Time trends in psychotropic drug prescriptions in Dutch nursing home residents with dementia between 2003 and 2018

Objective: Several European studies investigated the trends in psychotropic drug prescriptions (PDPs) among nursing home (NH) residents and reported a decline in antipsychotics prescriptions. Since the Dutch long-term care system differs from other European systems (e.g. higher threshold for NH admission and trained elderly care physicians), this study explores the trends in PDPs in Dutch NH residents with dementia. Methods: The study used data from nine studies, comprising two cross-sectional studies, one cohort study, and six cluster-randomized controlled trials, collected in Dutch NHs between 2003 and 2018. With multilevel logistic regression analysis, NHs as a random effect, we estimated the trends in PDPs overall and for five specific psychotropic drug groups (antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anti-dementia drugs), adjusting for confounders: age, gender, severity of dementia, severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms, and length of stay in NHs. Results: The absolute prescription rate of antipsychotics was 37.5% in 2003 and decreased (OR = 0.947, 95% CI [0.926, 0.970]) every year. The absolute prescription rate of anti-dementia drugs was 0.8% in 2003 and increased (OR = 1.162, 95% CI [1.105, 1.223]) per year. The absolute rate of overall PDPs declined from 62.7% in 2003 to 40.4% in 2018. Conclusions: Among Dutch NH residents with dementia, the odds of antipsychotics prescriptions decreased by 5.3% per year while the odds of anti-dementia drug prescriptions increased by 16.2%. There were no distinct trends in antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hypnotics prescriptions. However, overall PDPs were still high. The PDPs in NH residents remain an issue of concern

Association between timing and duration of breech presentation during pregnancy and developmental dysplasia of the hip: A case-control study

This case-control study investigated the association between timing and duration of breech presentation in pregnancy and developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Children with DDH aged 3 years or younger ( n = 191) were compared with healthy controls ( n = 209). Data on outcome, exposure and, covariates were collected using a parents’ self-report online questionnaire. Term children with breech presentation at one or more check-ups after 30.0 weeks gestation had a twofold higher risk of developing DDH compared to children who had never presented in breech (OR 2.01; 95% CI [1.28, 3.15]). The strength of the association increased with duration of breech presentation (5–8 weeks: OR 2.65; 95% CI [1.36, 5.18]; 9–12 weeks: OR 3.63; 95% CI [1.82, 7.24]). Children who had presented in breech at least once in gestational period 37.0-birth had a 3.24 (95% CI [1.86, 5.65]) times higher risk of DDH, whereas the risk for children with breech presentation in gestational period 30.0–36.6 only was not increased. Also after adjusting for confounders, children who had presented in breech after gestational week 37.0-birth had a more than threefold higher risk of DDH (OR 3.33; 95% CI [1.81, 6.13]) compared to children who were never in breech or in gestational period 30.0–36.6 only

Continuous vital sign monitoring using a wearable patch sensor in obese patients: a validation study in a clinical setting

Our aim was to determine the agreement of heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) measurements by the Philips Biosensor with a reference monitor (General Electric Carescape B650) in severely obese patients during and after bariatric surgery. Additionally, sensor reliability was assessed. Ninety-four severely obese patients were monitored with both the Biosensor and reference monitor during and after bariatric surgery. Agreement was defined as the mean absolute difference between both monitoring devices. Bland Altman plots and Clarke Error Grid analysis (CEG) were used to visualise differences. Sensor reliability was reflected by the amount, duration and causes of data loss. The mean absolute difference for HR was 1.26 beats per minute (bpm) (SD 0.84) during surgery and 1.84 bpm (SD 1.22) during recovery, and never exceeded the 8 bpm limit of agreement. The mean absolute difference for RR was 1.78 breaths per minute (brpm) (SD 1.90) during surgery and 4.24 brpm (SD 2.75) during recovery. The Biosensor’s RR measurements exceeded the 2 brpm limit of agreement in 58% of the compared measurements. Averaging 15 min of measurements for both devices improved agreement. CEG showed that 99% of averaged RR measurements resulted in adequate treatment. Data loss was limited to 4.5% of the total duration of measurements for RR. No clear causes for data loss were found. The Biosensor is suitable for remote monitoring of HR, but not RR in morbidly obese patients. Future research should focus on improving RR measurements, the interpretation of continuous data, and development of smart alarm systems

Diagnostic accuracy of MRI, CT, and [18F]FDG-PET-CT in detecting lymph node metastases in clinically early-stage cervical cancer — a nationwide Dutch cohort study

Abstract Objectives Imaging is increasingly used to assess lymph node involvement in clinically early-stage cervical cancer. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of MRI, CT, and [18F]FDG-PET-CT. Methods Women with International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2009 stage IA2-IIA cervical cancer and pretreatment imaging between 2009 and 2017 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Patient-based and region-based (i.e. pelvic and common iliac) nodal status was extracted from radiology reports. Pathology results were considered the reference standard for calculating accuracy indices. Multiple imputation was used for missing pathology to limit verification bias risk. Results Nodal assessment was performed in 1676 patients with MRI, 926 with CT, and 379 with [18F]FDG-PET-CT, with suspicious nodes detected in 17%, 16%, and 48%, respectively. [18F]FDG-PET-CT was used to confirm MRI/CT results in 95% of patients. Pathology results were imputed for 30% of patients. [18F]FDG-PET-CT outperformed MRI and CT in detecting patient-based nodal metastases with sensitivities of 80%, 48%, and 40%, and AUCs of 0.814, 0.706, and 0.667, respectively, but not in specificity: 79%, 92%, and 92%. Region-based analyses showed similar indices in the pelvic region, but worse performance in the common iliac region with AUCs of 0.575, 0.554, and 0.517, respectively. Conclusions [18F]FDG-PET-CT outperformed MRI and CT in detecting nodal metastases, which may be related to its use as a verification modality. However, MRI and CT had the highest specificity. As MRI is generally performed routinely to assess local and regional spread of cervical cancer, [18F]FDG-PET-CT can be used to confirm suspicious nodes. Critical relevance statement Accurate assessment of the nodal status in clinically early-stage cervical cancer is essential for tumour staging, treatment decision making and prognosis. Key points • The accuracy of MRI, CT or [18F]FDG-PET-CT for nodal staging in early cervical cancer is a subject of discussion. • Overall, [18F]FDG-PET-CT outperformed MRI, followed by CT, when used as a verification modality. • Staging with MRI and the addition of [18F]FDG-PET-CT to verify high-risk cases seems to be a good approach. Graphical Abstrac