The hospital is the result of a merger of four hospitals in Kortrijk and is in number of beds -in its current form- the fifth largest hospital system in Belgium. The -in 2017 opened- new 1000+ hospital bed facility at the Kennedylaan is one of the largest hospital sites in Belgium..
Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a major health and economic challenge in Belgium, affecting approximately 800,000 individuals, half of whom remain undiagnosed. Beyond respiratory morbidity, COPD patients face substantial cardiopulmonary (CP) risk-encompassing severe exacerbations and cardiovascular (CV) events-that is often under-recognized and insufficiently addressed due to limited clinical awareness, fragmented care, and the absence of national guidance. Methods: A multidisciplinary Belgian taskforce (general practitioners, pulmonologists, cardiologists, pharmacists, epidemiologists) convened through structured workshops and iterative consensus-building to develop a pragmatic, evidence-informed care pathway. The recommendations focus on COPD patients with at least one moderate or severe exacerbation, who are at heightened CP risk. Results: This consensus introduces an integrated, stepwise framework that positions CP risk as a central component of COPD management after exacerbation and operationalizes it across primary care, hospitalization, and post-exacerbation follow-up. Core elements include systematic and proactive CP risk identification in primary care, standardized diagnostic workups during hospitalization, and multidisciplinary discharge planning. Pharmacological strategies combine eosinophil-guided inhaler therapy with guideline-directed CV treatment, while non-pharmacological measures reinforce smoking cessation, vaccination, physical activity, and pulmonary rehabilitation. Clear referral thresholds between primary care, pulmonology, and cardiology are defined, supported by patient education and digital monitoring tools. Conclusion: This Belgian consensus complements international guidelines by consolidating fragmented recommendations into coherent, actionable algorithms that bridge gaps in routine practice. Its contribution lies in translating emerging evidence into structured, real-world pathways that integrate respiratory and cardiac care. Adoption of this framework may help reduce exacerbations, improve CV outcomes, and support multidisciplinary COPD care in Belgium.
Actinium-225 (225Ac) has emerged as a pivotal alpha-emitter in modern radiopharmaceutical therapy, offering potent cytotoxicity with the potential for precise tumour targeting. Accurate, patient-specific image-based dosimetry for 225Ac is essential to optimize therapeutic efficacy while minimizing radiation-induced toxicity. Establishing a robust dosimetry workflow is particularly challenging due to the complex decay chain, low administered activity, limited count statistics, and the indirect measurement of daughter gamma emissions. Clinical single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography protocols with harmonized acquisition parameters, combined with robust volume-of-interest segmentation, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven image processing, and voxel-level analysis, enable reliable time-activity curve generation and absorbed-dose calculation, while reduced mixed-model approaches improve workflow efficiency, reproducibility, and patient-centred implementation. Cadmium zinc telluride-based gamma cameras further enhance quantitative accuracy, enabling rapid whole-body imaging and precise activity measurement, supporting patient-friendly dosimetry. Complementing these advances, the cerium-134/lanthanum-134 positron emission tomography in vivo generator provides a unique theranostic platform to noninvasively monitor 225Ac progeny redistribution, evaluate alpha-decay recoil, and study tracer internalization, particularly for internalizing vectors. Together, these technological and methodological innovations establish a mechanistically informed framework for individualized 225Ac dosimetry in targeted alpha therapy, supporting optimized treatment planning and precise response assessment. Continued standardization and validation of imaging, reconstruction, and dosimetry workflows will be critical to translate these approaches into reproducible, patient-specific clinical care.
PURPOSEChronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treatment paradigms have evolved significantly, yet real-world evidence (RWE) on guideline implementation and patient characteristics remains limited.MATERIALS AND METHODSThis multicenter retrospective study leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze structured and unstructured data from four Belgian hospitals (January 1, 2018-October 31, 2021). Structured data including diagnosis codes, laboratory results, treatment records, and national registries were standardized using the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model. Unstructured clinical notes and reports were processed using a transformer-based natural language processing (NLP) pipeline. We examined clinical characteristics, diagnostic testing, and treatment patterns among patients with newly diagnosed CLL.RESULTSOf 22 variable groups analyzed, 50.0% was derived from structured data only, 36.4% from unstructured data only (NLP-extracted), and 13.6% from mixed sources. Five hundred eighty-six patients with CLL were identified, with a median age of 74 years. One hundred seventy-four patients (29.7%) initiated first-line (1L) treatment, and 41 progressed to second-line treatment. Of 1L treated patients, 68.4% had at least one prespecified comorbidity, including 12.1% with significant cardiovascular disease. TP53/del17p testing was documented in 34.3% of patients before 1L treatment, with aberrations detected in 42.8%. Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi; 35.6%) were the most common 1L treatment, followed by chemoimmunotherapy (CIT; 25.9%). CIT use declined (30.6% to 17.5%), whereas BTKi use remained stable (34.2% to 38.1%) between 2018 and 2021.CONCLUSIONThis AI-augmented study demonstrates the feasibility and scalability of combining NLP-derived insights with OMOP-standardized structured data to generate reproducible RWE in hematology. Our results highlight an elderly CLL population with significant comorbidities and a shift toward targeted therapies. While treatment patterns aligned with guidelines, data quality depended on source documentation accessibility. Improved integration of molecular testing into electronic health records is essential for enhancing clinical decision making, patient outcomes, and future research.
BACKGROUND:Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a well-known cause of inferior heel pain. Gastrocnemius tightness plays an important role in the pathophysiology. PF is mainly treated conservatively, but in a limited number of patients further surgery is needed. We investigated whether proximal medial gastrocnemius release (PMGR) as an isolated procedure is a successful treatment with low complication rates. METHODS:This retrospective follow up included patients who underwent PMGR between August 2020 and December 2024 for recalcitrant PF. Diagnosis of PF was confirmed clinically and radiologically. A minimum of 6 months conservative treatment together with a positive Silfverskiöld's test was indicative for surgery. Pain and functional assessment were measured preoperatively, at 2 weeks and 2 years postoperatively using the European Foot and Ankle Society (EFAS) questionnaire and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). RESULTS:A total of 24 patients (34 feet) were included. The mean preoperative EFAS score improved from 1.79 ± 3.362-12.46 ± 7.14 at 2 weeks (P < 0.001) and to 22.08 ± 4.31 at 2 years postoperative (P < 0.001). The mean preoperative VAS score declined from 8.17 ± 1.05-4.67 ± 2.48 2 weeks postoperatively (P < 0.001) to 1.17 ± 2.51 2 years postoperatively (P < 0.001). There was 1 case of deep venous thrombosis with associated pulmonary embolism, no other complications were noted. CONCLUSIONS:PMGR provides good results for patients with recalcitrant plantar fasciitis with a high satisfaction and low complication rate.
