351. Completeness of tuberculosis (TB) notification : inventory studies and capture-recapture analyses, six European Union countries, 2014 to 2016Masja Straetemans, Mirjam I Bakker, Sandra Alba, Christina Mergenthaler, Ente Rood, Peter H Andersen, Henrieke Schimmel, Aleksandar Šimunović, Petra Svetina, Carlos Carvalho, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Background. Progress towards the World Health Organization's End TB Strategy is monitored by assessing tuberculosis (TB) incidence, often derived from TB notification, assuming complete case detection and reporting. This assumption is unlikely to hold in many settings, including European Union (EU) countries. Aim. We aimed to assess observed and estimated completeness of TB notification through inventory studies and capture-recapture (CRC) methodology in six EU countries: Croatia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia. Methods. We performed record linkage, case ascertainment and CRC analyses of data collected retrospectively from at least three national TB-related registers in each country between 2014 and 2016. Results. Observed completeness of TB notification by inventory studies was 73.9% in Croatia, 98.7% in Denmark, 83.6% in Finland, 81.6% in the Netherlands, 85.8% in Portugal and 100% in Slovenia. Subsequent CRC analysis estimated completeness of TB notification to be 98.4% in Denmark, 76.5% in Finland and 77.0% in Portugal. In Croatia, CRC analyses produced implausible results while in the Netherlands and Slovenia, it was methodologically considered not meaningful. Conclusion. Inventory studies and CRC methodology suggest a TB notification completeness between 73.9% and 100% in the six EU countries. Mandatory reporting by clinicians and laboratories, and cross-checking of registers, strongly contributes to accurate notification rates, but hospital episode registers likely contain a considerable proportion of false-positive TB records and are thus less useful. Further strengthening routine surveillance to count TB cases, i.e. incidence, accurately by employing record-linkage of high-quality TB registers should make CRC studies obsolete in EU countries.
Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculosis, incidence, public health surveillance, registries, reporting, notification, data collection, data analysis
Published in DiRROS: 27.07.2020; Views: 1566; Downloads: 1111
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352. Access to novel drugs for non-small cell lung cancer in Central and Southeastern Europe : a Central European Cooperative Oncology Group analysisTanja Čufer, Tudor Ciuleanu, Peter Berzinec, Gabriela Galffy, Marko Jakopović, Jacek Jassem, Dragana Jovanovic, Zhasmina MIhaylova, Gyula Ostoros, Christiane Thallinger, Milada Zemanova, Christoph Zielinski, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Background. Treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) improved substantially in the last decades. Novel targeted and immune-oncologic drugs were introduced into routine treatment. Despite accelerated development and subsequent drug registrations by the European Medicinal Agency (EMA), novel drugs for NSCLC are poorly accessible in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Material and Methods. The Central European Cooperative Oncology Group conducted a survey among experts from 10 CEE countries to provide an overview on the availability of novel drugs for NSCLC and time from registration to reimbursement decision in their countries. Results. Although first-generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors were reimbursed and available in all countries, for other registered therapies - even for ALK inhibitors and checkpoint inhibitors in first-line - there were apparent gaps in availability and/or reimbursement. There was a trend for better availability of drugs with longer time from EMA marketing authorization. Substantial differences in access to novel drugs among CEE countries were observed. In general, the availability of drugs is not in accordance with the Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (MCBS), as defined by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). Time spans between drug registrations and national decisions on reimbursement vary greatly, from less than 3 months in one country to more than 1 year in the majority of countries. Conclusion. The access to novel drugs for NSCLC in CEE countries is suboptimal. To enable access to the most effective compounds within the shortest possible time, reimbursement decisions should be faster and ESMO MCBS should be incorporated into decision making.
Keywords: non-small cell lung cancer, treatment, novel drugs, Central Europe, Southeastern Europe
Published in DiRROS: 24.07.2020; Views: 1931; Downloads: 1117
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359. Timeline of autumn phenology in temperate deciduous treesInge Dox, Jožica Gričar, Lorène Julia Marchand, Sebastien Leys, Paolo Zuccarini, Charly Geron, Peter Prislan, Bertold Mariën, Patrick Fonti, Holger Lange, Josep Peñuelas, Jan Van den Bulcke, Matteo Campioli, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Cessation of xylem formation or wood growth (CWG) and onset of foliar senescence (OFS) are key autumn phenological events in temperate deciduous trees. Their timing is fundamental for development and survival of trees, ecosystem nutrient cycling, the seasonal exchange of matter and energy between the biosphere and atmosphere and affect the impact and feedback of forests to global change. A large-scale experimental effort and improved observational methods have allowed us to compare the timing of CWG and OFS for different deciduous tree species in Western Europe, in particularly silver birch, a pioneer species, and European beech, a late-succession species, at stands of different latitudes, of different levels of site fertility, and for two years with contrasting meteorological and drought conditions i.e., the low-moderately dry 2017 and the extremely dry 2018. Specifically, we tested whether foliar senescence started before, after or concurrently with CWG. OFS and CWG occurred generally between late September and early November, with larger differences across species and sites for OFS. Foliar senescence started concurrently with CWG in most cases, except for the drier 2018 and, for beech, at the coldest site, where OFS occurred significantly later than CWG. Behavior of beech in Spain, the southern edge of its European distribution, was unclear, with no CWG, but very low wood growth at the time of OFS. Our study suggests that OFS is generally triggered by the same drivers of CWG or when wood growth decreases in late summer, indicating an overarching mechanism of sink limitation as a possible regulator of the timing of foliar senescence.
Keywords: autumn phenology, xylem formation, foliar senescence, cambium, chlorophyll, radial growth, wood, decidiuous trees, common aspen, common beech, pedunculate oak, silver birch
Published in DiRROS: 10.06.2020; Views: 2008; Downloads: 1242
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360. Inter-individual variability in spring phenology of temperate deciduous trees depends on species, tree size and previous year autumn phenologyLorène Julia Marchand, Inge Dox, Jožica Gričar, Peter Prislan, Sebastien Leys, Jan Van den Bulcke, Patrick Fonti, Holger Lange, Erik Matthysen, Josep Peñuelas, Paolo Zuccarini, Matteo Campioli, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: We explored the inter-individual variability in bud-burst and its potential drivers, in homogeneous mature stands of temperate deciduous trees. Phenological observations of leaves and wood formation were performed weekly from summer 2017 to summer 2018 for pedunculate oak, European beech and silver birch in Belgium. The variability of bud-burst was correlated to previous' year autumn phenology (i.e. the onset of leaf senescence and the cessation of wood formation) and tree size but with important differences among species. In fact, variability of bud-burst was primarily related to onset of leaf senescence, cessation of wood formation and tree height for oak, beech and birch, respectively. The inter-individual variability of onset of leaf senescence was not related to the tree characteristics considered and was much larger than the inter-individual variability in bud-burst. Multispecies multivariate models could explain up to 66% of the bud-burst variability. These findings represent an important advance in our fundamental understanding and modelling of phenology and tree functioning of deciduous tree species.
Keywords: leaf unfolding, wood formation, coloration, Pedunculate oak, European beech, Silver birch
Published in DiRROS: 10.06.2020; Views: 1954; Downloads: 1138
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