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The severity of muscle weakness after critical illness is very heterogeneous. To identify those patients who may maximally benefit from early exercises would be highly valuable. This implies an assessment of physical capacities, comprised at least of strength measurement and functional tests.The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between muscle strength and functional tests in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting.Adults with ICU length of stay ≥2 days were included. Handgrip strength (HG) and maximal isometric quadriceps strength (QS) were assessed using standardised protocols as soon as patients were alert and able to obey commands. At the same time, their maximal level of mobilisation capabilities and their autonomy were assessed using ICU Mobility Scale (ICU-MS) and Barthel Index, respectively.Ninety-three patients with a median age of 64 [57-71.5] years, body mass index of 26.4 [23.4-29.6] kg/msup2/sup, and Simplified Acute Physiology Score II of 33 [27.7-41] were included. Absolute and relative QS were, respectively, 146.7 [108.5-196.6] N and 1.87 [1.43-2.51] N/kg. HG was 22 [16-31] kg. The ICU-MS score was 4 [1-5]. A significant positive correlation was observed between HG and absolute QS (rsubs/sub = 0.695, p lt; 0.001) and between HG and relative QS (rsubs/sub = 0.428, p lt; 0.001). The ICU-MS score correlated with HG, with a weak positive relationship (rsubs/sub = 0.215, p = 0.039), but not with QS. The ICU-MS score did not statistically differ between the weakest and strongest patients for absolute or relative QS, but was lower in patients with the lowest HG values (p = 0.01). A weak positive correlation was observed between the Barthel Index and muscle strengths (maximum rsubs/sub = 0.414, p lt; 0.001).The present results suggest that, during ICU stay, there is no strong association between muscle strength and functional test such as the ICU-MS or Barthel Index. Muscle dynamometry and functional tests are probably complementary tools for physical capacities quantification.

Purpose To date, the relationship between footstrike pattern and performance, as well as with injury incidence in endurance running remains unclear. For these reasons, it is currently not recommended to modify footstrike pattern in an uninjured long-distance runner. The purpose of this study was to analyse whether athletic coaches apply these current scientific recommendations with their endurance runners on the field. Methods A Delphi method study was used to develop an online survey that was administered to French-speaking athletic coaches in Belgium. The survey comprised three sections: 1) coaches’ profile, 2) coaches’ perception of footstrike patterns, 3) practices pertaining to footstrike patterns. Results One hundred and fourteen respondents completed the entire questionnaire. Ninety-six (84%) athletic coaches reported modifying the footstrike pattern of their endurance runners. They reported that they modify their runners’ rearfoot and forefoot strike more often than a midfoot strike (P < 0.0001) to prevent injury (83%) and to improve performance (66%). According to them, midfoot strike is considered as the best landing pattern for endurance performance (47%) and injury prevention (36%) whereas rearfoot strike is considered as the worst (respectively, 50% and 52%). Summary and conclusion This study highlights the disparities between scientific recommendations and athletic coaches’ field practices for modifying footstrike patterns in endurance runners. Contrary to current scientific literature recommendations, a large proportion of coaches modify the natural footstrike pattern of their endurance runners towards a midfoot strike pattern to improve performance and prevent injury.

Benoit Pétré,1,&ast; Marine Paridans,1,&ast; Nicolas Gillain,1 Eddy Husson,1 Anne-Françoise Donneau,1– 3 Nadia Dardenne,1,3 Christophe Breuer,4 Fabienne Michel,2,5 Margaux Dandoy,6 Fabrice Bureau,6,7 Laurent Gillet,6,8,9 Dieudonné Leclercq,1 Michèle Guillaume1,2 1Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Liège University, Liège, Belgium; 2Risk Assessment Group COVID-19, Liège University, Liège, Belgium; 3University and Hospital Biostatistics Center (B-STAT), Faculty of Medicine, Liège University, Liège, Belgium; 4Governance Support Unit, Rectorate, Liège University, Liège, Belgium; 5Collection and Analysis of Data and Information of Strategic Utility (RADIUS), Liège University, Liège, Belgium; 6Covid-19 Platform, Liège University, Liège, Belgium; 7Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, GIGA Institute, Liège University, Liège, Belgium; 8Fundamental and Applied Research for Animal and Health (FARAH) Center, Liège University, Liège, Belgium; 9Laboratory of Immunology-Vaccinology, Liège University, Liège, Belgium&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Benoit Pétré, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Liège University, Quartier Hôpital, Avenue Hippocrate 13 (B23), Liège, 4000, Belgium, Tel +32 4 366 2505, Email benoit.petre@uliege.beAbstract: Current public health debate centers on COVID-19 testing methods and strategies. In some communities, high transmission risk may justify routine testing, and this requires test methods that are safe and efficient for both patients and the administrative or health-care workers administering them. Saliva testing appears to satisfy those criteria. There is, however, little documentation on the acceptability of this method among beneficiaries. This article presents the lessons learned from a pilot study on the use of saliva testing for routine screening of nursing home and secondary school personnel in Wallonia (the French-speaking part of Belgium), conducted in December 2020 to April 2021, respectively. Administrators at the facilities in question seemed to think highly of saliva testing and wished to continue it after the pilot study was over. This result reinforces the criteria (the noninvasive aspect, in particular) supporting a key role for saliva testing in monitoring community spread of the virus. Nevertheless, wider-scale deployment of this particular method will only be possible if the testing strategy as a whole takes a health promotion approach.Keywords: pandemic, COVID-19, community monitoring, preventive health behavior, saliva testing

