Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Chronic neuropathic pain, including painful peripheral polyneuropathy and post-herpetic neuralgia, affects 6.9-10% of the general population. ⋯ Drugs are now chosen to treat neuropathic pain independently of the cause and symptoms of the pain. Topical agents are used only to treat peripheral neuropathy. The utility of a treatment approach based on the patient's symptoms and pathological mechanisms was recently demonstrated for the first time in a randomized trial. The goal of current research is to facilitate treatment planning on the basis of the clinical phenotype.
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In intervention trials, only randomization guarantees equal distributions of all known and unknown patient characteristics between an intervention group and a control group and enables causal statements on treatment effects. However, randomized controlled trials have been criticized for insufficient external validity; non-randomized trials are an alternative here, but come with the danger of intervention and control groups differing with respect to known and/or unknown patient characteristics. Non-randomized trials are generally analyzed with multiple regression models, but the so-called propensity score method is now being increasingly used. ⋯ The propensity score method is a good alternative method for the analysis of non-randomized intervention trials, with epistemological advantages over conventional regression modelling. Nonetheless, the propensity score method can only adjust for known confounding factors that have actually been measured. Equal distributions of unknown confounding factors can be achieved only in randomized controlled trials.
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In 2014, 15 500 persons in Germany were given the diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma. This disease is the third most common cancer of the urogenital system. The mean age at diagnosis is 68 years in men and 71 in men. ⋯ Minimally invasive surgery and new systemic drugs have expanded the therapeutic options for patients with renal cell carcinoma. The search for new predictive and prognostic markers is now in progress.