Dtsch Arztebl Int
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It is estimated that up to 24% of the population in Germany suffers from allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and 5% from allergic asthma. Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis is closely related to other atopic diseases. ⋯ Even though the efficacy of SIT is well documented, it is still underused. SIT should be offered as standard treatment to patients suffering from allergic rhinitis.
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Review
Extracorporeal pulmonary support in severe pulmonary failure in adults: a treatment rediscovered.
Severe, acute respiratory failure in adults still carries a high mortality. In recent years, improved pulmonary support techniques have been used increasingly alongside conventional treatment. About 1000 such treatments are performed in Germany annually, and the number is rising rapidly. The two types of systems currently in use involve venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and extracorporeal carbon dioxide elimination. ⋯ Modern miniaturized pulmonary support systems enable protective mechanical ventilation with low tidal volumes, reduce ventilator-associated lung injury, and can improve survival rates in critically ill patients with a manageable adverse effect profile.
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Review Meta Analysis
Assessing prognosis following cardiopulmonary resuscitation and therapeutic hypothermia-a critical discussion of recent studies.
The prognosis of patients who are comatose after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is poor but can be improved by mild therapeutic hypothermia. We studied the question whether the known, reliable indicators of a poor prognosis after CPR are also valid for patients treated with CPR and hypothermia. ⋯ If the prognosis is poor, this should be thoroughly discussed with the patient's family, and the nature and extent of further intensive treatment should be reconsidered. The patient's wishes, if known, are paramount. Any decision to withhold care should be taken only if there are multiple concurrent indicators of a poor prognosis. If only one such indicator is present, or if the findings are inconsistent, such decisions should be postponed.
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Review Meta Analysis
Urethral stricture: etiology, investigation and treatments.
Urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra due to scar tissue, which leads to obstructive voiding dysfunction with potentially serious consequences for the entire urinary tract. Its prevalence among men in industrial countries is estimated at 0.9%. It produces obstructive and irritative urinary symptoms and can ultimately impair renal function. Urethral strictures can be caused by diagnostic or therapeutic urological procedures. These procedures are being performed ever more commonly, because the population is aging; thus, urethral strictures will probably become more common as well. ⋯ Urethral strictures must be recognized and treated so that their most serious long-term complication, impaired renal function, can be prevented. The clinical utility of urethrotomy is limited by a high recurrence rate.
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Lists of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) for the elderly, such as the German PRISCUS list, have been published as expert recommendations with the aim of improving drug safety for this patient group. In this study, we tried to determine how often adverse drug events occur in the emergency department and what role PRISCUS medications might play in these events. ⋯ Elderly patients more frequently suffer from ADR and from the clinical consequences of medication errors. Elderly patients taking PIMs are more likely to suffer from ADRs and MEs, even though most drug-related events are still attributable to non-PIM.