Background The COVID-19 pandemic is putting significant pressure on the hospital system. To help clinicians in the rapid triage of patients at high risk of COVID-19 while waiting for RT-PCR results, different diagnostic prediction models have been developed. Our objective is to identify, compare, and evaluate performances of prediction models for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in adult patients in a health care setting. Methods A search for relevant references has been conducted on the MEDLINE and Scopus databases. Rigorous eligibility criteria have been established (e.g., adult participants, suspicion of COVID-19, medical setting) and applied by two independent investigators to identify suitable studies at 2 different stages: (1) titles and abstracts screening and (2) full-texts screening. Risk of bias (RoB) has been assessed using the Prediction model study Risk of Bias Assessment Tool (PROBAST). Data synthesis has been presented according to a narrative report of findings. Results Out of the 2334 references identified by the literature search, 13 articles have been included in our systematic review. The studies, carried out all over the world, were performed in 2020. The included articles proposed a model developed using different methods, namely, logistic regression, score, machine learning, XGBoost. All the included models performed well to discriminate adults at high risks of presenting COVID-19 (all area under the ROC curve (AUROC) > 0.500). The best AUROC was observed for the model of Kurstjens et al (AUROC = 0.940 (0.910–0.960), which was also the model that achieved the highest sensitivity (98%). RoB was evaluated as low in general. Conclusion Thirteen models have been developed since the start of the pandemic in order to diagnose COVID-19 in suspected patients from health care centers. All these models are effective, to varying degrees, in identifying whether patients were at high risk of having COVID-19.

Teamwork training and evaluation are essential to enhance safety and quality of care. The lack of the psychometric testing of the TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (T-TAQ) and Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire (T-TPQ) across different language and cultural settings has questioned their widespread use because such attitudes and perceptions are highly subjective and context-bound. The present study aims to translate the T-TAQ and T-TPQ into the French language and validate the psychometric properties of the two questionnaires in a public health context. A forward-backward translation process, panel reviewing, and pilot testing in two rounds were followed to develop the French versions. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach's alpha were used to examine the factor structure and internal consistency, whereas two-way mixed Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was performed to assess test-retest reliability. A total of 235 healthcare professionals in the French-speaking community of Belgium completed the T-TAQ and T-TPQ. After two to four weeks, 102 participants took part in the second round. Despite good fit indices as revealed by the CFA and Cronbach's alpha from 0.53 to 0.75 for the five dimensions of the T-TAQ and 0.76 to 0.79 for the T-TPQ, the squared correlations among the constructs were higher than the average variance extracted. Two-way mixed ICCs indicated fair to good test-retest reliability for all the five constructs of the two questionnaires, except the leadership scale of the T-TAQ. The French-language versions of the T-TAQ and T-TPQ were semantically equivalent and culturally relevant with adequate test-retest reliability as compared to the English versions. These two instruments might be used to capture the overall attitude toward teamwork and perceptions of team skills and behaviors. Yet, further research is advisable to refine the scales to establish the discriminant validity of the different dimensions and discriminative power of the instruments.

