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Background: The dynamics of Staphylococcus aureus in patients and the hospital environment are relatively unknown. We studied these dynamics in a tertiary care hospital in the Netherlands., Methods: Nasal samples were taken from adult patients at admission and discharge. Isolates cultured from clinical samples taken before and during hospitalization from these patients were included. Environmental samples of patient rooms were taken over a three-year period. Finally, isolates from clinical samples from patients with an epidemiological link to S. aureus positive rooms were included. Staphylococcal protein A (spa) typing was performed., Results: Nasal samples were taken from 673 patients. One hundred eighteen (17.5%) were positive at admission and discharge, 15 (2.2%) patients acquired S. aureus during hospitalization. Nineteen patients had a positive clinical sample during hospitalization, 15.9% of the S. aureus were considered as from an exogenous source. One hundred and forty (2.8%) environmental samples were S. aureus positive. No persistent contamination of surfaces was observed. Isolates were highly diverse: spa typing was performed for 893 isolates, identifying 278 different spa types, 161 of these spa types were observed only once., Conclusion: Limited transmission could be identified between patients and the hospital environment, and from patient-to-patient. Exogenous acquisition was assumed to occur in 15% of clinical samples. Environmental contamination was infrequent, temporarily, and coincided with the strain from the patient admitted to the room at that time. MRSA was rare and not found in the environment., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objective: The new 2019 guideline of the European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) recommends consideration for elective iliac artery aneurysm (eIAA) repair when the iliac diameter exceeds 3.5 cm, as opposed to 3.0 cm previously. The current study assessed diameters at time of eIAA repair and ruptured IAA (rIAA) repair and compared clinical outcomes after open surgical repair (OSR) and endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR)., Methods: This retrospective observational study used the nationwide Dutch Surgical Aneurysm Audit (DSAA) registry that includes all patients who undergo aorto-iliac aneurysm repair in the Netherlands. All patients who underwent primary IAA repair between 1 January 2014 and 1 January 2018 were included. Diameters at time of eIAA and rIAA repair were compared in a descriptive fashion. The anatomical location of the IAA was not registered in the registry. Patient characteristics and outcomes of OSR and EVAR were compared with appropriate statistical tests., Results: The DSAA registry comprised 974 patients who underwent IAA repair. A total of 851 patients were included after exclusion of patients undergoing revision surgery and patients with missing essential variables. eIAA repair was carried out in 713 patients, rIAA repair in 102, and symptomatic IAA repair in 36. OSR was performed in 205, EVAR in 618, and hybrid repairs and conversions in 28. The median maximum IAA diameter at the time of eIAA and rIAA repair was 43 (IQR 38-50) mm and 68 (IQR 58-85) mm, respectively. Mortality was 1.3% (95% CI 0.7-2.4) after eIAA repair and 25.5% (95% CI 18.0-34.7) after rIAA repair. Mortality was not significantly different between the OSR and EVAR subgroups. Elective OSR was associated with significantly more complications than EVAR (intra-operative: 9.8% vs. 3.6%, post-operative: 34.0% vs. 13.8%, respectively)., Conclusion: In the Netherlands, most eIAA repairs are performed at diameters larger than recommended by the ESVS guideline. These findings appear to support the recent increase in the threshold diameter for eIAA repair., (Copyright © 2020 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective/background: Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) has faced resistance owing to the marginal evidence of benefit over open surgical repair (OSR). This study aims to determine the impact of treatment modality on early mortality after rAAA, and to assess differences in postoperative complications and long-term survival., Methods: Patients treated between January 2000 and June 2013 were identified. The primary endpoint was early mortality. Secondary endpoints were postoperative complications and long-term survival. Independent risk factors for early mortality were calculated using multivariate logistic regression. Survival estimates were obtained by means of Kaplan-Meier curves., Results: Two hundred and twenty-one patients were treated (age 72 ± 8 years, 90% male), 83 (38%) by EVAR and 138 (62%) by OSR. There were no differences between groups at the time of admission. Early mortality was significantly lower for EVAR compared with OSR (odds ratio [OR]: 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.21-0.97). Similarly, EVAR was associated with a threefold risk reduction in major complications (OR: 0.33, 95%CI: 0.15-0.71). Hemoglobin level <11 mg/dL was predictive of early death for patients in both groups. Age greater than 75 years and the presence of shock were significant risk factors for early death after OSR, but not after EVAR. The early survival benefit of EVAR over OSR persisted for up to 3 years., Conclusion: This study shows an early mortality benefit after EVAR, which persists over the mid-term. It also suggests different prognostic significance for preoperative variables according to the type of repair. Age and the presence of shock were risk factors for early death after OSR, while hemoglobin level on admission was a risk factor for both groups. This information may contribute to repair-specific risk prediction and improved patient selection., (Copyright © 2014 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Quality of life (QoL) is often impaired in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). A novel nurse-led integrated chronic care approach demonstrated superiority compared with usual care in terms of cardiovascular hospitalization and mortality. Consequently, we hypothesized that this approach may also improve QoL and AF-related knowledge, which in turn may positively correlate with QoL., Methods and Results: In this randomized controlled trial, 712 patients were randomly assigned to nurse-led care vs. usual care. Nurse-led care consisted of guidelines-based, software supported care, supervised by cardiologists. Usual care was provided by cardiologists in the regular outpatient setting. Quality of life was assessed by means of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Survey (SF-36). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess anxiety and depression scores. The AF knowledge scale was used to gain an insight into the patients' AF knowledge levels. Baseline QoL scores were relatively high in both groups, with median scores ranging from 55 to 100. Quality of life significantly improved over time in both groups with no significant differences between the two groups. Atrial fibrillation-related knowledge improved over time and was significantly higher at follow-up in the intervention group, compared with the usual care group (8.23 ± 2.16 vs. 7.66 ± 2.09; P < 0.05). Quality of life was correlated with gender (rs: -5.819 to -2.960), anxiety (rs: -0.746 to -0.277), depression (rs: -0.596 to -0.395), and knowledge (rs: 0.145-0.245), expressed in Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (rs)., Conclusion: Quality of life including anxiety and depression improved over time, regardless of the treatment group. The AF-related knowledge level was better in the nurse-led care group at follow-up. Trial registration information: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier number: NCT00753259.

