Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift
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Patients with insomnia suffer from problems falling asleep and/or maintaining sleep. This has a negative effect on their daytime wellbeing and performance. Insomnia is primarily diagnosed by a detailed clinical history, supplemented by questionnaires and sleep diaries. ⋯ It is treated according to guidelines with cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). CBT-I is offered in individual or group format as well as online-supported treatment. If behavioural therapy is not effective or not available, pharmacotherapy can be discussed.
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Liver cirrhosis is a chronic disease, progressing from a compensated and asymptomatic state to decompensated cirrhosis with the occurrence of multiple organ complications. This progression is accompanied by a significant increase of morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Besides, many other organ systems can be affected, as liver cirrhosis is today more and more seen as a multisystemic disease. Unfortunately, most therapy options of these complications are purely symptomatic, and the only curative treatment of advanced chronic liver disease is liver transplantation.
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Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. · Oct 2023
[Precautionary planning at the end of life from a palliative care point of view].
What happens when you are no longer able to make medical decisions yourself? The constant increase in the number of people in need of care has led to the concept of advance care planning (ACP). This is a forward-looking, ongoing, and constantly reflective process of discussion regarding preferences and values for future medical and nursing treatments. ⋯ The implementation strategy is dependent on this, as presented in studies. This also includes the financial support of such implementation projects, because only the talks alone, which are exclusively refinanced by §132g SGB V, do not lead to a cultural change regarding the importance of self-determination and dealing with living wills, as well as an improvement in treatment, care, and support for people in the health system.
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In addition to conservative therapy with intensive walking training, endovascular revascularisation and open vascular surgical revascularisation are of high importance in the treatment of peripheral arterial disease. Over the past decades, endovascular therapy has developed considerably and is now the treatment of choice for most vascular segments. The use of different devices has been shown to be beneficial for different vessel segments. ⋯ A final assessment of the effectiveness and safety is not yet possible. Infrapopliteal balloon angioplasty remains the standard treatment. After interventional therapy, regular follow-up is recommended.
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Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is considered a marker disease of multi-locular atherosclerosis and is associated with a high risk of cardiovascular events. PAD is both underdiagnosed and undertreated in everyday clinical practice. The disease is often asymptomatic and is often only diagnosed at an advanced stage, especially in diabetics. Therefore, the early diagnosis of PAD is of central importance to provide patients with stage-appropriate therapy at an early stage.