Objectif : decrire l'estime de soi des etudiants en soins infirmiers avant l'influence de la formation en soins infirmiers et explorer la relation entre l'estime de soi et l'abandon. Conception : Etude de cohorte. Methodes : Au debut de leur premiere annee d'etude, en octobre 2017, 464 etudiants en soins infirmiers ont rempli un questionnaire evaluant leur niveau d'estime de soi via l'echelle de Tafarodi & Swann et le profil d'estime de soi selon le modele de Mruk, ainsi que des informations sociodemographiques, l'anxiete d'etat, l'auto-efficacite, l'intention de continuer et le soutien social. Un an plus tard, des donnees sur les notes et la reinscription ont ete recueillies. Des analyses multivariees ont explore les facteurs influencant le niveau d'estime de soi (regression multiple), le profil d'estime de soi (regression logistique multinomiale) et l'abandon (regression logistique binaire). Resultats/Constatations : Le niveau moyen d'estime de soi etait de 50,8 (9,0), sur une echelle de 16 a 80. Quarante-neuf pour cent des profils d'estime de soi ont ete classes comme " eleves ", 20,1 % comme " bases sur l'acceptation defensive ", 11,2 % comme " bases sur la realisation defensive " et 19,6 % comme " faibles ". L'anxiete d'etat (p < 0,0001), l'auto-efficacite concernant l'achevement du programme de soins infirmiers (p < 0,0001) et l'auto-efficacite concernant l'internat (p < 0,0001) etaient associees a l'estime de soi. Le taux d'abandon etait de 21,5 %. Le niveau d'estime de soi (p = 0,039) et la performance academique (p < 0,0001) etaient associes a l'abandon. Conclusion : Bien que l'estime de soi des etudiants en soins infirmiers soit souvent decrite comme faible, nous savons peu de choses sur son niveau de base avant l'entree dans le programme de soins infirmiers et sur les facteurs qui l'influencent. Le taux d'abandon parmi les etudiants en premiere annee de soins infirmiers est eleve, mais l'estime de soi est rarement exploree comme une explication possible. Nous avons constate que les etudiants avaient une estime de soi moyenne, et potentiellement fragile, au debut de leur formation en soins infirmiers, et que l'estime de soi etait associee a l'abandon. Impact : Compte tenu de cette association et de l'impact de l'estime de soi sur le bien-etre et le comportement professionnel, les etablissements d'enseignement devraient favoriser l'estime de soi, a la fois de maniere generale et chez les etudiants souffrant d'anxiete ou d'une faible auto-efficacite. Les recherches futures devraient explorer l'estime de soi des etudiants en soins infirmiers en utilisant une approche longitudinale a methodes mixtes. La societe devrait valoriser les infirmieres et les etudiants en soins infirmiers. Traduit avec www.DeepL.com/Translator (version gratuite)

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently launched the term “intrinsic capacity”, defined as “the composite of all the physical and mental capacities of an individual”. Intrinsic capacity has a positive value towards healthy aging, and is constructed by five domains: cognition, vitality/nutrition, sensory, psychology, and mobility. ICOPE App and ICOPE Monitor are applications for the assessment (screening) of intrinsic capacity. Hypothesis: Intrinsic capacity assessed by the ICOPE Apps at baseline could be associated with the incidence of frailty, functional decline, and health outcomes during 1-year follow-up. Objectives: To assess the association between intrinsic capacity measured by the ICOPE Apps at baseline and the incidence of frailty in community-dwelling older adults during 1-year follow-up. Secondarily, to assess the association of intrinsic capacity and functional decline, mortality, pre-frailty, falls, institutionalization, and quality of life. Methods: Protocol for a cohort study of community-dwelling adults ≥65-year-old, with no other exclusion criteria than the inability to use the Apps or communicate by telephone/video-call for any reason (cognitive or limited access to telephone/video-call) OR being considered frail at baseline (defined as having a Rockwood’s clinical frailty scale, CFS score ≥4). Intrinsic capacity measured by the ICOPE Apps and CFS will be assessed at baseline, 4-, 8- and 12-month follow-up by telephone/video-call. Assuming a prevalence of frailty of 10.7%, and incidence of 13% (alpha-risk=0.05), 400 participants at 12-month end-point (relative precision=0.10) and 600 participants at baseline will be required. Results: Associations among the decrease in intrinsic capacity and higher risk of frailty, functional decline, and health adverse outcomes during 1-year follow-up are expected. Conclusions: ICOPE Apps might identify individuals at higher risk of frailty, functional decline, and health adverse outcomes. The implementation of the ICOPE Apps into clinical practice might help to deliver efficient person-centered care-plans, and benefit the healthcare systems.

