Method for better prediction models

Predicting the extent to which a person is at risk of a particular disorder or predicting the course of an individual’s disease; the use of prediction models is increasing in the healthcare sector.

Help older people better with their medication intake

Personal guidance has added value, particularly for elderly people with multiple chronic conditions.

Mass screening for corona will not allow for reopening of society

Utrecht, November 20, 2020 - Massive and repeated testing of the population for the coronavirus, followed by isolating people that can spread the virus, after the current wave is not a feasible solution for the reopening of society. This conclusion is drawn in a new modeling study by epidemiologists from UMC Utrecht and Utrecht University.

Tocilizumab effective in treating sickest COVID-19 patients

Critically ill patients with COVID-19 treated with a drug that reduces inflammation by modifying the immune system require shorter durations of organ support in the intensive care unit, an international study has found.

Insight into interaction between viruses

Different viruses that cause respiratory complaints affect each other. Pediatrician and epidemiologist Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen will investigate what this influence is and how we should take it into account – for example with vaccination – with her Vidi grant.

People with cancer want their GP to be involved

Patients with cancer need more involvement of their GP after the diagnosis in the hospital. For example, in joint decision making for the treatment. However, planning this is a challenge, as shown by the GRIP study carried out by the UMC Utrecht.

More frequently pneumonia in S. aureus carriers in ICU

People in intensive care (IC) get pneumonia with the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium more frequently than thought. For people who carry S. aureus, this number is even higher, and carrier status even turns out to be virtually the only independent risk factor for contracting S. aureus pneumonia, says Fleur Paling in her PhD research.

More attention required for life-style interventions in general practice

The short-term effects of a prevention program via general practitioners to prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes are positive but not cost-effective in the long term, according to research carried out by UMC Utrecht.

In the Netherlands, men who suffer from cystitis are typically given nitrofurantoin as a treatment. However, this therapy may not always be effective and a retrospective study found that it failed in 25% of cases. As a result, it is recommended that contingency advice be offered to men with cystitis who are being treated with nitrofurantoin.