Kim Van Hoorenbeeck

University of Antwerp | UA · Department of experimental medicine and pediatrics

Introduction and Objectives Regular cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is the gold standard to measure maximal exercise capacity and recommended in the follow up of people with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) due to its prognostic value. Contrarily, functional tests and peripheral muscle function tests are less utilized in the follow up of these patients...

Background Regular physical activity (PA) offers significant health benefits on both short (i.e., emotional well-being) and long term (i.e., fewer hospitalizations) in Youth with Cystic Fibrosis (YwCF). Regardless, evidence on PA levels in YwCF compared to healthy controls (HC) is inconsistent. Additionally, PA is a multidimensional outcome influen...

Background Computer Aided Lung Sound Analysis (CALSA) aims to overcome limitations associated with standard lung auscultation by removing the subjective component and allowing quantification of sound characteristics. In this proof-of-concept study, a novel automated approach was evaluated in real patient data by comparing lung sound characteristics...

Background: Diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in infants and young children is challenging because of its clinical heterogeneity and lack of age-specific guidelines. Aim: We report the management and treatment outcome of OSA in children below two years of age. Treatment decisions were based upon the pattern of upper airway (U...

Background During adolescence, adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are expected to transfer their care from the pediatric environment towards an adult-focused setting. To prevent an abrupt transfer of care, it is recommended to provide AYAs with chronic conditions an adequate transition program. The aim of this paper is to describe the study protoc...

Background Diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in infants and young children is challenging because of its clinical heterogeneity and lack of age‐specific guidelines. Aim We report the management and treatment outcome of OSA in children below 2 years of age. Treatment decisions were based upon the pattern of upper airway (UA)...

Introduction Asthma is a chronic condition that affects millions of adolescents and young adults (AYA) worldwide. The transition from pediatric to adult care presents unique challenges for this population, affecting their self-management, quality of life and overall health outcomes. This systematic review aims to consolidate the available evidence...

Background Pulmonary infections by gram-negative organisms are important in cystic fibrosis (CF). Aminoglycosides (AG) are often part of the treatment regimen. However, they are a well-known cause of ototoxicity. Even minimal hearing impairment in children could have a future impact on functional well-being. We aimed to investigate the progression...

Background: Asthma is the most prevalent chronic respiratory condition in children. An asthma exacerbation (AE) is a frequent reason for emergency department (ED) visits. An important step in the management of a moderate to severe AE is the administration of systemic corticosteroids (SCS) within 1 h after ED presentation. This study aimed to determ...

Background Obesity is linked to several health complication, including Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD). Adipose tissue hypoxia has been suggested as an important player in the pathophysiological mechanism leading to chronic inflammation in obesity, and in the progression of MASLD. The study aims to investigate the e...

Introduction Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often present with chronic respiratory symptoms. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), is a known pathogen associated with more severe respiratory disease. Preventive actions to eradicate this bacterium and to improve the respiratory condition of children with CP could be very valuable. Therefore, we assessed t...

As we know life expectancy in CP can improve by both preventive measurements as initiation of early therapy concerning respiratory morbidity. The prevalence of PA in this prospective study of children with CP is low, gram-negative bacteria were most commonly found. Therefore, it is recommended to repeat and expand this study since the prevalence of...

Hypomagnesemia in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) as well as in obesity has been related to insulin resistance in adults, but not yet in pediatric patients. In this observational single-center study, we aimed to investigate the relation between the magnesium homeostasis, insulin resistance, and body composition in children with T1D and in child...

Research points to self-control as a possible mechanism for facilitating health behaviour and weight loss. The dual pathway model underpins the role of strong bottom-up reactivity towards food and weak top-down executive functions in obesity. Despite flourishing lab studies on attention bias modification or inhibition trainings, relatively few focu...

Introduction: Follow-up of children on long-term non-invasive ventilation (NIV) could be improved by telemonitoring, using the ventilator's built-in software (BIS) parameters as alternative for in-hospital sleep studies to reduce costs, enhance patient independence and contribute to early detection of infections. This pilot study investigated whet...

An increased blood pressure is a known comorbidity of both type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and obesity in children. Increasing evidence suggests a subtle interplay between epidermal growth factor (EGF) and renin along the juxtaglomerular system, regulating the impact of blood pressure on kidney health and the cardiovascular system. In this study, we investi...