Introduction The recent CONCEPT study showed that 800 mg/day of pharmaceutical-grade chondroitin sulfate (CS) was superior to placebo and similar to celecoxib in reducing pain and improving function over 6 months in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). We investigate, in the present study, whether a responder profile to CS could be defined (i.e., to determine a patient’s profile with the best response to treatment). Methods Subjects from the CS group of the CONCEPT study were included in the present analysis. Within the CS group, various subgroups were created on the basis of different categories of age, sex, body mass index, Kellgren and Lawrence grade, age since the beginning of OA, and baseline level of pain (i.e., VAS) or function (i.e., Lequesne index). The nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis (KW) test was applied to compare the VAS pain/Lequesne index evolutions between the subgroups, and the Dwass, Steel, Critchlow, Fligner (DSCF) procedure was used to compute multiple comparisons. The impact of various covariates on the VAS pain/Lequesne index evolution was assessed by means of multiple regression. Results Across all analyses, the probability of response to CS treatment was significantly associated with the duration between the date of diagnosis and the initiation of treatment. In other words, the shorter the interval between the diagnosis and the beginning of the treatment, the higher the response for both pain and function, particularly for patients with a duration of less than 5 years compared to patients with a duration of 10 years or more. No other criteria were found to be consistently associated with the response to CS treatment. Conclusion The treatment of OA with CS has the highest chance of success if administered in the early stage of the disease. Further research with other clinical outcomes should be carried out prior to widespread application of these findings. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT03200288.

BACKGROUND Virtual reality and hypnosis are little studied in complex contexts, such as intensive care, where patients need significant physical and psychological assistance. OBJECTIVES To compare and combine hypnosis and virtual reality benefits on anxiety and pain on patients before and after cardiac surgery. DESIGN Prospective randomised controlled clinical trial. SETTING The study was conducted in the University Hospital of Liege (Belgium) from October 2018 to January 2020. PATIENTS One hundred patients (66 ± 11.5 years; 24 women, 76 men) were included. Participants were adults undergoing cardiac surgery. Exclusion criteria: psychiatric diseases, claustrophobia, acrophobia, hearing loss, visual impairment, extreme fatigue, confusion surgery cancelled. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomly assigned to four arms (control; hypnosis; virtual reality; virtual reality hypnosis) and had 20 min of one of the techniques the day before and the day after surgery. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES Anxiety, pain, fatigue, relaxation, physiological parameters, and opioid use were evaluated before and after each session. RESULTS The main results did not show any significant differences between the groups. In all groups, anxiety decreased and pain increased from baseline to the postoperative day. Relaxation increased in all groups in the pre-operative (P

Background Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) causes increased mortality, prolonged hospital stay and increased healthcare costs. Prevention of VAP in intensive care units (ICUs) is currently based on several measures, and application of noble metal coating on medical devices has been shown to inhibit the bacterial adherence of microorganisms to the surface. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential benefit of noble metal coating of endotracheal tubes for the prevention of VAP. Methods This was a multi-center, randomized, controlled, double-blind, prospective study including ventilated patients from nine ICUs from four hospital sites in Belgium. Patients were randomly intubated with identical appearing noble metal alloy (NMA) coated (NMA-coated group) or non-coated (control group) endotracheal tubes (ETT). Primary endpoint was the incidence of VAP. Secondary endpoints were the proportion of antibiotic days during ICU stay and tracheal colonization by pathogenic bacteria. Results In total, 323 patients were enrolled, 168 in the NMA-coated group and 155 in the control group. During ventilation, VAP occurred in 11 patients (6.5%) in the NMA-coated group and in 18 patients (11.6%) in the control group (p = 0.11). A higher delay in VAP occurrence was observed in the NMA-coated group compared with the control group by Cox proportional hazards regression analysis (HR 0.41, 95% CI 0.19–0.88, p = 0.02). The number of antibiotic days was 58.8% of the 1,928 ICU days in the NMA-coated group and 65.4% of the 1774 ICU days in the control group (p = 0.06). Regarding tracheal colonization, bacteria occurred in 38 of 126 patients in the NMA-coated group (30.2%) and in 37 of 109 patients in the control group (33.9%) (p = 0.57). Conclusions This study provides preliminary evidence to support the benefit of noble metal coating in the prevention of VAP. A confirmatory study in a larger population would be valuable. Trial registration: Clinical trial number: NCT04242706 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)

Introduction Virtual reality (VR) is a recent topic in healthcare education. Little is known about the factors affecting the immersion and the sense of presence in VR. This study aimed to understand the elements that influence the sense of presence among undergraduate healthcare students and postgraduate (PG). Methods Undergraduate healthcare students (n = 42) and PG (n = 19) were immersed in a mass casualty incident–immersive simulation. Participants completed questionnaires before (immersion propensity, stress) and after immersion (sense of presence, stress, cybersickness, and satisfaction). The qualitative component of the study provided the context for the quantitative results. Results The sense of presence was high among both groups but higher among PG (p = .02) and was positively correlated to immersion propensity (r = 0.36; p Conclusion In accordance with the results, the mass casualty incident–immersive simulation induced a high level of sense of presence and a low level of cybersickness. The sense of presence was correlated with the individual immersion propensity.

