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Rianne Oostenbrink

Publications and source records attributed to Rianne Oostenbrink.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Reliability and validity of the Infant and Toddler Quality of Life Questionnaire (ITQOL) in a general population and respiratory disease sample.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate feasibility, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent and discriminative validity of the Infant and Toddler Quality of Life Questionnaire (ITQOL) for parents of pre-school children with 12 scales (103-items) covering physical and psychosocial domains and impact of child health on parents, in comparison with the TNO-AZL Pre-school Children Quality of Life Questionnaire (TAPQOL). METHODS: Parents of children from a random general population sample (2 months-4 years old; n = 500) and of an outpatient clinic sample of children with respiratory disease (5 months-[Formula: see text] years old; n = 217) were mailed ITQOL and TAPQOL questionnaires; a retest was sent after two weeks. RESULTS: Feasibility: The response was >or=80% with few missing and non-unique ITQOL-answers (<2%) in both study populations. Some ITQOL-scales (3-4 scales) showed a ceiling effect (>25% at maximum score). Internal consistency: All Cronbach's alpha >0.70. Test-retest Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) were moderate or adequate (>or=0.50; p < 0.01) for 10 ITQOL-scales. VALIDITY: ITQOL-scales, with a few exceptions, correlated better with predefined parallel TAPQOL scales than with non-parallel scales. Five to eight ITQOL-scales discriminated clearly between children with few and with many parent-reported chronic conditions, between children with and without doctor-diagnosed respiratory disease and with a low and a high parent-reported medical consumption (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study supported the evidence that the ITQOL is a feasible instrument with adequate psychometric properties. The study provided reference ITQOL scores for gender/age subgroups. We recommend repeated evaluations of the ITQOL in varied populations, especially among very young children, including repeated assessments of test-retest characteristics and evaluations of responsiveness to change. We recommend developing and evaluating a shortened ITQOL version.

Asthma↗
PubMed2006

Validating and updating a prediction rule for neurological sequelae after childhood bacterial meningitis.

Recently, a prediction rule for developing neurological sequelae after childhood bacterial meningitis was developed on a small derivation set. Before implementing in practice a prediction rule must first be tested in new patients (external validation). Our aim was to study the external validity of this rule and, if necessary, to update the rule. The prediction rule was tested on newly available data (validation set) by assessing the rule's calibration and discrimination. We updated the prediction rule by adding extra predictors and re-estimating the regression coefficients of the original predictors in the combined datasets. The rule showed poor agreement between predicted risks and observed frequencies. The ROC area was 0.65 (95% CI 0.57-0.72), which was statistically significantly lower than in the derivation set (0.87 (0.78-0.96)), p-value<0.01. The updated prediction rule showed adequate performance in the combined data sets; the ROC area was 0.77 (95% CI 0.72-0.82). Further study of the generalizability of this updated rule may stimulate application in clinical practice.

Child↗
PubMed2004

A diagnostic decision rule for management of children with meningeal signs.

In a previous study we devised a diagnostic decision rule to improve management of children with meningeal signs, suspected of having bacterial meningitis. The decision rule aimed to guide decisions on (1) whether a lumbar puncture is necessary in children with meningeal signs, and (2) which children need hospitalisation and empirical antibiotic treatment for bacterial meningitis. In this study we assessed the validity of this rule in an external population of four (paediatric) hospitals in The Netherlands. The decision rule included two scoring algorithms using symptoms, signs and quickly available blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) laboratory tests. To evaluate the discriminative value of both algorithms, the absolute numbers of correctly diagnosed patients and the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve were estimated, and compared with the results from the original population (n = 360). In a 18 month period, we included 226 children, median age 2.2 years, who visited the emergency department with meningeal signs. Bacterial meningitis was present in 25 (11%). Using the scoring algorithms patients could be categorised in groups of increasing risk of bacterial meningitis. The discriminative values of the clinical and CSF algorithm in this new population were similar to those in the original population. In the total population of 586 children with meningeal signs, the rule selected 205 children (35%) who did not need a lumbar puncture and 366 children who did not need empirical treatment (62%). In conclusion, this diagnostic rule performed well in a new population of children with meningeal signs. This diagnostic decision rule is a valuable tool for the clinician when deciding to treat these children for bacterial meningitis and thus improving their management.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Diagnostic research on routine care data: prospects and problems.

