Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Ever more patients are being treated with invasive ventilation in the outpatient setting. Most have no access to a structured weaning process in a specialized weaning center. The personal burden on the patients is heavy, and the costs for the health care system are high. ⋯ If patients with prolonged weaning are cared for in a certified weaning center before being discharged to receive invasive ventilation in the outpatient setting, the number of persons being invasively ventilated outside the hospital will be reduced and the affected persons will enjoy a higher survival rate. This would also spare nursing costs.
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The percentage of organ donors among the German population is very low, and the supply of organs does not meet the demand. Relatively few organ explantations are performed in Germany, compared to other countries. The central element leading up to organ explantation is the donor's consent. This can be expressed either orally or in writing, in the form of an advance directive or organ donor card. The goal of this study was to find out how many patients in hospital resuscitation rooms had organ donor cards on their person. ⋯ The organ donor card system as it currently exists in Germany is inadequate. These cards are not carried in the emergency situations for which they were developed.