Given the potential consequences of falls among older adults, a major challenge is to identify people at risk before the first event. In this context, gait parameters have been suggested as markers of fall risk. To examine, among older people, the prospective relationship between gait patterns assessed in comfortable and challenging walking conditions, and future fall(s). A total of 105 adults older than 65 years, living independently at home and without a recent fall history were included in a 2-year, longitudinal, observational study. All underwent physical and functional assessment. Gait speed, stride length, frequency, symmetry and regularity and Minimum Toe Clearance (MTC) were recorded in comfortable (CW), fast (FW) and dual task walking (DTW) conditions. Gait parameter changes occurring between CW and FW and between CW and DTW were calculated and expressed in percent. DTW cost was calculated as the change of DTW relative to CW. Fall events were recorded using fall diaries. Comparisons according to fall occurrence were performed by means of univariate analysis and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Two-year follow-up was available for 96 participants, of whom 35 (36.5%) fell at least once. Comparative analysis showed that future fallers had shorter FW stride length and higher symmetry DTW cost than non-fallers (p

Quality of life (QOL) of a patient is usually computed as the (weighted) sum of items and analysed by means of multiple regressions to evaluate its relationships with various measured factors. The aim of the present study was to compare results derived under classical statistical method with those obtained under more appropriate statistical techniques for QOL. Analyses were applied to data from 4155 subjects participated in 2012 in a community based sample study in the French speaking part of Belgium and which completed a web-based questionnaire on their weight-related experience. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were carried out to derive QOL and to test direct/indirect effects of body mass index (BMI), age, body image discrepancy (BID), latent socio-economic (SOCIO) and latent subjective-norm (SN). No major differences were found under both SEM and the product of coefficients approach using SAS PROCESS macro developed by Hayes. Significant direct and indirect effects on physical and psychological dimensions of QOL were found for age, BMI and SOCIO while significant direct effects were found for BID and SN (p

Objectiven-3 PUFA during pregnancy have been subject to intense research interest, but also much controversy, creating a situation of confusion among patients and health-care providers. The present study was carried out to explore knowledge, attitude and practices regardingn-3 PUFA in two independent populations of pregnant women and gynaecologists–obstetricians in Belgium and to assess the relationship between the pregnant women’s attributes and theirn-3 PUFA status measured by the omega-3 index.DesignCross-sectional study. Knowledge, attitude and practices were collected by self-administered questionnaires while laboratory data were available for each pregnant woman.SettingDuring the first antenatal hospital appointment (for the pregnant women) and by email (for the gynaecologists–obstetricians).ParticipantsWomen in early pregnancy (n122) and gynaecologists–obstetricians (n67).ResultsMarked discrepancies in perception were evidenced between the pregnant women and health-care providers. While 82 % of the women attached high importance ton-3 PUFA during pregnancy, only a third of the gynaecologists–obstetricians did. About 35 % of the women declared paying particular attention to their consumption ofn-3 PUFA. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, these positive dietary practices were significantly associated with higher omega-3 index (P=0·04). Overall, 43·3 % of professionals did not provide any information aboutn-3 PUFA to their pregnant patients and 46·3 % did not take any preventive actions.ConclusionsEvidence-based guidelines, refreshment training and communication tools are needed to improve awareness and clinical practices among caregivers regardingn-3 PUFA to benefit both mothers and their children.

Background Recommendations are available for assessment criteria for safe return-to-play (RTP) after a lateral ankle sprain. However, their current use among physicians is unknown. Methods French-speaking physicians in Belgium, France and Switzerland were asked to complete an online survey and report their clinical assessment of selected RTP criteria. Results The respondent sample (n = 109) included physicians with and without Sports Medicine education, varied level of experience and proportion of athletes in their practice population. Pain was the most selected criterion for safe RTP (90% of physicians), followed by ability to engage in functional tasks (82%), functional instability (73%), range of motion (61%), proprioception (47%), mechanical instability (39%), strength (38%) and swelling (31%). A low proportion of physicians use quantitative measures to assess these criteria (between 4% and 53%). Conclusions A large proportion of physicians consider the recommended criteria for RTP decisions. However, physicians do not frequently use quantitative measures.

Background The extent to which patients are involved in their care can be influenced by hospital policies and interventions. Nevertheless, the implementation of patient participation and involvement (PPI) at the organisational (meso) level has rarely been assessed systematically. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of PPI practises in hospitals in Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg and to analyze if, and to what extent, the hospital vision and the presence of a patient committee influence the implementation of PPI practises. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out using an online questionnaire in hospitals in the border regions of the four countries. The data were analyzed for differences between regions and the maturity of PPI development. Results Full responses were obtained from 64 hospitals. A wide range of practices were observed, the degree of maturity was mixed. A majority of hospitals promoted patient partnership in the hospital’s philosophy of care statement. However, the implementation of specific interventions for PPI was not found uniformly and differences could be observed between the countries. Conclusions Hospitals in the region seem to be motivated to include patients more fully, however, implementation of PPI interventions seems incomplete and only partially integrated into the general functioning of the hospitals. The implementation of the concept seems to be more mature in the francophone part of the region perhaps due, in part, to a more favourable political context.