A diagnosis in practice is a sequential process starting with a patient with a particular set of signs and symptoms. To serve practice, diagnostic research should aim to quantify the added value of a test to clinical information that is commonly available before the test will be applied. Routine care databases commonly include all documented patient information, and therefore seem to be suitable to quantify a tests' added value to prior information. It is well known, however, that retrospective use of routine care data in diagnostic research may cause various methodologic problems. But, given the increased attention of electronic patient records including data from routine patient care, we believe it is time to reconsider these problems. We discuss four problems related to routine care databases. First, most databases do not label patients by their symptoms or signs but by their final diagnosis. Second, in routine care the diagnostic workup of a patient is by definition determined by previous diagnostic (test) results. Therefore, routinely documented data are subject to so-called workup bias. Third, in practice, the reference test is always interpreted with knowledge of the preceding test information, such that in scientific studies using routine data the diagnostic value of a test under evaluation is commonly overestimated. Fourth, routinely documented databases are likely to suffer from missing data. Per problem we discuss methods that are presently available and may (partly) overcome each problem. All this could contribute to more frequent and appropriate use of routine care data in diagnostic research. The discussed methods to overcome the above problems may well be similarly useful to prospective diagnostic studies.

Bias↗
PubMed2003

Application of a diagnostic decision rule in children with meningeal signs: a cost-minimization study.

OBJECTIVES: Recently, we developed a diagnostic rule for the diagnosis and treatment of children with meningeal signs. This rule may provide the physician with a rationale to decide on the use of diagnostic and treatment procedures in these children and to improve their care. In this study, we estimated cost savings of the rule compared with current practice. METHODS: Routine care data of 360 children visiting the emergency department of the Sophia Children's Hospital with meningeal signs between 1988 and 1998 were used. Costs of diagnostic tests and treatment were estimated by using financial accounts of an academic and a general pediatric hospital. The number of procedures actually performed and the resulting cost estimates (i.e. unit costs x volume) were compared with the estimated figures after application of the decision rule. RESULTS: The population of children with meningeal signs comprised 99 with bacterial meningitis (27%), 36 with another serious bacterial infection (10%), and 225 with a self-limiting disease (63%). Application of the rule would reduce lumbar punctures by 12% and hospitalizations for empirical treatment by 15% with the same diagnostic accuracy as current practice. Cost savings were estimated at Euro292 per patient (relative reduction 10%) and were mainly achieved in the treatment course (Euro259). CONCLUSIONS: A diagnostic decision rule for children with meningeal signs has the potential to improve the appropriate use of medical resources, to be cost-effective, and to ascertain the absence of bacterial meningitis earlier.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Children with meningeal signs: predicting who needs empiric antibiotic treatment.

BACKGROUND: Since delayed diagnosis and treatment of bacterial meningitis worsens patient prognosis, clinicians have a low threshold to perform a lumbar puncture or to start empiric antibiotic treatment in patients suspected of having meningitis. OBJECTIVE: To develop a decision rule, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) indices and clinical characteristics, to determine whether empiric antibiotic treatment should be started in children with meningeal signs. DESIGN: Multivariable logistic regression analysis of retrospectively collected data. Bacterial meningitis was defined as a CSF leukocyte count of more than 5/ micro L with positive bacterial culture findings from CSF or blood specimens. SETTING: Pediatric emergency department of a pediatric university hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 227 children (aged 1 month to 15 years) with meningeal signs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The diagnostic value of adding early obtainable CSF indices to clinical characteristics to predict bacterial meningitis. RESULTS: Independent predictors of bacterial meningitis from early obtainable CSF indices were the CSF polymorphonuclear leukocyte count and the CSF-blood glucose ratio. The diagnostic value (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) of this CSF model was 0.93. Application of the model together with clinical characteristics could predict early the absence of bacterial meningitis in 69 (30%) of the 227 patients so that empiric antibiotic treatment could be safely withheld. CONCLUSION: A diagnostic decision rule that uses clinical characteristics at admission, the CSF polymorphonuclear leukocyte count, and the CSF-blood glucose ratio is a useful tool for deciding whether to start empiric antibiotics in children with meningeal signs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

The EQ-5D and the Health Utilities Index for permanent sequelae after meningitis: a head-to-head comparison.

