Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde
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Over the past few months, regular care has been postponed where possible in order to increase the healthcare capacity for COVID-19 patients. The pressure imposed on the healthcare system by the new coronavirus has led to the need for the prioritising of breast cancer care. ⋯ In certain groups of patients, including those with ductal carcinoma in situ or an endocrine sensitive tumour, treatment may be postponed or modified, although with certain reservations. At the initiative of the NationaalBorstkankerOverleg Nederland, prospective data are currently being collected in order to gain more insight into the impact of COVID-19 on breast cancer care.
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In 2021 many people in the Netherlands will be vaccinated against COVID-19. The mass vaccination and the new types of vaccines trigger questions about the safety of these vaccines. In this paper we discuss: (1) what reactions are expected from COVID-19 vaccines, (2) what precautions are needed when vaccinating people, and (3) how to act when allergic reactions occur. ⋯ These reactions may be related to excipients in the vaccines, like polyethylene glycol. In case of a possible allergic reaction, a doctor, in consultation with an allergist, can investigate whether vaccination is safe in the future and whether precautions are necessary. Allergic reactions to vaccine components must be recorded completely and unambiguously in the patient file.
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Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd · Dec 2020
Historical Article[Isolation and distancing during the plague epidemics].
The plague epidemics wiped out large parts of the city population from the 15th to the 17th century in the Netherlands. The plague bacterium (Yersinia pestis) is transmitted to humans through infected rats and fleas and has been transferred from China to Europe via the trade routes over land and sea. Meetings were banned, plague victims were isolated at home or in pest houses, and ships quarantined. ⋯ The lessons we have learned from the plague epidemics are timeless. Isolation, keeping your distance and quarantine were key principles and now apply again in the approach to the current Covid-19 pandemic. How effective these measures are depends on the social context in which they are applied.
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Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd · Aug 2020
[The Netherlands Triage Standard applied to paediatric patients in emergency medicine: is it reliable and valid?]
To determine the inter-rater reliability and validity of the Netherlands Triage Standard (NTS) for paediatric triage. ⋯ The results of the study contribute to the evidence that the NTS is a reliable and valid triage standard for paediatric patients. The urgency assessments by triagists in the GP out-of-hours practices, ambulance dispatching centres and hospital emergency departments were broadly in agreement. Results were limited by cases being on paper and triage only on anamnestic characteristics.
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Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd · Apr 2020
Case Reports[Dysphagia caused by osteophytes of the cervical spine].
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a systemic condition characterised by ossification of the ligaments around the spinal column due to unknown aetiology. This is often asymptomatic, but it can cause dysphagia in rare cases. ⋯ In rare cases, dysphagia can be caused by osteophytes of the cervical spine in patients with DISH. Surgical removal of these osteophytes usually has good results.