Background: Although non-pharmacological tools are nowadays commonly used in medical settings, virtual reality and hypnosis are little studied in complex contexts such as intensive care, where patients need significant physical and psychological assistance. The aim of the project is to evaluate the benefits of hypnosis, virtual reality (VR) and the combination of hypnosis and virtual reality (VRH) on anxiety and pain on patients before and after a cardiac surgery.Methods: This prospective randomized and controlled clinical trial was conducted in the University Hospital of Liege (Belgium). Participants are adults undergoing cardiac surgery, French speaking. Exclusion criteria are patients with psychiatric diseases, claustrophobia, acrophobia, heavy hearing impairment, visual impairment, extreme fatigue, verbal incoherence, surgery cancelled or postponed. The day before the surgery, patients were randomly assigned to four arms (control, hypnosis, VR and VRH) and had 20 minutes of one of the technique. They received the same intervention one day after surgery, in intensive care units. Anxiety, pain, fatigue, relaxation and physiological parameters were evaluated before and after each session.Results: 100 patients (66.38 ± 11.48 years; 76 men, 24 women) were included. Results showed that anxiety decreased from baseline to postoperative day in all groups. Relaxation increased in all groups in preoperative (p = .000) and postoperative period (p = 0.03). There were no significant results for pain and fatigue (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference between control group and hypnosis, VR or VRH.Conclusion: Anxiety decreased and relaxation increased in all groups, including control group. We cannot affirm that one technique is better than another is. Nevertheless, this study helps to expand the knowledge regarding application of virtual reality, hypnosis and virtual reality hypnosis in the specific contexts of cardiac surgery and intensive care units. Additional studies are required to compare and evaluate the costs-effectiveness of these techniques for critical care patients and caregivers (see Figure 1).Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03820700. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03820700. Registered on January 29 2019. Retrospectively registered.

When conducting research on polyphenols and their effects on health, it is of primary importance to use standardised and validated dietary assessment tools. This paper aims at assessing the validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for quantifying dietary polyphenol exposure among healthy adults using the method of triads. Fifty-three healthy adults, aged 20-60, were included in the study. Total dietary polyphenol intake (TDP) estimated by the FFQ was compared with TDP measured by a 3-day food record (FR) and with urinary excretion levels of total polyphenols (TUP). Pearson correlations were calculated between methods. Validity coefficients (VC) were estimated between the three measurements and the 'unknown' true intake. There was a strong correlation between both dietary methods (r = 0.70, p 0.0001). A moderate but significant association was observed between FFQ-derived TDP and TUP (r = 0.32, p = 0.020). The method of triads yielded a VC for the FFQ of 0.63 (95%CI: 0.41-0.84), indicating a strong relationship between FFQ-derived TDP and the true polyphenol intake. This study shows that the FFQ is an adequate tool not only for measuring dietary polyphenol exposure in nutrition epidemiological studies but also for guiding clinicians in dietary advice and counselling.

Running biomechanics and its evolution that occurs over intensive trials are widely studied, but few studies have focused on the reproducibility of stride evolution in these runs. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the reproducibility of changes in eight biomechanical variables during exhaustive runs, using three-dimensional analysis. Ten male athletes (age: 23 ± 4 years; maximal oxygen uptake: 57.5 ± 4.4 ml02·min-1·kg-1; maximal aerobic speed: 19.3 ± 0.8 km·h-1) performed a maximal treadmill test. Between 3 to 10 days later, they started a series of three time-to-exhaustion trials at 90% of the individual maximal aerobic speed, seven days apart. During these trials eight biomechanical variables were recorded over a 20-s period every 4 min until exhaustion. The evolution of a variable over a trial was represented as the slope of the linear regression of these variables over time. Reproducibility was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients and variability was quantified as standard error of measurement. Changes in five variables (swing duration, stride frequency, step length, centre of gravity vertical and lateral amplitude) showed moderate to good reproducibility (0.48 ≤ ICC ≤ 0.72), while changes in stance duration, reactivity and foot orientation showed poor reproducibility (-0.71 ≤ ICC ≤ 0.04). Fatigue-induced changes in stride biomechanics do not follow a reproducible course across the board; however, several variables do show satisfactory stability: swing duration, stride frequency, step length and centre of gravity shift.

