The Role of Hyperglycemia, Insulin Resistance, and Blood Pressure in Diabetes-Associated Differences in Cognitive Performance-The Maastricht Study.

Objective: To study to what extent differences in cognitive performance between individuals with different glucose metabolism status are potentially attributable to hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and blood pressure-related variables.

Research Design And Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 2,531 participants from the Maastricht Study (mean age ± SD, 60 ± 8 years; 52% men; = 666 with type 2 diabetes), all of whom completed a neuropsychological test battery. Hyperglycemia was assessed by a composite index of fasting glucose, postload glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA), and tissue advanced glycation end products; insulin resistance by the HOMA of insulin resistance index; and blood pressure-related variables included 24-h ambulatory pressures, their weighted SDs, and the use of antihypertensive medication.

Travel-related acquisition of diarrhoeagenic bacteria, enteral viruses and parasites in a prospective cohort of 98 Dutch travellers.

Background: Limited prospective data are available on the acquisition of viral, bacterial and parasitic diarrhoeagenic agents by healthy individuals during travel.

Methods: To determine the frequency of travel associated acquisition of 19 pathogens in 98 intercontinental travellers, qPCR was used to detect 8 viral pathogens, 6 bacterial enteric pathogens and 5 parasite species in faecal samples collected immediately before and after travel.

Results: We found high pre-travel carriage rates of Blastocystis spp.

Noninvasive Tests Do Not Accurately Differentiate Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis From Simple Steatosis: AÂ Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background & Aims: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a rapidly increasing health problem. Liver biopsy analysis is the most sensitive test to differentiate between nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and simple steatosis (SS), but noninvasive methods are needed. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of noninvasive tests for differentiating NASH from SS, focusing on blood markers.

Development and application of an economic model (EQUIPTMOD) to assess the impact of smoking cessation.

Background And Aims: Although clear benefits are associated with reducing smoking, there is increasing pressure on public health providers to justify investment in tobacco control measures. Decision-makers need tools to assess the Return on Investment (ROI)/cost-effectiveness of programmes. The EQUIPT project adapted an ROI tool for England to four European countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Hungary).

Breakfast Skipping Is an Independent Predictor of Obesity but not Overweight Among Children in a Southeastern European Population.

Aim: To assess the association of breakfast skipping with overweight and obesity among children in Albania, a post-communist country in the Western Balkans, which is undergoing a long and difficult political and socioeconomic transition towards a market-oriented economy.

Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study was carried out in Albania in 2013 including a representative sample of 5810 children aged 7.0 - 9.

Improved Walking Capacity and Muscle Strength After Functional Power-Training in Young Children With Cerebral Palsy.

Background: Strength training programs for children with cerebral palsy (CP) showed inconclusive evidence for improving walking, despite improvements in strength. Recent studies have suggested that strength training with high movement velocity is more effective for improving walking than traditional resistance training.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of functional high-velocity resistance training (power-training) to improve muscle strength and walking capacity of children with CP.

Developing a patient decision aid for the treatment of women with early stage breast cancer: the struggle between simplicity and complexity.

Background: A patient decision aid (PtDA) can support shared decision making (SDM) in preference-sensitive care, with more than one clinically applicable treatment option. The development of a PtDA is a complex process, involving several steps, such as designing, developing and testing the draft with all the stakeholders, known as alpha testing. This is followed by testing in 'real life' situations, known as beta testing, and then finalising the definite version.

A multi-perspective evaluation of a service robot for seniors: the voice of different stakeholders.

Purpose: The potential of service robots for seniors is given increasing attention as the ageing population in Western countries will continue to grow as well as the demand for home care. In order to capture the experience of living with a robot at home, a multi-perspective evaluation was conducted.

Methods: Older adults (n = 10) were invited to execute an actual interaction scenario with the Care-O-bot robot in a home-like environment and were questioned about their experiences.

Flucloxacillin Results in Suboptimal Plasma Voriconazole Concentrations.

Combining voriconazole and flucloxacillin is indicated in patient cohorts experiencing both invasive aspergillosis and Gram-positive infections (e.g., patients with chronic granulomatous disease or postinfluenza pulmonary aspergillosis).

Feasibility and acceptability of a telephone- and face-to-face-delivered counseling intervention for smoking cessation in Dutch patients with coronary heart disease.

Intensive behavioral counseling interventions combined with nicotine replacement therapy have increased smoking abstinence rates in cardiac patients, but little is known about their feasibility when initiated upon hospital admission and continued post-discharge. The current study was an evaluation of the use, appreciation, and fidelity of two post-discharge counseling interventions designed for cardiac patients to quit smoking that differed in their delivery mode. In a controlled trial with cross-over randomization at the cardiac unit level, hospitalized smokers in eight cardiac units of eight Dutch hospitals were assigned either telephone counseling (n = 223) or nurse-administered face-to-face counseling (n = 157) using the Ask-Advise-Refer strategy.

Ramucirumab for Treating Advanced Gastric Cancer or Gastro-Oesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma Previously Treated with Chemotherapy: An Evidence Review Group Perspective of a NICE Single Technology Appraisal.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) invited the company that manufactures ramucirumab (Cyramza, Eli Lilly and Company) to submit evidence of the clinical and cost effectiveness of the drug administered alone (monotherapy) or with paclitaxel (combination therapy) for treating adults with advanced gastric cancer or gastro-oesophageal junction (GC/GOJ) adenocarcinoma that were previously treated with chemotherapy, as part of the Institute's single technology appraisal (STA) process. Kleijnen Systematic Reviews Ltd (KSR), in collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam, was commissioned to act as the Evidence Review Group (ERG). This paper describes the company's submission, the ERG review, and NICE's subsequent decisions.

