Etiology of acute gastroenteritis in children requiring hospitalization in the Netherlands.

Infectious gastroenteritis causes a considerable burden of disease worldwide. Costs due to gastroenteritis are dominated by the hospitalized cases. Effective control of gastroenteritis should be targeted at the diseases with the highest burden and costs. For that, an accurate understanding of the relative importance of the different bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens is needed. The objective of the present study was to determine the incidence and etiology of gastroenteritis requiring hospital admission in the Netherlands. Six hospitals enrolled patients admitted with gastroenteritis for approximately one year over the period May 2008 to November 2009. Participants provided questionnaires and a fecal sample, and the hospital filled out a clinical questionnaire. In total, 143 children hospitalized for gastroenteritis and 64 matched controls were included in the study. Overall incidence of gastroenteritis requiring hospitalization was estimated at 2.92 per 1,000 children aged 0-17 years per year, with the highest incidence in children under the age of 5 years. The full diagnostic panel of pathogens could be studied in fecal samples of 96 cases. One or more pathogens were found in 98% of these cases. Co-infections were observed relatively often (40%). Viruses were detected in 82% of the samples, with rotavirus being most common (56%), bacteria in 32% and parasites in 10%. The present study emphasizes the importance of viral pathogens, especially rotavirus, in hospitalizations of children with gastroenteritis. Policies to reduce (costs of) hospitalizations due to gastroenteritis should therefore be first targeted at rotavirus.

Childhood predictors of desistance and level of persistence in offending in early onset offenders.

Childhood predictors of adolescent offending careers were studied in 310 boys from the longitudinal Pittsburgh Youth Study who started offending prior to age 12. Three main groups were distinguished: serious persisters (n = 95), moderately serious persisters (n = 117), desisters (n = 63), and an intermittent group (n = 35). Group membership was predicted using risk and promotive factors measured in childhood. Serious and moderately serious persisters could be distinguished well from desisters (29.2% and 32.3% explained variance). Distinction between the two persister groups proved somewhat more difficult (20.9% explained variance). More serious persisters than desisters showed disruptive behavior, while moderately serious persisters fell in between. Further, more moderately serious persisters were marked by social disadvantage. Family involvement, small family and positive peer relationships were promotive of desistance. Concluding, early onset offenders show considerable heterogeneity in their adolescent offending careers which seem to some extent to be predicted by different sets of risk and promotive factors.

The Gypsy Database (GyDB) of mobile genetic elements.

In this article, we introduce the Gypsy Database (GyDB) of mobile genetic elements, an in-progress database devoted to the non-redundant analysis and evolutionary-based classification of mobile genetic elements. In this first version, we contemplate eukaryotic Ty3/Gypsy and Retroviridae long terminal repeats (LTR) retroelements. Phylogenetic analyses based on the gag-pro-pol internal region commonly presented by these two groups strongly support a certain number of previously described Ty3/Gypsy lineages originally reported from reverse-transcriptase (RT) analyses. Vertebrate retroviruses (Retroviridae) are also constituted in several monophyletic groups consistent with genera proposed by the ICTV nomenclature, as well as with the current tendency to classify both endogenous and exogenous retroviruses by three major classes (I, II and III). Our inference indicates that all protein domains codified by the gag-pro-pol internal region of these two groups agree in a collective presentation of a particular evolutionary history, which may be used as a main criterion to differentiate their molecular diversity in a comprehensive collection of phylogenies and non-redundant molecular profiles useful in the identification of new Ty3/Gypsy and Retroviridae species. The GyDB project is available at http://gydb.uv.es.

The status of the deep surgical margins in tongue and floor of mouth squamous cell carcinoma and risk of local recurrence; an analysis of 68 patients.

The objective of this study is to retrospectively assess the clinical relevance, i.c. the event of a local recurrence, in patients surgically treated for tongue and floor of mouth squamous cell carcinoma when tumour cell are observed histopathologically at a distance of less than 0.5 cm. Furthermore, the pattern of invasion and the presence or absence of perineural spread were recorded. A total of 68 patients, surgically treated because of a tongue or floor of mouth squamous cell carcinoma, were examined. Patients in whom any degree of epithelial dysplasia was observed in the mucosal surgical margins had been excluded beforehand. Local recurrence occurred in 2 out of 30 patients with a free surgical margins >0.5 cm and in 3 out of 38 patients with a free surgical margin <0.5 cm, the difference being not statistically significant. Apparently, the presence of tumour cells within a distance of less than 0.5 cm, but not into the deep surgical margin, does not necessarily seem to require additional treatment. The pattern of invasion and the presence or absence of perineural spread were not significantly related with local recurrence either.

The treatment of complex regional pain syndrome type I with free radical scavengers: a randomized controlled study.

To compare the effects of two free radical scavengers, dimethylsulfoxide 50% (DMSO) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), for treatment of complex regional pain syndrome I (CRPS I), a randomized, double-dummy controlled, double-blind trial was conducted. Two outpatient clinics of two university hospitals in The Netherlands participated in the study and 146 patients, were included over a period of 24 months. Patients were randomized into two treatment groups, one was instructed to apply DMSO 50% five times daily to the affected extremity, the second was treated with NAC 600mg effervescent tablets three times daily, both combined with placebo. Interventions were accompanied by pain medication, occupational therapy for upper extremity CRPS I and physical therapy for lower extremity CRPS I in specific circumstances. Treatment was given for 17 weeks, with a possibility to continue or switch medication after this period, up to 1 year following the onset of treatment. An impairment level sum score was the primary outcome measure. Upper and lower extremity skills and functions, and general health status were also evaluated. Overall, no significant differences were found between NAC and DMSO after 17 and 52 weeks on impairment level and general health status. Significant differences were found for subscores of lower extremity function, in favor of DMSO-treatment. Subgroup analysis showed more favorable results for DMSO for warm CRPS I and significantly better performance of NAC for patients with a cold CRPS I. Results tended to be negatively influenced if the duration of the complaint was longer. Treatment with DMSO and NAC are generally equally effective in treatment of CRPS I. Strong indications exist for differences in effects for subgroups of patients with warm or cold CRPS I: for warm CRPS I, DMSO-treatment appears more favorable, while for cold CRPS I, NAC-treatment appears to be more effective.