Background Overweight and obesity are major public health problems of growing concern. Few studies have investigated the representations and perceptions of subjects with overweight and obesity, especially in the general population, as compared to people in a medical weight loss process. The objective of this study was to fill this gap by enabling participants to express their feelings and experience about their overweight, and to assess the extent of the body mass index (BMI) as a determinant of these perceptions. Methods A total of 4155 persons participated in an exploratory study conducted in Wallonia (Belgium). Data were collected by means of a web-based questionnaire. This study investigated the following parameters: sociodemographic and anthropometric factors, perceived health, quality of life, diet perception, enrolment in a weight loss process and weight loss target. The influence of BMI was considered, on one hand, looking at how the above variables evolve according to BMI category, secondly, as a mediation factor in the relationship between socioeconomic level and these same variables. Results A large majority (87.5%) of subjects were overweight (32.2%) or obese (obese class I 29.9%, class II 14.8%, class III 10.6%). Perceived health was found to deteriorate with the BMI (P

Backgrounds The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the level of ambulatory physical activity, measured by physical activity tracker, and the clinical components of physical frailty, among nursing home residents. Methods We proceeded in 3 steps: (1) Validation of the physical activity tracker (i.e. the Pebble): 24 volunteer adults walked on a treadmill. The number of steps recorded by the Pebble worn by the subjects was compared with the number of steps counted by the investigators, by means of the Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). (2) Measurement of ambulatory physical activity, using the Pebble trackers, over a 7-day period. (3) Relationship between the results obtained with the Pebble trackers (step 2) and subjects’ clinical characteristics, linked to physical frailty. Results ICC data, showed that the reliability of the Pebble was better when it was worn at the foot level (ICC ranged from 0.60 to 0.93 depending on the tested speed). Gait speed is also an important determinant of the reliability, which is better for low gait speed. On average, the 27 nursing home residents included in the second step of this study walked 1678.4 ± 1621 (median = 1300) steps per day. Most physical components of frailty measured in this study were significantly different between subjects who walked less than 1300 steps per day and those who were more active. Conclusion This study showed that nursing home residents have a poor ambulatory physical activity, assessed using a physical activity tracker, which is associated with poorer physical performances and higher disability.

Gait patterns of healthy aging are needed to allow a comparison with pathological situations. However, little data is available. To present gait pattern of healthy older specially selected to be “healthy walkers”. Fifty-seven older people benefited from a geriatric assessment including clinical and functional evaluations to include only those without gait disorders. Gait data were simultaneously recorded using a tri-axial accelerometer placed on the waist and four 3D position markers placed on the feet at the level of the heel and the toe. Volunteers walked at comfortable self-selected speed (CW), fast self-selected speed (FW), and finally in dual task walking condition (DTW). The extracted gait parameters were: gait speed, stride length, stride frequency, regularity and symmetry, swing, stance and double support time and ratio and minimum toe clearance. Gait speed and stride length were normalized to the right leg length. Fifty-seven older people with a mean age of 69.7 ± 4.2 years old (range from 65 to 82 years) were included. Data were analyzed according to the gender and according to the age (

To examine the association between maternal erythrocyte long-chain omega-3 PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA), measured in early pregnancy, and pregnancy and birth outcomes. One hundred and eight healthy women with a singleton pregnancy were included. Erythrocyte fatty acids were analyzed using gas chromatography. Gestational length, birth anthropometric measures, and pregnancy-associated complications were collected from hospital medical records. We observed significant positive associations between maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels (p = 0.024) and omega-3 index values (p = 0.021) and gestational length in adjusted linear regression models. Each point in maternal DHA level was associated with 2.19 days longer gestational duration (β = 2.19; 95% CI 0.29–4.09). No consistent associations were found between n-3 PUFA levels and composite pregnancy outcome. These findings suggest that the gestational length is positively affected by maternal n-3 LCPUFA status as soon as the early stages of pregnancy.

While studies revealed that the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and their mediators would be able to regulate several biological processes involved into the development of postpartum depression (PPD), evidence from observational studies remains mixed. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between maternal erythrocyte n-3 PUFA, measured in early pregnancy, and the risk of PPD. A Belgian cohort of 72 healthy women was screened. Erythrocyte fatty acids were analysed using gas chromatography. PPD was assessed using the Bromley Postnatal Depression Scale by phone interview one year after delivery. We observed a significant negative association between docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels and the risk of postpartum depression in the adjusted model (p = 0.034). Higher n-6/n-3 and arachidonic acid (AA)/eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratios were significantly associated with an increased odds of PPD (p = 0.013 and p = 0.043, respectively). Women with an omega-3 index

