[Influenza vaccination from this autumn for all pregnant women: less influenza infections among neonates and pregnant women]. / Vanaf dit najaar griepvaccinatie voor álle zwangeren.

Both pregnant women and their newborns have a higher risk to be admitted to hospital because of complications of an influenza infection. Especially newborns under six months of age are at an increased risk to be admitted with complications of an influenza infection. In pregnant women, hospital admittance in case of influenza infection is two to threefold increased as compared to non-pregnant women. Vaccination against influenza infection is a safe and effective method to decrease the morbidity of influenza infections in pregnant women and their newborns. Starting in 2023, all pregnant women in the Netherlands will be offered influenza vaccination. It is important to take care of good acceptation of influenza vaccination amongst pregnant women. Good education of healthcare providers and good counseling of pregnant women is necessary to optimize the uptake of influenza vaccination.

[How often do medical guidelines refer to articles written in Dutch?] / Hoe vaak verwijzen richtlijnen naar artikelen in hetNTvG?

OBJECTIVE: For Dutch medical guidelines, Dutch research articles published in the NTvG (NederlandsTijdschriftvoorGeneeskunde) and other medical journals are not searched systematically and are only used sporadically. Using these publications in the process of guideline development can be useful for recommendations regarding the Dutch context of care. In this research, we have investigated how often and in which parts of Dutch guidelines articles published in NTvG are used. DESIGN: We specifically investigated how often articles published in NTvG are mentioned in Dutch medical guidelines published on www.richtlijnendatabase.nl, that were developed in 2019, 2020 and 2021. METHOD: In all parts of new or revised Dutch medical guidelines published in these years on www.richtlijnendatabase.nl, we searched for references of articles published in NTvG. RESULTS: The results show that in 3% of all Dutch medical guidelines a reference to an article published in NTvG is made. These references were made in the literature summaries (21% of the references), the reflections on the literature for the Dutch context of care (48% of the references), or in other areas such as the introduction (10% of the references) or appendices (21% of the references). CONCLUSION: Articles published in NTvG may be relevant for making recommendations in Dutch medical guidelines, as these publications usually reflect the Dutch care context, and may do more so than research published in international journals. The results of this research show that the number of Dutch guidelines where these articles are used is limited. Dutch research articles may be a source of information that is yet to be tapped into.

[Strict treatment of hypertension during pregnancy: safe but not obviously better]. / Strikte behandeling hypertensie tijdens zwangerschap: veilig maar niet duidelijk beter.

The CHIPS (Control of Hypertension In Pregnancy Study) trial showed that tight blood pressure control in women with hypertension during pregnancy was safe with respect to neonatal outcome. However it was not linked to improvement of the predefined maternal composite outcome. The CHIPS trial is without doubt a landmark study in this field; however some questions are still unresolved. The study population consists of pregnant women with pre-existing hypertension and those with gestational hypertension. As these groups differ regarding pathophysiology and are however covered in separate guidelines in the Netherlands. Unfortunately no sub-analyses were performed for these groups. Moreover the primary neonatal endpoint is defined too broadly because of the inclusion of the rather vague component "higher than usual neonatal care". An endpoint combining major neonatal and maternal comorbidities would have been more clinically relevant. It is unlikely that the results of this trial will influence the Dutch guidelines.