Publications
Repetitive out of hospital cardiac arrests following pregnancy University of Antwerp
Post mortem microfocus computed tomography for early gestation fetuses Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Background: Perinatal autopsy provides useful clinical information in up to 40% of cases. However, there is a substantial unmet clinical need with regards to postmortem investigation of early gestation fetal loss for parents for whom standard autopsy is either not available or not acceptable. Parents dislike the invasive nature of autopsy, but current clinical imaging techniques do not provide high-enough imaging resolution in small fetuses. ...
Public health impact of congenital toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus infection in Belgium, 2013 Institute of Tropical Medicine Hasselt University University of Antwerp Ghent University
Congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) and cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) may cause significant morbidity and even fetal or neonatal mortality. We aimed to quantify the disease burden of CT and cCMV in Belgium in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and identify data gaps. The public health impact of CT and cCMV in Belgium in 2013 was 188 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 43-419) and 1976 (95% UI, 757-4067) DALYs, respectively. The major ...
Parental acceptance of minimally invasive fetal and neonatal autopsy compared with conventional autopsy Vrije Universiteit Brussel
OBJECTIVE: To determine parental acceptance of minimally invasive autopsy (MIA) involving postmortem imaging and organ tissue sampling compared with conventional autopsy and to compare the acceptability of percutaneous versus laparoscopic-guided biopsy.
METHODS: Following termination of pregnancy parents were offered the option of traditional autopsy and subsequently interviewed about their acceptance of MIA. The McNemar test for ...
Misoprostol preferable to ethacridine lactate for abortions at 13-20 weeks of pregnancy: Cuban experience Institute of Tropical Medicine
Outdated second trimester abortion methods are still being used in some countries, and very few studies have compared them to currently recommended methods. To this end, we studied the efficacy and safety of vaginal misoprostol used alone for abortions in 189 women at 13-20 weeks gestation, in 2004-2006. We also retrospectively collated similar data from an historical cohort of 189 women drawn consecutively and chronologically from hospital ...
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for Huntington's disease: the experience of three European centres. Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Building alliances from ambivalence: evaluation of abortion values clarification workshops with stakeholders in South Africa Institute of Tropical Medicine
A retrospective evaluation of attitudinal, behavioural and knowledge change among diverse stakeholder groups was conducted in Limpopo Province of South Africa to assess the effectiveness of a series of values clarification (VC) interventions. Telephone and face-to-face interview (193) results revealed that over two-thirds (70.2%) reported behavioural changes and 93.2% reported increased compassion for women who seek and providers who render ...
Clinically relevant discordances identified after tertiary reassessment of fetuses with isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia Vrije Universiteit Brussel KU Leuven
OBJECTIVE: Fetoscopic Endoluminal Tracheal Occlusion (FETO) may improve outcome of severe isolated Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (iCDH). We aimed to identify any discrepancy between initial assessment at the referring hospital and the evaluation at the fetal surgery center, and to document parental decisions following counseling for fetal surgery.
DESIGN: Single centre retrospective study on patients with presumed iCDH either referred ...