To evaluate the virological safety of blood components provided by the Niamey blood transfusion center after undergoing rapid tests. Samples found negative with rapid tests (n = 222) were screened by the Abbott Prism assay. Positive samples were confirmed by appropriate methods. Of 222 samples, nine (4.1%) were reactive for all markers. After confirmation, seven samples were positive (i.e., 3.2% false-negative results) : five (2.3%) for the surface antigen of hepatitis B (HBsAg) and two (0.9%) for the antibody directed against the hepatitis C virus (HCV-Ab). No false negative results were observed for HIV-Ab (antibody directed against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus). The performance of the rapid tests used in Niamey to screen for transfusion-transmissible infections is not satisfactory, especially for hepatitis B and C. The use of more sensitive tests should be considered to minimize the risk of contaminating patients receiving blood components.

Benoit Pétré,1 André J Scheen,2 Olivier Ziegler,3 Anne-Françoise Donneau,1 Nadia Dardenne,1 Eddy Husson,1 Adelin Albert,1 Michèle Guillaume1 1Department of Public Health, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; 2Division of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Disorders, Department of Medicine, CHU Sart Tilman, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; 3Department of Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition, Nancy University Hospital, Nancy, France Background and objective: Despite the strength and consistency of the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and quality of life (QoL), a reduction in BMI does not necessarily lead to an improvement in QoL. Between-subject variability indicates the presence of mediators and moderators in the BMI–QoL association. This study aimed to examine the roles of body image discrepancy (BID) and subjective norm (SN) as potential mediators and moderators. Subjects and methods: In 2012, 3,016 volunteers (aged ≥18 years) participated in a community-based survey conducted in the French-speaking region of Belgium. Participation was enhanced using a large multimedia campaign (which was supported by a large network of recruiters) that employed the nonstigmatizing slogan, “Whatever your weight, your opinion will count”. Participants were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire on their weight-related experiences. Self-reported measures were used to calculate each participant’s BMI, BID, SN, and QoL (a French obesity-specific QoL questionnaire was used to calculate the participants’ physical dimension of QoL scores [PHY-QoL], psychosocial dimension of QoL scores [PSY/SOC-QoL], and their total scores). The covariates included gender, age, subjective economic status, level of education, household size, and perceived health. The mediation/moderation tests were based on Hayes’ method. Results: Tests showed that the relationships between BMI and PHY-QoL, PSY/SOC-QoL, and TOT-QoL were partially mediated by BID in both males and females and by SN in females. Moreover, BID was a moderator of the relationship between BMI and PSY/SOC-QoL in males and females. SN was a moderator of the relationship between BMI and PSY/SOC-QoL in males and between BMI and total scores in males (when used without BID in the models). Conclusion: BID and SN should be considered as important factors in obesity management strategies. The study shows that targeting BMI only is not sufficient to improve the QoL of overweight and obese subjects, and that other variables, including perceptual factors, should be considered. Keywords: obesity, quality of life, mediators and moderators, body image

Background A specific self-administrated health-related quality of life questionnaire for sarcopenia, the Sarcopenia and Quality Of Life (SarQoL®), has been recently developed. This questionnaire is composed of 55 items translated into 22 questions and organized into seven domains of quality of life. The objective of the present work is to evaluate the psychometric properties (discriminative power, validity, reliability, floor and ceiling effects) of the SarQoL® questionnaire. Methods Sarcopenic subjects were recruited in an outpatient clinic in Liege, Belgium and were diagnosed according to the algorithm developed by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. We compared the score of the SarQoL® between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic subjects using a logistic regression after adjustment for potential confounding variables. Internal consistency reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient; construct validity was assessed using convergent and divergent validities. Test–retest reliability was verified after a two-week interval using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). At last, floor and ceiling effects were also tested. Results A total of 296 subjects with a median age of 73.3 (68.9–78.6) years were recruited for this study. Among them, 43 were diagnosed sarcopenic. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the total score and the scores of the different dimensions of the SarQoL® questionnaire were significantly lower for sarcopenic than for non-sarcopenic subjects (54.7 (45.9–66.3) for sarcopenic vs. 67.8 (57.3 – 79.0) for non sarcopenic, OR 0.93 (95%CI 0.90–0.96)). Regarding internal consistency, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.87. The SarQoL® questionnaire data showed good correlation with some domains of the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and the EuroQoL 5-dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaires and with the mobility test. An excellent agreement between the test and the retest was found with an ICC of 0.91 (95% CI 0.82–0.95). At last, neither floor nor ceiling effects were detected. Conclusions The SarQoL® questionnaire is valid, consistent, and reliable and can therefore be recommended for clinical and research purposes. However, its sensitivity to change needs to be assessed in future longitudinal studies.