[A university department as a psychiatric service centre for children and adolescents]. / Eine Universitätsklinik als psychiatrisches Versorgungszentrum für Kinder und Jugendliche.

The article reports on a system of care for psychiatrically ill children and adolescents that has been designed, established and expanded since 1980 by a university department in a rural region. The department is responsible for the mental health care of three counties with altogether 807 000 inhabitants. The development of this system of care was due in great part to the model program of the German Federal Government for the reform of mental health care that comprised 14 model regions, out of which the region of Marburg and its surrounding counties was the only one with a focus on the situation of psychiatrically ill children and adolescents. With the aid of this model program, a comprehensive evaluation of existing psychiatric services was carried out and at the same time, new services for this clientele were established such as a mobile child and adolescent psychiatric service and a day hospital. A particular focus was laid on the development of a complete network of psychiatric services with manifold, and over the years well proven, cooperation measures. Finally, the quality of mental health care was significantly increased by a continuous evaluation of services and the implementation of two institutes for psychotherapeutic training. Several research initiatives in the field of social psychiatry have contributed to this amelioration and at the same time, to a successful integration of mental health care and research.

Chemoembolization with cisplatin, lipiodol and Gelfoam and subsequent systemic chemotherapy with cisplatin and interferon in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a non-randomized prospective study.

Arterial chemoembolization with subsequent systemic chemotherapy was assessed prospectively. Of 94 consecutive patients with HCC, 31 patients were considered to have inoperable disease and were selected for chemoembolization. Twenty-two of the 31 patients underwent chemoembolization. In eight patients, technical problems with catheterization prevented the application of therapy, and one patient rejected further treatment. Regimen: Three monthly cycles of chemoembolization with cisplatin 20 mg/m(2) mixed with lipiodol delivered intraarterially with Gelfoam or collagen on day 1, followed by intravenous chemotherapy with cisplatin 60 mg/m(2) on day 2; interferon alpha-2c 30 microg (10 M IU) subcutaneously on days 2, 5, 9, and 12. Three percent of the patients (1/31) (CI 95% 0.08; 16.7) experienced a partial clinical response, in 53% alpha-fetoprotein levels decreased by more than 50%. On univariate analysis, performance status, Child score, Okuda stage, albumin levels, and lactate dehydrogenase were found to have an effect on survival. Postchemoembolization syndrome occurred in 68% of the patients, nausea/vomiting grades 3/4 (according to the World Health Organization WHO) in six patients, anemia grade 3 in three patients, leukopenia grade 3 in one patient and thrombocytopenia grade 3 in one patient. This treatment regimen is a very selective procedure. Because of the low response rate it is not recommended for routine clinical use.