Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Osteoporosis is a widespread disease of the skeleton that becomes more common with advancing age. Its prevalence is still inadequately documented. The goal of this study is to determine how common osteoporosis is in Germany. ⋯ Osteoporosis is still common in Germany. The large number of insurees with single and multiple fractures implies that the treatment of this disease in Germany needs to be improved.
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A chronic wound is defined as an area where the skin is not intact that fails to heal within eight weeks. Such wounds usually develop on the lower limbs as a complication of diabetes, venous insufficiency, or inadequate arterial perfusion. Most of the roughly 45,000 limb amputations performed in Germany each year are necessitated by non-healing chronic wounds. ⋯ Scant evidence is available to answer many of the relevant questions about chronic wounds. There are valid data in support of hyperbaric oxygen and integrated care. More research is needed.
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Insufficient data have been available to date on the prevalence of opioid treatment in Germany, physicians' prescribing habits, and the percentages of cancer patients and non-cancer patients among those receiving opioids for an evaluation of the quality of care and an assessment of possible underuse or misuse. ⋯ As opioids are frequently prescribed for non-cancer pain, it cannot be inferred from the observed increase in opioid prescribing that cancer patients are now receiving better opioid treatment than they were before. Further issues of concern are the observed increases in the prescribing of potent immediate release opioids and in the long-term opioid treatment for non-cancer patients, the benefit of which is currently debated.