Incidence of clinically manifest ulcers and their complications in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often prescribed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Because of its frequency and severity, NSAID gastropathy is the most important side effect. The clinical spectrum of NSAID gastropathy includes gastrointestinal complaints, ulcers and their complications. To reduce NSAID gastropathy, rheumatologists in greater Amsterdam decided in January 1997 that prophylactic agents should be prescribed for patients with RA at high risk for NSAID gastropathy, defined as age 60 or older or a history of gastrointestinal (GI) ulcers, or both. OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of clinically manifest ulcers and their complications in patients with RA at high risk for NSAID gastropathy during a period in which prophylaxis was recommended. Published reports show that the incidence of clinically manifest ulcers and their complications varies from 1.3% to 5%. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Within one year, three questionnaires were sent to all outpatients with RA of our clinic (n=2680). The patients were asked if they had had a gastroscopy and/or complication of an ulcer in the preceding months. When a GI event (ulcer or complication) had occurred an analysis was carried out to determine whether the event was possibly related to a compliance failure or a policy failure-for example, no prophylaxis prescribed when it was recommended. RESULTS: The response rate for the three questionnaires was 88%, 76%, and 77%, respectively. All three questionnaires were returned by 1856 patients; NSAIDs were used in 1246 (67%) of them. Of the NSAID users 731 (59%) were in the high risk group. Clinically manifest ulcers occurred in seven high risk NSAID users (four gastric ulcers, two duodenal ulcers, and in one patient both types of ulcer). Complications of ulcers were diagnosed in eight (other) patients: seven (upper) GI bleedings and one perforation. Thus the incidence during one year of clinically manifest ulcers in the high risk group was 1.0% and of complications of ulcers 1.1%, together 2.1%. In the group of 15 patients with GI events, only one patient had not taken the adequately prescribed gastroprotective drugs (compliance failure). Misguidedly, gastroprotective drugs were not prescribed in seven patients (policy failure), but in the remaining seven patients gastroprotective drugs were adequately prescribed and used. CONCLUSION: The incidence of clinically manifest ulcers and of complications of ulcers in patients with RA at high risk for NSAID gastropathy is relatively low, and might be related to our strategy to prescribe prophylactic agents in these patients.

Reproducibility, construct validity, and responsiveness of the "How Are You?" (HAY), a self-report quality of life questionnaire for children with asthma.

This study assesses the reproducibility, construct validity, and responsiveness of a new self-report quality of life questionnaire, the "How Are You?" (HAY), for 8-12-year-old children with asthma, which contains both a generic and a disease-specific part. Two hundred twenty-eight children with asthma completed the HAY and the Child Attitude Toward Illness Scale (CATIS), while their parents monitored the actual asthma status; 80 children were measured three times in order to assess reproducibility and responsiveness; 296 healthy children completed the generic section of the HAY. Significant differences were found between children with asthma and healthy children, and among asthmatic children differing in actual asthma status. Reproducibility was adequate and supportive evidence was found for construct validity. Responsiveness was demonstrated by significant score changes for most dimensions in clinically changed children. The HAY seems useful for both discriminative and evaluative research in children with asthma.

Late-life depressive disorder in the community. I. The relationship between MMSE score and depression in subjects with and without psychiatric history.

BACKGROUND: In previous studies cognitive impairment in depressed elderly in-patients tends to be associated with a late onset of depression. This study tests the hypothesis that cognitive impairment is associated with depression only in elderly individuals with no history of psychiatric illness. METHOD: We investigated an age-stratified sample of 4051 elderly people living in the community, aged between 65 and 84 (AMSTEL). The relationship between depression (GMS-AGECAT diagnosis) and scores on the Mini Mental State Examination was studied in subjects with and without a reported psychiatric history (CAMDEX questionnaire). RESULTS: Low MMSE scores (MMSE < or = 25) were only associated with depression in subjects with no psychiatric history (young/old: OR = 2.75, 95% CI = 1.83, 4.19; old/old: OR = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.61, 3.03). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that the combination of cognitive impairment and first-episode depression in elderly individuals may indicate cerebral deterioration. Depression as such may not be associated with cognitive impairment.

Late-life depressive disorder in the community. II. The relationship between psychiatric history, MMSE and family history.

BACKGROUND: In previous studies, dementia was linked to a family history of dementia and Down's syndrome. This study tested the hypothesis that late-life depression accompanied by cognitive impairment in elderly individuals with no history of psychiatric illness is also associated with these family histories. METHOD: We investigated an age-stratified sample of 4051 elderly people in the community aged 65-84 (AMSTEL). The relationship between family history (CAMDEX questionnaire) and depression (GMS-AGECAT diagnosis) was studied. RESULTS: A family history of mental health problems was associated with all subtypes of depression. Family history of dementia was associated with depression in subjects with a psychiatric history, but a family history of Down's syndrome was only associated with the combination of depression and cognitive impairment in subjects with no history of psychiatric illness. CONCLUSIONS: The heritability pattern confirms the concept of a dementia-related subtype of late-life depression.