Willemijn Faber - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Willemijn Faber

Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, Apr 8, 2016

Objectives: To describe bladder-emptying methods used by people with long-term spinal cord injury... more Objectives: To describe bladder-emptying methods used by people with long-term spinal cord injury (SCI) and to determine usage differences in relation to time since injury, sex, lesion level and completeness of lesion. Furthermore, to evaluate the relationship between bladder-emptying methods and the impact of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) on quality of life (QoL). Design: Cross-sectional multicenter study. Setting: Dutch community. Participants: Persons dependent on wheelchairs (N = 282) with traumatic or non-traumatic SCI for ≥10 years and age at injury of 18-35 years. Interventions: Not applicable. Outcome measures: The International Lower Urinary Tract Function Basic SCI Data Set and the Short-Form Qualiveen (SF-Qualiveen). Results: Median time since injury was 22.0 years (IQR: 16.8-30.3). Clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) was most commonly used (42.6%). Longer time since injury was associated with fewer continent urinary diversions and more transurethral catheter use. Transurethral catheter use and continent urinary diversions were more prevalent among women. Participants with tetraplegia were more likely to use reflex voiding or a suprapubic catheter, and participants with paraplegia were more likely to use CIC. Transurethral catheter users reported the highest impact of NLUTD on quality of life (SF-Qualiveen score: 1.9; SD = 0.8). Participants with a continent urinary diversion reported the lowest impact (SF-Qualiveen score: 0.9; SD = 0.6). Higher age and indwelling catheter use versus CIC were associated with a higher impact of NLUTD on QoL. Conclusions: CIC is the most common bladder-emptying method in Dutch people with long-term SCI. Clinicians should be aware of the impact of NLUTD on QoL, especially for those using an indwelling catheter.

Spinal Cord, Jul 24, 2023

Journal of Clinical Medicine, Apr 9, 2021

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Spinal cord series and cases, Feb 3, 2021

Study design Cross-sectional study. Objectives Neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) is frequent amo... more Study design Cross-sectional study. Objectives Neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) is frequent among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and is often difficult to treat. A bowel stoma is considered the last-resort treatment option for individuals with SCI and severe NBD. This study aims to explore whether individuals are satisfied with their bowel stoma and how they feel about the timing of stoma formation. Furthermore, we want to explore side effects addressing diversion colitis and changes in quality of life (QOL) after stoma formation. Setting Netherlands, community. Methods We included participants aged at least 18 years with a traumatic or non-traumatic SCI and bowel stoma. Questions regarding timing of stoma formation, alterations in QOL after stoma formation and experienced side effects of the bowel stoma were addressed in an online questionnaire. Results In total 23 participants filled out the online survey. Twenty-two participants (96%) were satisfied with their bowel stoma and 83% felt their stoma was placed too late or far too late. The large majority (>80%) reported improvements in the four QOL domains after the procedure. Nine participants reported stoma-related problems in the last month. In the last three months, seven participants (30%) reported to have diversion colitis. Four of these seven participants experienced this at least once a week or more. Two participants stated this had moderate influence on daily activities. Conclusions Most participants with SCI experienced improvement in QOL and in retrospect wanted their bowel stoma earlier. Early, extensive conversations to inform individuals about bowel stoma as a treatment option is recommended.

Probiotics may prevent antibiotic-associatedand Clostridium difficile-associateddiarrhoea (AAD/CD... more Probiotics may prevent antibiotic-associatedand Clostridium difficile-associateddiarrhoea (AAD/CDAD). Many spinal cord injury centres (SCICs) practitioners consider probiotics generically and may not realise that efficacy can be strain-, dose-, and disease-specific. One to four SCICs per country (depending on population size) were contacted (UK:4; the Netherlands:3; Belgium:1; Republic of Ireland:1) to (a) determine if they stocked probiotics; (b) determine whether the use of those probiotics was evidence-based; and (c) document their C. difficile infection (CDI) practices. All nine SCICs responded to the survey (7 physicians, 3 microbiologists, 1 nurse and 2 dietitians). Five (55.5%) stocked probiotics; five different probiotics were identified. Four probiotics were preferred choice prevention of AAD/CDAD were Lactobacillus casei Shirota (44.4%), L. casei DN-114001 (22.2%), L. acidophilus (22.2%) and a mixed-strains probiotic (Ecologic Pro-AD) (11.1%). Only one evidence base study ...

