Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Rates of colonization and infection with carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens are on the rise, particularly in southeastern European countries, and this is increasingly true in Germany as well. The organisms in question include enterobacteriaceae such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli and non-fermenting bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. As the carbapenems have been the gold standard to date for the systemic treatment of serious infections with Gram-negative bacteria, carbapenem resistance presents new and difficult challenges in therapeutic decision-making, particularly because of the high frequency of coresistance. ⋯ The treatment of severe infection with carbapenem-resistant pathogens should be individualized and carried out in an interdisciplinary framework, in consideration of antibiotic pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in each case. The treat- ment options are based on evidence from in vitro studies, retrospective studies, and case series, which must be interpreted with caution. Randomized clinical trials are needed to test each of the various combined approaches.
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Thrombotic microangiopathies are rare, life-threatening diseaseswhose care involves physicians from multiple specialties. The past five years haveseen major advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology, classification,and treatment of these conditions. Their timely diagnosis and prompt treatment cansave lives. ⋯ Rapid differential diagnosis is needed in order to determine the specifictype of thrombotic microangiopathy that is present, because only patients with TTPand only a very small percentage of those with atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome(aHUS) can benefit from plasmapheresis. The establishment of a nationwideregistry in Germany with an attached biobank might help reveal yet unknowngenetic predispositions.
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Biomarkers of alcohol consumption are important not only in forensic contexts, e.g., in child custody proceedings or as documentation of alcohol abstinence after temporary confiscation of a driver's license. They are increasingly being used in clinical medicine as well for verification of abstinence or to rule out the harmful use of alcohol. ⋯ The available alcohol biomarkers vary in sensitivity and specificity with respect to the time period over which they indicate alcohol use and the minimum extent of alcohol use that they can detect. The appropriate marker or combination of markers should be chosen in each case according to the particular question that is to be answered by laboratory analysis.