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The Corona Virus Disease (COVID‐19) pandemic has increased mortality in countries worldwide. To evaluate the impact of the pandemic on mortality, the use of excess mortality rather than reported COVID‐19 deaths has been suggested. Excess mortality, however, requires estimation of mortality under nonpandemic conditions. Although many methods exist to forecast mortality, they are either complex to apply, require many sources of information, ignore serial correlation, and/or are influenced by historical excess mortality. We propose a linear mixed model that is easy to apply, requires only historical mortality data, allows for serial correlation, and down‐weighs the influence of historical excess mortality. Appropriateness of the linear mixed model is evaluated with fit statistics and forecasting accuracy measures for Belgium and the Netherlands. Unlike the commonly used 5‐year weekly average, the linear mixed model is forecasting the year‐specific mortality, and as a result improves the estimation of excess mortality for Belgium and the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baseline kidney function following kidney transplantation is often used in research and clinical decision-making yet is not well defined. Here, a method to determine baseline function was proposed and validated on three single-center retrospective cohorts consisting of 922 patients from Belgium (main cohort) and two validation cohorts of 987 patients from the Netherlands and 519 patients from Germany. For each transplant, a segmented regression model was fitted on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) evolution during the first-year post-transplantation. This yielded estimates for change point timing, rate of eGFR change before and after change point and eGFR value at change point, now considered the "baseline function". Associations of eGFR evolution with recipient/donor characteristics and the graft failure rate were assessed with linear regression and Cox regression respectively. The change point occurred on average at an eGFR value of 43.7±14.6 mL/min/1.73m 2 , at a median time of 6.5 days post-transplantation. Despite significant associations with several baseline donor-recipient characteristics (particularly, donor type; living vs deceased), the predictive value of these characteristics for eGFR value and timing of the change point was limited. This followed from a large heterogeneity within eGFR trajectories, which in turn indicated that favorable levels of kidney function could be reached despite a suboptimal initial evolution. Segmented regression consistently provided a good fit to early eGFR evolution, and its estimate of the change point can be a useful reference value in future analyses. Thus, our study shows that baseline kidney function after transplantation is heterogeneous and partly related to pretransplant donor characteristics., (Copyright © 2024 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims and Objectives: The aims of this study were to translate the Care-Q into Dutch, adapt it for use in oncological care settings in Flanders and explore its psychometric properties in oncology patients., Background: The 'good nurse' is a difficult concept to measure. Patients' experiences are essential for understanding what characterises good nurses in the oncology setting. Although the Care-Q is one of the most widely used instruments to measure cancer patients' perceptions of good nurses, no translated, validated instrument has been developed for Flanders., Design: A quantitative, descriptive, non-experimental research design was used., Method: We translated the Care-Q into Dutch, adapted it and assessed its face and content validity. Its psychometric properties were examined in 100 oncology patients. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and test-retest reliability was assessed using Wilcoxon matched pairs test and Spearman's rho coefficient. Factor structure was studied using explorative factor analysis derived from principal component analysis with varimax rotation, and the user-friendliness was examined using descriptive statistics., Results: Several items from the original Care-Q were removed or adapted, and new items were added. The content validity index was 0·83. Five reliable, consistent and meaningful subscales were identified that explained 49·7% of the total variance: good nurses are empathic (towards patients and family), professional, patient-centred, respectful and communicative. Cronbach's alpha was 0·92 for the whole instrument and 0·65-0·81 for the subscales. User-friendliness was deemed favourable., Conclusions: The Flemish adaptation of the Care-Q has favourable psychometric properties. It appears to be a useful instrument for studying cancer patients' perceptions of good nurses in Flanders., Relevance to Clinical Practice: The Flemish adaptation of the Care-Q is useful for helping nurses to reflect critically on the care they offer and to adapt and improve care to the real needs and expectations of patients with cancer., (© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)