BMC Psychology, 2020

Background Self-efficacy is an important determinant of adjustment following spinal cord injury. ... more Background Self-efficacy is an important determinant of adjustment following spinal cord injury. Self-efficacy is defined as the belief that one can successfully execute behavior required to produce the desired outcomes. In its original conceptualization, self-efficacy refers to the confidence that people have in their ability to accomplish specific tasks and behaviors within a specific context. Over the years these situation specific aspects have been unconfined and multiple constructs of self-efficacy have been proposed. The most common is a division in trait and state self-efficacy. Another used division that is utilized is between general, domain-specific and task-specific self-efficacy. The scientific support for these constructs is to date still unclear. The objective of this study was to enhance the understanding of the self-efficacy construct by comparing four self-efficacy scales designed to measure three aspects of self-efficacy (general versus domain-specific versus task-...

Spinal Cord, 2019

Study design Multi-centre, double-blind randomised placebo-controlled study. Objective To investi... more Study design Multi-centre, double-blind randomised placebo-controlled study. Objective To investigate whether the use of a multispecies probiotic can prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting Three Dutch SCI rehabilitation centres. Methods Fifty-six people aged 18-75 years with SCI during inpatient rehabilitation, who require antibiotics, will be given probiotics or placebo randomly assigned (T0). After cessation of the antibiotics (T1), the participants will use probiotics/ placebo for 3 more weeks (T2). Defaecation, assessed by the Bristol Stool Scale, and bowel management will be monitored daily until 2 weeks after cessation of probiotics/placebo intake (T3). Also, the degree of nausea and information on quality of life will be collected at T0, T1, T2 and T3. Main outcome measures The difference between the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea between people with SCI using probiotics compared to those using a placebo at the moment the antibiotics stops, the probiotics stops and two weeks thereafter. Secondary outcome measures The time to reach effective bowel management, degree of nausea and quality of life. Registration The Dutch Trial Register-NTR 5831.

Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2018

This report from a European multicentre, prospective, observational, open-label, exploratory stud... more This report from a European multicentre, prospective, observational, open-label, exploratory study examines the effects of gait training using an exoskeleton (Ekso Bionics) after spinal cord injury on spasticity, pain, range of motion, bowel and lower urinary tract function, activities of daily living and quality of life. Exoskeleton gait training seemed to be well-tolerated in spinal cord injury participants with neuropathic and nociceptive pain, but pain did not change during 8 weeks of training. Compared with testing prior to a single training session, spasticity decreased after training when calculating a sumscore for multiple lower extremity muscle groups. The results indicate a benefit in terms of independence measure SCIM III as well as quality of life over time. Bowel and lower urinary tract function did not change overall. Future studies could investigate these parameters compared with traditional gait training for spinal cord injury, as well as testing more intensive training protocols. Objective: To explore changes in pain, spasticity, range of motion, activities of daily living, bowel and lower urinary tract function and quality of life of individuals with spinal cord injury following robotic exoskeleton gait training. Design: Prospective, observational, open-label multicentre study. Methods: Three training sessions per week for 8 weeks using an Ekso GT robotic exoskeleton (Ekso Bionics). Included were individuals with recent (<1 year) or chronic (>1 year) injury, paraplegia and tetraplegia, complete and incomplete injury, men and women. Results: Fifty-two participants completed the training protocol. Pain was reported by 52% of participants during the week prior to training and 17% during training, but no change occurred longitudinally. Spasticity decreased after a training session compared with before the training session (p < 0.001), but not longitudinally. Chronically injured participants increased Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM III) from 73 to 74 (p = 0.008) and improved life satisfaction (p = 0.036) over 8 weeks of training. Recently injured participants increased SCIM III from 62 to 70 (p < 0.001), but no significant change occurred in life satisfaction. Range of motion, bowel and lower urinary function did not change over time. Conclusion: Training seemed not to provoke new pain. Spasticity decreased after a single training session. SCIM III and quality of life increased longitudinally for subsets of participants.