Framed in a study on the cost-effectiveness of different diagnostic strategies regarding children with meningeal signs, this study evaluated the quality weights for permanent sequelae after childhood bacterial meningitis obtained with two different classification instruments: the EQ-5D, and Health Utilities Index (HUI). A panel of 28 pediatricians classified seven standardized descriptions of patients with permanent sequelae after bacterial meningitis according to the EQ-5D and HUI classification system. Quality weights for each classification were calculated using the EQ-5D and HUI standard scoring algorithms. HUI Mark 3 quality weights were substantially lower than the EQ-5D for all descriptions (mean difference 0.11; 95% CI: 0.08-0.14). Mean Kendall W for agreement of the ranking order between EQ-5D and HUI Mark 3 was 0.90. The EQ-5D and HUI resulted in different absolute quality weights, in particular for states associated with "deafness" and "mental retardation." Due to their performance differences, the HUI may be preferable to EQ-5D in studies focussed on "sensation" (hearing, vision, speech) or "cognition." These differences proved not to be relevant in the present cost-utility study of diagnostic strategies to rule out bacterial meningitis, as such consequences were at the distal end of the decision tree. This may be different in a cost-utility analysis of therapeutic strategies. Hence, sensitivity analysis to quality weights is recommended.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Sequelae after bacterial meningitis in childhood.

The neurological outcome of bacterial meningitis in children was evaluated retrospectively. Data were obtained from a large study on children aged between 1 month and 15 y who initially visited the emergency department of Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands with meningeal signs. This study presents data from 103 patients in whom bacterial meningitis was diagnosed. Neisseria meningitidis was the dominant pathogen of meningitis. We found a 2% case-fatality rate in children with bacterial meningitis and a 13% rate of sequelae among survivors: 7% hearing impairment and 7% neurological sequelae. Children with bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and those with acute focal neurological symptoms tended to have the worst prognosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Cost-utility analysis of patient care in children with meningeal signs.

OBJECTIVES: We designed a model of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions applied in children with meningeal signs. Using this model, we determined in a cost-utility analysis the consequences for society of different diagnostic strategies in terms of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and costs. METHODS: Data were used from 360 children (0.1-15 years) visiting the pediatric emergency department of the Sophia Children's Hospital Rotterdam, The Netherlands (1988-98) with meningeal signs. Model inputs included probabilities of meningitis and adverse outcome, QALYs for years lived with long-term sequelae, and costs of tests and treatments. Mean outcome measures were costs and effects of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in children suspected of bacterial meningitis, key determinants of the model outcomes, and evaluation of alternative diagnostic strategies and two vaccination programs in an analysis. RESULTS: The population comprised 99 children with bacterial meningitis (adverse outcome in 10), 36 with serious other bacterial infections, and 225 with self-limiting diseases. Key determinants were the risk of bacterial meningitis or sequelae, costs of treatment, and long-term morbidity. Minimizing lumbar punctures and empirical treatments using a diagnostic decision rule, without missing a single case of meningitis, was a dominant strategy to actual practice. Vaccination strategies of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis resulted in our model in incremental cost-utility ratios of 401,965 Euro dollar ([symbol: see text])/QALY and [symbol: see text]22,635/QALY, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Costs of long-term morbidity of bacterial meningitis largely outweigh diagnostic and treatment costs. Modeling interventions in children at risk of bacterial meningitis should include long-term consequences in terms of costs and QALYs.

Child, Preschool↗