Effectiveness of Functional Power Training on Walking Ability in Young Children With Cerebral Palsy: Study Protocol of a Double-Baseline Trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of functional high-velocity resistance (power) training to improve walking ability of young children with cerebral palsy.

Methods: Twenty-two children with bi- or unilateral spastic cerebral palsy, Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I and II, aged 4 to 10 years will be recruited. A double-baseline design will be used to compare a 14-week functional power training (3 times a week) program with a 14-week usual care period and a 14-week follow-up period.

Cross-cultural Translation and Adaptation of the Lifestyle Assessment Questionnaire (LAQ-CP) Into Dutch: A Brief Report.

Purpose: To produce a Dutch translation of the Lifestyle Assessment Questionnaire for children with cerebral palsy (LAQ-CP), adapted for cross-cultural differences.

Methods: The translation process consisted of 6 stages, following a guideline for cross-cultural adaptations including duplicate forward- and back-translations, expert group review, pilot-testing, and a process audit.

Results: Several adaptations to the questionnaire were required due to cross-cultural differences.

Personal meaning in relation to daily functioning of a patient in physical therapy practice: narratives of a patient, a family member, and physical therapist.

Purpose: To get insight into personal meaning of a person involved in a physical therapy intervention.

Methods: Mrs. A, a 76-year-old woman is referred to a physical therapist (PT) for assessment of functioning and training before total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Valuing Treatment With Infliximab for Ankylosing Spondylitis Using a Willingness-to-Pay Approach.

Objective: To investigate willingness to pay (WTP) for treatment with infliximab by patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and explore factors associated with WTP.

Methods: Data from 85 patients participating in the European AS Infliximab Cohort (EASIC) open-label extension of the AS Study for the Evaluation of Recombinant Infliximab Therapy (ASSERT) were used. WTP was included at baseline in EASIC and comprised a hypothetical scenario exploring whether the patient would be willing to pay for beneficial effects of infliximab and, if so, what amount they would be willing to pay per administration.

Shared decision making, a buzz-word in the Netherlands, the pace quickens towards nationwide implementation….

Currently, shared decision making (SDM) is on the agenda among target patient representative groups, policy makers and professional bodies. Although the International Conference for Shared Decision Making (ISDM) 2011 generated a positive boost, hesitation was also felt among Dutch clinicians, who are challenged by many new tasks. No hesitation is seen among the majority of patients, opting mostly for the SDM model.

Prevalence and correlates of inappropriate use of benzodiazepines in Kosovo.

Background: In post-war Kosovo, the magnitude of inappropriate use of benzodiazepines is unknown to date.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of continuation of intake of benzodiazepines beyond prescription (referred to as "inappropriate use") in the adult population of Gjilan region in Kosovo.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Gjilan region in 2015 including a representative sample of 780 individuals attending different pharmacies and reporting use of benzodiazepines (385 men and 395 women; age range 18-87 years; response rate: 90%).

Predictive value of serum sST2 in preschool wheezers for development of asthma with high FeNO.

Wheezing is common in childhood. However, current prediction models of pediatric asthma have only modest accuracy. Novel biomarkers and definition of subphenotypes may improve asthma prediction.

Effect of audit and feedback with peer review on general practitioners' prescribing and test ordering performance: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Background: Much research worldwide is focussed on cost containment and better adherence to guidelines in healthcare. The research focussing on professional behaviour is often performed in a well-controlled research setting. In this study a large-scale implementation of a peer review strategy was tested on both test ordering and prescribing behaviour in primary care in the normal quality improvement setting.

Communicating the Risk of MRSA: The Role of Clinical Practice, Regulation and Other Policies in Five European Countries.

Background: The threat posed by Meticillin-resistant (MRSA) has taken on an increasingly pan-European dimension. This article aims to provide an overview of the different approaches to the control of MRSA adopted in five European countries (Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and the UK) and discusses data and reporting mechanisms, regulations, guidelines, and health policy approaches with a focus on risk communication. Our hypothesis is that current infection control practices in different European countries are implicit messages that contribute to the health-related risk communication and subsequently to the public perception of risk posed by MRSA.

Patients' Preferences for Outcome, Process and Cost Attributes in Cancer Treatment: A Systematic Review of Discrete Choice Experiments.

Introduction: As several studies have been conducted to elicit patients' preferences for cancer treatment, it is important to provide an overview and synthesis of these studies. This study aimed to systematically review discrete choice experiments (DCEs) about patients' preferences for cancer treatment and assessed the relative importance of outcome, process and cost attributes.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed and EMBASE to identify all DCEs investigating patients' preferences for cancer treatment between January 2010 and April 2016.

Can incontinence be cured? A systematic review of cure rates.

Background: Incontinence constitutes a major health problem affecting millions of people worldwide. The present study aims to assess cure rates from treating urinary (UI) or fecal incontinence (FI) and the number of people who may remain dependent on containment strategies.

Methods: Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL, and PEDro were searched from January 2005 to June 2015.

Self-monitoring of health data by patients with a chronic disease: does disease controllability matter?

Background: There is a growing emphasis on self-monitoring applications that allow patients to measure their own physical health parameters. A prerequisite for achieving positive effects is patients' willingness to self-monitor. The controllability of disease types, patients' perceived self-efficacy and health problems could play an essential role in this.