Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) comprises a variety of pathogenic mechanisms that impair the microcirculation of the heart. Clinical studies have shown that 30-50% of patients suffering from myocardial ischemia without significant coronary artery stenosis have CMD. The disease is associated with ele - vated mortality and poor quality of life. Whenever a patient presents with symptoms of angina pectoris and no underlying disease is detected by the usual methods, CMD should be considered a possible cause. ⋯ Approximately 25% of patients with CMD have symptoms that do not respond to intensive treatment with the currently available modalities. New treatments, including interventional therapies, are being studied. Their long-term benefit remains to be assessed and compared to that of the existing methods.
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In this systematic review, we address the question whether children and adolescents with developmental visual disorders benefit from computer-assisted visual training. ⋯ The currently available data do not permit any firm conclusions regarding the efficacy of visual training in children and adolescents with amblyopia. Moreover, treatment adherence was often insufficient and the treatment durations in the trials was relatively short. No results from randomized trials have yet been published with respect to other developmental visual disorders (refractive errors, strabismus).
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Ampullary or papillary carcinoma is a malignant tumor arising from the mucosa in the region of the major duodenal papilla, also known as the ampulla of Vater. Uniform treatment recommendations are lacking both for the adjuvant situation and for palliative care. ⋯ The current state of the evidence on the treatment of ampullary carcinoma is poor. Therapeutic decisions should be discussed in an interdisciplinary tumor board and should, in our opinion, take the histological subtype into account.
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Around the world, survival rates after cardiac arrest range between <14% for in-hospital (IHCA) and <10% for outof- hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This situation could potentially be improved by using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), i.e. by extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR). ⋯ ECPR can potentially improve survival rates after cardiac arrest compared to conventional CPR when used in experienced, high-volume centers in highly selected patients (young age, initial shockable rhythm, witnessed cardiac arrest, therapy-refractory high-quality CPR). No general recommendation for the use of ECPR can be issued at present.
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Review
Patients With Artificial Heart Valves-the Prophylaxis, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Endocarditis.
In Germany, a total of 38 547 heart valve procedures were performed in 2022. With a growing number of patients undergoing the surgical and interventional implantation of heart valves, the incidence of prosthetic endocarditis is also rising. ⋯ Increased awareness of this clinical entity in the outpatient setting will promote the earlier initiation of appropriate diagnostic studies. Proper diagnostic evaluation is an essential prerequisite for the early detection and timely treatment of prosthetic endocarditis, with the goal of preventing progressive destruction and thus improving the outcome. Preventive and educative measures should be intensified, and certified, multidisciplinary endocarditis teams should be established. Antibiotic prophylaxis is now given much more restrictively than in earlier years; the risk of infection must be weighed against the potential development of both individual and collective resistance to antibiotic drugs.