Aim: Reperfusion therapy in acute myocardial infarction reduces infarct size and increases hospital survival. We investigated whether the benefit of reperfusion therapy for myocardial infarction was sustained long-term and assessed the gain in life expectancy by reperfusion therapy., Methods and Results: We analysed the outcome of 533 patients (mean age 56 years, 82% men), who were randomized to either reperfusion therapy or conventional therapy during 1980-1985. Median follow up was 27 years (25-30 years). At follow up, 59 patients (22%) of the 269 patients allocated to reperfusion treatment and only 39 patients (15%) of the 264 conventionally treated patients were still alive (p = 0.02). The cumulative 10-, 15-, 20-, and 25-year survival rates were 69, 48, 37, and 24% after reperfusion therapy and 59, 38, 27, and 18% in the control group, respectively (p < 0.001). Life expectancy of the reperfusion group was 15.6 years vs. 12.5 years in the conventionally treated group (p < 0.02). Myocardial reinfarction and subsequent coronary interventions were more frequent after reperfusion therapy, particularly during the first year. In multivariable analysis, reperfusion therapy was an important independent predictor of lower mortality at long-term follow up. Other independent predictors of mortality were age, impaired left ventricular function, multivessel disease, infarct size, and inability to perform an exercise test at the time of discharge., Conclusion: These data confirm that the benefits of early reperfusion therapy for acute myocardial infarction are sustained throughout the lifetime of the patients. More than 3 life years were gained by reperfusion therapy.

Aims: The management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is often inadequate due to deficient adherence to the guidelines. A nurse-led AF clinic providing integrated chronic care to improve guideline adherence and activate patients in their role, may effectively reduce morbidity and mortality but such care has not been tested in a large randomized trial. Therefore, we performed a randomized clinical trial to compare the AF clinic with routine clinical care in patients with AF., Methods and Results: We randomly assigned 712 patients with AF to nurse-led care and usual care. Nurse-led care consisted of guidelines based, software supported integrated chronic care supervised by a cardiologist. The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular hospitalization and cardiovascular death. Duration of follow-up was at least 12 months. Adherence to guideline recommendations was significantly better in the nurse-led care group. After a mean of 22 months, the primary endpoint occurred in 14.3% of 356 patients of the nurse-led care group compared with 20.8% of 356 patients receiving usual care [hazard ratio: 0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45-0.93; P= 0.017]. Cardiovascular death occurred in 1.1% in the nurse-led care vs. 3.9% in the usual care group (hazard ratio: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.09-0.85; P= 0.025). Cardiovascular hospitalization amounted (13.5 vs. 19.1%, respectively, hazard ratio: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.46-0.96, P= 0.029)., Conclusion: Nurse-led care of patients with AF is superior to usual care provided by a cardiologist in terms of cardiovascular hospitalizations and cardiovascular mortality. Trial registration information: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier number: NCT00391872.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of health problems among persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in the Netherlands, to identify the problems experienced as most important, and to analyse the experienced impact of these most important problems on daily activities and social life., Method: Postal survey among all members of the Dutch Association of Patients with SCI. The questionnaire focused on 26 health problems: 13 secondary impairments, 8 problems of daily living and 5 psychosocial problems., Results: The respondents (response rate 45.5%, 454 persons) experienced an average of 8 health problems. The most frequently occurring problems regarded bladder and bowel regulation, spasms, pain, oedema and sexuality. Except for oedema, these problems were also most often cited as the most important. The most disabling condition for both daily and social activities was pain. Few significant relationships were found between the prevalence of health problems and the level, completeness and duration of the injury or gender., Conclusion: Persons with SCI living in the community experience many health problems and limitations in daily activities and social life due to these problems. The occurrence of these problems does not diminish with increasing time after injury. This strongly emphasises the need for follow-up care.