The Belgian Diabetes in Pregnancy follow-up study (BEDIP-FUS) aims to investigate the impact of body mass index (BMI), adiposity and different degrees of glucose intolerance on the metabolic profile and future risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) in women and offspring five years after delivery in the BEDIP study. The BEDIP study was a prospective cohort...

Background: Respiratory sounds are induced by turbulence of airflow at the level of lobar and segmental bronchi. Although this physiological principle is widely accepted, generation of these sounds has never been demonstrated in human subjects. Aim: To investigate a new approach relating lung sounds to airflow turbulence intensity using computatio...

Recently, it was reported that heterozygous PCSK1 variants, causing partial PC1/3 deficiency, result in a significant increased risk for obesity. This effect was almost exclusively generated by the rare p.Y181H (rs145592525, GRCh38.p13 NM_000439.5:c.541T>C) variant, which affects PC1/3 maturation but not enzymatic capacity. As most of the identifie...

Background Inpatient pediatric obesity treatments are highly effective, although dropouts and weight regain threaten long-term results. Preliminary data indicate that leptin, adiponectin, and cardiometabolic comorbidities might predict treatment outcomes. Previous studies have mainly focused on the individual role of adipokines and comorbidities, w...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) is the most common inherited kidney disorder. Defective glucose metabolism was identified as a key feature in ADPKD, and several ‘metabolic’ approaches are currently under evaluation in adults with ADPKD. Whether this defective glucose metabolism could be an early primary even...

Objective Laryngomalacia can be an important cause of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in infants. Nocturnal oximetry is a cheap and safe method in comparison to polysomnography for the detection of sleep-disordered breathing. The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity of nocturnal oximetry as a diagnostic tool for OSA in infants with laryngoma...

Background Childhood obesity has increased worldwide, becoming a significant public health concern. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in the central regulation of food intake and body weight, but little is known regarding its role in childhood obesity. Next to obesity, BDNF has been linked to obstructive sleep apnea (...

Background: Currently available treatment programs for children with obesity only have modest long-term results, which is (at least partially) due to the poorer self-control observed within this population. The present trial aimed to determine whether an online self-control training, training inhibition, and redirecting attentional bias, can improv...

Background Childhood obesity is an increasing problem with substantial comorbidities such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and increased cardiovascular morbidity. Endothelial dysfunction is an underlying mechanism related to both obesity and OSA. Research question To investigate the effect of weight loss on endothelial function and OSA in obese ch...

Background Lumacaftor/ivacaftor (LUM/IVA) has shown modest benefits in previous research, but the exact effects in the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung remain unclear. This study aims to offer novel information on the mode of action of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-modulating drug by assessing lung structure and function u...

(1) Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and lower airway anomalies are both highly prevalent in children with Down syndrome (DS). However, little is known on the interaction between both. We aim to investigate the co-occurrence of OSA (defined as obstructive apnea/hypopnea index (oAHI) ≥ 2/h) and lower airway anomalies in children with DS and...

Background: Functional Respiratory Imaging (FRI) combines HRCT scans with computational fluid dynamics to provide objective and quantitative information about lung structure and function. FRI has proven its value in pulmonary diseases such as COPD and asthma, but limited studies have focused on cystic fibrosis (CF). This study aims to investigate...

Background: Children with Down syndrome (DS) often present with chronic or recurrent respiratory symptoms and generally have a more severe and prolonged disease course in case of infection. This can be caused by anatomical and/or immunological predisposition. With this study, we aim to compare microbial composition in the lower airways of patients...

Context: Down syndrome (DS) is a prevalent chromosomal disorder associated with a wide range of congenital anomalies and other health problems. Objectives To give a scoping overview of encountered lower airway problems (both infectious and non-infectious) in DS children. Data sources: We systematically searched the MEDLINE and PubMed databases for...

Aims Children with obesity are treated by a lifestyle intervention to obtain weight loss. Nevertheless, weight regain often occurs. This systematic review examines the effect of weight regain on cardiometabolic health and summarizes these results in the metabolic syndrome prevalence as integrated endpoint. Data synthesis A literature search was pe...

Background: Obesity and age influence the reliability of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning (DEXA) and bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS). Both are used in clinical settings, but have not been compared for measurements in obese children. We compared DEXA and BIS for evaluating body composition and inherent changes in obese children before and...

