Showing papers by "Thierry Christiaens published in 2015"

Characterisation of patient encounters in community pharmacies (with special focus on self-medication).

Abstract: Objectives To characterise patient encounters during routine drug dispensing in community pharmacies. Methods Cross-sectional survey in community pharmacies (Belgium). Key findings Fifty-four per cent of all encounters (N = 1650) concerned patients carrying a prescription, of which 39% were prescriptions for new medication and 61% were repeat prescriptions. In 62% of all encounters, patients asked for non-prescribed medication. Almost one-third of self-medication requests related to special patient populations (mainly children and elderly). Conclusions Many encounters related to self-medication, and a substantial number of these self-medication requests concerned vulnerable patient populations.

Is nitrofurantoïne nog steeds de beste van de klas bij resistentie

Abstract: Uit epidemiologisch onderzoek weten we dat acute cystitis bij vrouwen in de eerste lijn voor het grootste deel wordt veroorzaakt door E. coli-bacterien die quasi 100% gevoelig zijn aan nitrofurantoine.1

Sourcing practices in health news: the case of Viktor

Abstract: This paper analyzes journalist-source relations in light of ongoing changes in the media landscape. On the one hand, the interplay of cost-cutting and digitalization in traditional newsrooms is expected to lead to an increased impact of private industries, special-interest organizations and lobby groups on the news. On the other hand, the tendency towards tabloidization and the spread of so-called citizen journalism occur simultaneously with the emergence of the ‘empowered patient’: in recent decades citizens have advocated for a more active involvement in health care delivery. Some authors contend that, next to elite sources, individual citizens are increasingly important sources for health-related issues (as vox pop or as a source of user-generated content). By means of a qualitative content analysis (N=106), this paper examines how both sourcing tendencies can be observed in the news coverage of a recent health news controversy in the Belgian press. On April 30, 2013, the parents of seven-year-old boy Victor, who suffers from a rare disease that affects his immune system, call out for help through different media channels. The life-saving drugs to treat his condition are very expensive, but they are not refunded by the National Health Service. Yet a few days later, a sharp-eyed journalist reveals that this news story, which was originally perceived as a signal of patient empowerment and broadened news access, was in fact highjacked by Alexion. This pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drugs had instructed a PR company to help the boy’s parents to get more media attention.

Blijft nitrofurantoïne eerste keus bij cystitis

Abstract: Nitrofurantoine werd in 1953 goedgekeurd door de FDA, maar met de komst van cotrimoxazole en betalactamantibiotica verloor het product aan populariteit. Na 2000 werd het terug meer en meer gepromoot wegens de resistentieproblematiek. Op dit moment is het gebruik van nitrofurantoine in de meeste landen sterk gestegen, met uitzondering van Frankrijk waar het geneesmiddelenagentschap waarschuwde voor mogelijke zeer ernstige bijwerkingen.

Blijft nitrofurantoïne eerste keus bij cystitis

Abstract: bespreking van Huttner A, Verhaegh E, Harbarth S, Muller A, Mouton J. Nitrofurantoin revisited: a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. JAC 2015; 70:2456-2464

Pharmaceuticals as solution for health problems: a stakeholder perspective

Abstract: This study is situated within current discussions of ‘medicalization’ (Conrad, 2005, 2007) and ‘pharmaceuticalization’ (Williams, Martin & Gabe, 2011). Relations within the medical field have evolved from linear doctor-patient-relations towards a complex network involving many different stakeholders. The field of health and health care has evolved into a medical market in which health is increasingly seen as a commodity; patients are perceived as consumers and medicines are turning into consumer goods (Busfield, 2006). This evolution has broadened the debate about medicalization and has led to the emergence of the concept of ‘pharmaceuticalization’, which implies that social, behavioral or physical conditions require a treatment with pharmaceuticals (Abraham, 2010; Williams, Martin & Gabe, 2011). In the medical market, one important new ‘driver’ (Conrad, 2005, 2007) of the ‘pharmaceuticalization of society’ is the pharmaceutical industry (Williams, Martin & Gabe, 2011), which increasingly targets the public, but more research is needed to fully understand which ‘drivers’ or stakeholders contribute to this development. Therefore, using a stakeholder mapping technique, this study aims first to identify the stakeholders that are involved in the production and/or distribution of information about pharmaceuticals in the Belgian medical market. Second, by means of in-depth interviews, we want to gain more insight in their discourses on pharmaceuticals as a means to examine to what extent they act as ‘drivers’ of the pharmaceuticalization of the Belgian health landscape. Our stakeholder mapping revealed eight relevant stakeholder categories: the media, the pharmaceutical industry, government institutions, health insurance companies, patient organizations, consumer organizations, academic medical experts and organizations of health professionals. To study the discourses of these stakeholders , a minimum of 32 semi-structured interviews (four per stakeholder category) will be conducted from March to June 2015, with key persons at management level (CEO and PR/communication) within the selected organizations. We will ask these different stakeholders about their definitions of health and illness, and their views on possible causes and solutions for health and illness. We expect that government institutions, the pharmaceutical industry, the media and organizations of health professionals are important drivers of pharmaceuticalization (Williams, Martin & Gabe, 2011). By contrast, we think that health insurance companies, patient organizations, consumer organizations and academic medical experts will focus more on other solutions than pharmaceuticals, such as weight loss, dietary changes or physical exercise.

Resistentieprobleem bij uropathogenen overschat

Abstract: Ironmonger en collega’s deden een retrospectief onderzoek naar de resistentie bij kiemen van urinestalen van patienten uit de West Midlands regio in Engeland. Van 2010 tot 2013 analyseerden zij via het AmSurv, een centraal toezichtsysteem, resistentieprofielen van meer dan 400 000 E. coli, 23 800 K. pneumoniae en bijna 7000 P. aeruginosa isolaten uit de eerste en tweede lijn.