT) and I (cTnI) are the preferred biomarkers to detect myocardial damage. The present study explores the value of measuring cardiac troponins (cTn) in nursing home residents, by investigating its relation to heart failure and 1-year mortality using 1 cTnT and 2 cTnI assays that are widely used in clinical practice.

Design: All participants underwent extensive clinical examinations and echocardiographic assessment for the diagnosis of heart failure.

Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics Among Primary Health Care Users Diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in Albania.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the distribution of demographic factors and socioeconomic characteristics among primary health care users diagnosed with osteoarthritis in Albania, a transitional country in the Western Balkans.

Methods: This study included all individuals diagnosed with osteoarthritis during January 2013 - December 2014 in selected primary health care centers in Tirana, the capital city of Albania. Overall, 1179 adult individuals were diagnosed with osteoarthritis (521 men and 658 women) during this time period.

Viscoelastic point-of-care testing to assist with the diagnosis, management and monitoring of haemostasis: a systematic review and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background: Patients with substantive bleeding usually require transfusion and/or (re-)operation. Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is independently associated with a greater risk of infection, morbidity, increased hospital stay and mortality. ROTEM (ROTEM® Delta, TEM International GmbH, Munich, Germany; www.

Analysis of advanced glycation endproducts in selected food items by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry: Presentation of a dietary AGE database.

The aim of this study was to validate an ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the determination of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) in food items and to analyze AGEs in a selection of food items commonly consumed in a Western diet. N(ε)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML), N(ε)-(1-carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL) and N(δ)-(5-hydro-5-methyl-4-imidazolon-2-yl)-ornithine (MG-H1) were quantified in the protein fractions of 190 food items using UPLC-MS/MS. Intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision were 2-29%.

Reliability of the modified Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88) for children with both Spastic Cerebral Palsy and Cerebral Visual Impairment: A preliminary study.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to adapt the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88) for children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) and to determine the test-retest and interobserver reliability of the adapted version.

Method: Sixteen paediatric physical therapists familiar with CVI participated in the adaptation process. The Delphi method was used to gain consensus among a panel of experts.