Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Multicenter Study
The incidence of interval cancers in the German mammography screening program: results from the population-based cancer registry in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Cancer screening programs must meet high standards for quality and effectiveness, because many healthy persons need to be screened to detect relatively few cases of cancer. In this study, we use the rate of interval cancers as an important surrogate indicator for evaluating the German mammography screening program (MSP). ⋯ The IC rates in the implementation phase of the MSP agree with those found in other, established European programs. The present study is the first one to assess this important surrogate parameter to characterize the effectiveness of the German MSP among women in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's largest state by population.
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Multicenter Study
Nosocomial infections and multidrug-resistant organisms in Germany: epidemiological data from KISS (the Hospital Infection Surveillance System).
More than 800 hospitals and 586 intensive care units (ICUs) in Germany currently participate in a nationwide surveillance system for nosocomial infections (Krankenhaus-Infektions-Surveillance-System, KISS), which collects data on the frequency of nosocomial infections and pathogens and on the appearance of pathogens of special epidemiological importance. ⋯ Nosocomial infections are common in the ICU. The percentage of ICU patients with MDRO is low, but rising. Future preventive strategies must address this development.