Introduction Older adults with an acute moderate-to-severe lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) or pneumonia are generally treated in hospitals causing risk of iatrogenic harm such as... Show moreIntroduction Older adults with an acute moderate-to-severe lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) or pneumonia are generally treated in hospitals causing risk of iatrogenic harm such as functional decline and delirium. These hospitalisations are often a consequence of poor collaboration between regional care partners, the lack of (acute) diagnostic and treatment possibilities in primary care, and the presence of financial barriers. We will evaluate the implementation of an integrated regional care pathway (‘The Hague RTI Care Bridge’) developed with the aim to treat and coordinate care for these patients outside the hospital.Methods and analysis This is a prospective mixed methods study. Participants will be older adults (age≥65 years) with an acute moderate-to-severe LRTI or pneumonia treated outside the hospital (care pathway group) versus those treated in the hospital (control group). In addition, patients, their informal caregivers and treating physicians will be asked about their experiences with the care pathway. The primary outcome of this study will be the feasibility of the care pathway, which is defined as the percentage of patients treated outside the hospital, according to the care pathway, whom fully complete their treatment without the need for hospitalisation within 30 days of follow-up. Secondary outcomes include the safety of the care pathway (30-day mortality and occurrence of complications (readmissions, delirium, falls) within 30 days); the satisfaction, usability and acceptance of the care pathway; the total number of days of bedridden status or hospitalisation; sleep quantity and quality; functional outcomes and quality of life.Ethics and dissemination The Medical Research Ethics Committee Leiden The Hague Delft (reference number N22.078) has confirmed that the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act does not apply to this study. The results will be published in international peer-reviewed journals. Show less
Balancing immunosuppression to prevent rejection in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients remains challenging. Torque teno virus (TTV), a commensal non-pathogenic virus, has been proposed as... Show moreBalancing immunosuppression to prevent rejection in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients remains challenging. Torque teno virus (TTV), a commensal non-pathogenic virus, has been proposed as marker of functional immunity: higher loads correspond to over-immunosuppression, and lower loads to under-immunosuppression. This review offers an overview of the current evidence of the association between TTV-load and infection and rejection after SOT. A systematic literature search strategy, deposited in the PROSPERO registry, resulted in 548 records. After screening, 23 original and peer-reviewed articles were assessed investigating the association between TTV-load, infection and/or rejection in SOT. The Quality in Prognostic Studies (QUIPS)-tool was used to assess the risk of bias. Meta-analysis with random-effects was performed on results with similar outcomes and exposure measures. Most of the included studies involved retrospective cohorts in which the TTV-load was measured longitudinally, within the first 2 years post-transplantation. Infection outcomes differed between studies and included viral, bacterial, parasitic and fungal infections. Rejection was defined by biopsy confirmation or initiation of rejection treatment. Twelve out of 16 studies reported an association between high TTV-load and infections, whereas 13 out of 15 reported an association between low TTV-load and rejection. Meta-analysis showed an increased risk of infection (OR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03-1.32; HR: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.97-1.14) and a decreased risk of rejection (OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.87-0.94; HR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.71-0.76) per 1 log TTV-load increase. The qualitative assessment showed varying risks of bias in the included studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis indicates that blood TTV-load measured within the first 2 years after SOT is associated with the risk of infection or allograft rejection, although substantial risk of bias in the studies included warrant cautious interpretation. The results in this review provide a rationale for larger, prospective, studies into TTV as marker of infection and rejection after SOT. Show less
Background Changes in phosphodiesterase 10A enzyme levels may be a suitable biomarker of disease progression in Huntington's disease. Objectives To evaluate phosphodiesterase 10A PET imaging as a... Show moreBackground Changes in phosphodiesterase 10A enzyme levels may be a suitable biomarker of disease progression in Huntington's disease. Objectives To evaluate phosphodiesterase 10A PET imaging as a biomarker of HD progression using the radioligand, [F-18]MNI-659. Methods The cross-sectional study (NCT02061722) included 45 Huntington's disease gene-expansion carriers stratified into four disease stages (early and late premanifest and Huntington's disease stages 1 and 2) and 45 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The primary analysis compared striatal and pallidal phosphodiesterase 10A availability between Huntington's disease gene-expansion carriers and healthy controls as assessed by [F-18]MNI-659 binding. We assessed changes in phosphodiesterase 10A expression using several PET methodologies and compared with previously proposed measures of Huntington's disease progression (PET imaging of D-2/3 receptors and anatomical volume loss on MRI). The longitudinal follow-up study (NCT02956148) continued evaluation of phosphodiesterase 10A availability in 35 Huntington's disease gene-expansion carriers at a mean of 18 months from baseline of the cross-sectional study. Results Primary analyses revealed that phosphodiesterase 10A availability in caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus was significantly lower in Huntington's disease gene-expansion carriers versus healthy controls across all stages. Striatal and pallidal phosphodiesterase 10A availability progressively declined in the premanifest stages and appeared to plateau between stages 1 and 2. The percentage decline of phosphodiesterase 10A availability measured cross-sectionally between Huntington's disease gene-expansion carriers and healthy controls was greater than that demonstrated by D-2/3 receptor availability or volumetric changes. Annualized rates of phosphodiesterase 10A change showed a statistically significant decline between the cross-sectional study and follow-up. Conclusions [F-18]MNI-659 PET imaging is a biologically plausible biomarker of Huntington's disease progression that is more sensitive than the dopamine-receptor and volumetric methods currently used. (c) 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Show less
Oosterloo, M.; Bijlsma, E.; Kuijk, S. van; Minkes, F.; Roos, R.; Die-Smulders, C.E.M. de 2019
Background The frequency of late-onset Huntington's disease ( > 59 years) is assumed to be low and the clinical course milder. However, previous literature on late-onset disease is scarce and... Show moreBackground The frequency of late-onset Huntington's disease ( > 59 years) is assumed to be low and the clinical course milder. However, previous literature on late-onset disease is scarce and inconclusive.Objective: Our aim is to study clinical characteristics of late-onset compared to common-onset HD patients in a large cohort of HD patients from the Registry database.Methods: Participants with late- and common-onset (30-50 years)were compared for first clinical symptoms, disease progression, CAG repeat size and family history. Participants with a missing CAG repeat size, a repeat size of <= 35 or a UHDRS motor score of <= 5 were excluded.Results: Of 6007 eligible participants, 687 had late-onset (11.4%) and 3216 (53.5%) common-onset HD. Late onset (n = 577) had significantly more gait and balance problems as first symptom compared to common-onset (n = 2408) (P < .001). Overall motor and cognitive performance (P < .001) were worse, however only disease motor progression was slower (coefficient, -0.58; SE 0.16; P < .001) compared to the common-onset group. Repeat size was significantly lower in the late-onset (n = 40.8; SD 1.6) compared to common-onset (n = 44.4; SD 2.8) (P < .001). Fewer late-onset patients (n = 451) had a positive family history compared to common onset (n = 2940) (P < .001).Conclusions: Late-onset patients present more frequently with gait and balance problems as first symptom, and disease progression is not milder compared to common-onset HD patients apart from motor progression. The family history is likely to be negative, which might make diagnosing HD more difficult in this population. However, the balance and gait problems might be helpful in diagnosing HD in elderly patients. Show less
Bruggen-Rufi, M. van; Vink, A.; Achterberg, W.; Roos, R. 2018