Rationale: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a common complication of preterm birth. Lung function and imaging are classically used to assess BPD. Functional Respiratory Imaging (FRI) combines a structural and functional assessment of the airways and their vasculature. We aimed to assess BPD with FRI and to correlate these findings with the clini...

Rationale: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a common complication of preterm birth. Lung function and imaging are classically used to assess BPD. Functional Respiratory Imaging (FRI) combines a structural and functional assessment of the airways and their vasculature. We aimed to assess BPD with FRI and to correlate these findings with the clin...

Genome-wide copy number surveys associated chromosome 11q11 with obesity. As this is an olfactory receptor-rich region, we hypothesize that genetic variation in olfactory receptor genes might be implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity. Multiplex Amplicon Quantification analysis was applied to screen for copy number variants at chromosome 11q11 in...

Objective/background Surgical interventions for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are less effective in obese than in normal-weight children. However, the mechanisms that underpin this relationship are not fully understood. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how body weight influences upper airway collapse and treatment outcome in children with OSA...

Background Airway clearance techniques (ACTs) are an important aspect of the treatment of children with chronic obstructive lung diseases. Unfortunately, a sound evidence base is lacking and airway clearance strategies are largely based on clinical expertise. One of the reasons for the limited evidence is the lack of appropriate outcome measures sp...

Background Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains a common complication of preterm birth. Both historically and in current practice, radiologic evaluation of the lungs has an important role in assessing disease severity and complications. Aim To provide an overview of imaging techniques for detecting lung abnormalities in patients with BPD in al...

There is limited knowledge on the occurrence of respiratory manifestations and sleep‐disordered breathing in particular in children with the MECP2 duplication syndrome. Although sleep‐disordered breathing and nocturnal hypoventilation are currently not cited as an important symptom in these children, we present three cases who all had an abnormal b...

Objectives: The CFTRmodulatorOrkambi (lumacaftor-ivacaftor) has shown modest benefits in previous research, but the exact effects in the CF lung remain unclear. Functional Respiratory Imaging (FRI), combining highresolution CT imaging with computational fluid dynamics, provides detailed information about the lung structure and function, allowing a...

Background/Aim Children on chronic noninvasive ventilation are at risk for nonelective hospitalizations, mainly for acute infections. This study examined the prevalence of hypercapnia in children on chronic ventilatory support during an acute admission. Methods This retrospective study included children aged 0 to 18 years who regularly used bileve...

Background: Orkambi (lumacaftor-ivacaftor) is a Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) modulator, indicated for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) homozygous for F508del. Previous studies have shown modest benefits of Orkambi, but the exact effects in the CF lung remain unclear. Functional Respiratory Imaging (FRI), combining hi...

Introduction High‐frequency chest wall oscillation (HFCWO) is a commonly prescribed airway clearance technique (ACT) for patients whose ability to expectorate sputum is compromised. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a newly developed mobile ACT device (mHFCWO—The Monarch Airway Clearance System) in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF)....

Introduction Children with Down syndrome (DS) often present with chronic respiratory symptoms. Congenital airway anomalies have been described but data about prevalence is scarce and a comparison to controls is lacking. We aim to compare the endoscopic and clinical data of children with DS to controls without significant medical history. Methods A...

Objective: There is still no consensus regarding the treatment of empyema in children. Intrapleural combination of tissue plasminogen activator and dornase alfa is a promising treatment for empyema in adults. The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether this combination is safe and successful in pediatric empyema. Methods: Previous well chi...

https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/54/suppl_63/PA4528

Retrospective chart review of 133 children who underwent bronchoscopy because of possible protracted bacterial bronchitis to compare the results of bronchial aspirates with those of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). When comparing BAL and bronchial aspirate in 70 patients where both samples were available, the result was comparable in 46 cases (65%). I...

Aim Bronchiolitis is one of the most common lower respiratory tract infections in young children, associated with significant morbidity, but limited therapeutic options. Nebulised hypertonic saline (HS) has been a supportive treatment until current guidelines advised against its routine use. Accordingly, the University Hospital of Antwerp recently...

Respiratory problems have a significant impact on morbidity and mortality in patients with cerebral palsy (CP). In particular, recurrent aspiration, impaired airway clearance, spinal and thoracic deformity, impaired lung function, poor nutritional status, and recurrent respiratory infections negatively affect respiratory status. Bronchopulmonary dy...