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Biomedical subjects

Pieter G M van der Valk

Publications and source records attributed to Pieter G M van der Valk.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Long-term safety and efficacy of tacrolimus ointment for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in children.

Tacrolimus ointment is a topical calcineurin inhibitor for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. The primary objective of this open-label study was to assess the long-term safety of tacrolimus ointment. The primary end-point was the incidence of adverse events. Secondary end-points included the Eczema Area and Severity Index and a modified version of this index. A total of 466 children with atopic dermatitis, aged 2-15 years, applied 0.03% or 0.1% tacrolimus ointment twice daily for up to 29.5 months. Skin burning and pruritus were the most common application site events; their prevalence decreased over time. There was no increase in viral infections or other adverse events over time. Laboratory profiles were consistent with those reported in atopic populations. Substantial improvement in all efficacy end-points was observed by week 2 and maintained throughout the study. Long-term treatment with tacrolimus ointment is safe and effective in these patients with atopic dermatitis.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed2005

The effect of treatment on quality of life in psoriasis patients.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease with substantial impact on patients' social and relational ways of living and subsequently on their quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis treated with short contact dithranol treatment, UVB phototherapy or inpatient dithranol treatment. HRQoL was evaluated in an open randomized multicentre study by appliance of the Dutch short form of the Sickness Impact Profile and the Psoriasis Disability Index; 250 patients were included. Successful short contact dithranol treatment and UVB phototherapy both led to a comparable improvement in HRQoL immediately after treatment until the end of the follow-up (maximum 1 year). Inpatients experienced a more impaired HRQoL and showed no significant improvement in HRQoL directly following treatment. At the end of the study HRQoL became comparable for all treatment groups. All three treatments led to substantial improvement in HRQoL; however, patients treated by short contact treatment or UVB showed a better HRQoL than inpatients.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed2003

Evidence-based diagnosis in patch testing.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is defined as the integration of the best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. Based on the principles of EBM, we can conclude that patch testing is cost-effective only if patients are selected on the basis of a clear-cut clinical suspicion of contact allergy and only if patients are tested with chemicals relevant to the problem (high pretest probability). Random patch testing (low pretest probability) should be discouraged. Proper pretest probability assessment can only be done in expert centres, because problem-based testing requires both a thorough knowledge of the patch-test procedure and knowledge about potential sensitizers in a specific environment.

Allergens↗