Disability and rehabilitation, Jan 26, 2015

To study the impact of time since injury (TSI) and physical activity (PA) on fitness of persons w... more To study the impact of time since injury (TSI) and physical activity (PA) on fitness of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Cross-sectional study. Persons with SCI (N = 158) in three TSI strata: 10-19, 20-29 and ≥30 years after SCI and divided in an active and inactive group. Fitness [peak power output (POpeak) and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak)] was assessed. In persons with tetraplegia, no significant relationship was found between TSI and fitness after controlling for confounders, while a higher activity level was related to a higher POpeak in this group. Active people with tetraplegia also showed less decline in POpeak with an increase in TSI compared to inactive people. In persons with paraplegia, after controlling for confounders, it was shown that TSI had a negative effect on POpeak, while PA was not significantly associated with fitness in people with paraplegia. In people with paraplegia, fitness was significantly lower in those with a longer TSI. Persons with a long TSI m...

Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2013

Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing... more Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.

Spinal Cord Series and Cases, 2021

Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2021

Background: Neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) frequently occurs in patients with spinal cord inj... more Background: Neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) frequently occurs in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and multiple sclerosis (MS) with comparable symptoms and is often difficult to treat. It has been suggested the gut microbiota might influence the course of NBD. We systematically reviewed the literature on the composition of the gut microbiota in SCI and MS, and the possible role of neurogenic bowel function, diet and antibiotic use. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and Embase, which retrieved studies on the gut microbiota in SCI and MS. The Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) was used to assess methodological quality. Results: We retrieved fourteen papers (four on SCI, ten on MS), describing the results of a total of 479 patients. The number of patients per study varied from 13 to 89 with an average of 34. Thirteen papers were observational studies and one study was an intervention study. The studies were case control studies in which the gut m...

The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine

Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

Prosthetics and Orthotics International

Background: Sufficient cardiorespiratory fitness has been regarded a prerequisite for prosthetic ... more Background: Sufficient cardiorespiratory fitness has been regarded a prerequisite for prosthetic walking. In order to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, adequate strain ought to be placed on the system during training. Objectives: To determine cardiorespiratory fitness at the start and end of inpatient rehabilitation after lower limb amputation and determine the physical strain experienced during conventional prosthetic rehabilitation. Study design: Multicenter prospective cohort study. Methods: Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using a peak one-legged cycle exercise test. Physical strain was assessed during a minimum of three full rehabilitation days using heart rate recordings. Physical strain was expressed in the time per day that heart rate exceeded 40% of heart rate reserve. Results: At the start of rehabilitation, peak aerobic capacity was on average 16.9 (SD, 6.5) mL/kg/min ( n = 33). Overall, peak aerobic capacity did not improve over the course of rehabilitation ( n = ...

Spinal cord, Feb 6, 2017

Prospective quasi-experimental study, pre- and post-design. Assess safety, feasibility, training ... more Prospective quasi-experimental study, pre- and post-design. Assess safety, feasibility, training characteristics and changes in gait function for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) using the robotic exoskeletons from Ekso Bionics. Nine European rehabilitation centres. Robotic exoskeleton gait training, three times weekly over 8 weeks. Time upright, time walking and steps in the device (training characteristics) were recorded longitudinally. Gait and neurological function were measured by 10 Metre Walk Test (10 MWT), Timed Up and Go (TUG), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury (WISCI) II and Lower Extremity Motor Score (LEMS). Fifty-two participants completed the training protocol. Median age: 35.8 years (IQR 27.5-52.5), men/women: N = 36/16, neurological level of injury: C1-L2 and severity: AIS A-D (American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale). Time since injury (TSI) < 1 year, N = 25; > 1 year, N = 27. No serious adverse events occurred. Th...