[Effects of new minimum volume standards in visceral surgery on healthcare in Brandenburg, Germany, from the perspective of healthcare providers]. / Auswirkungen der neuen Mindestmengen in der Viszeralchirurgie auf die Gesundheitsversorgung in Brandenburg aus der Perspektive der Versorger:innen.

BACKGROUND: The legally prescribed minimum volume standards for complex esophageal and pancreatic surgery have been increased or will increase in 2023 and 2025, respectively. Hospitals not reaching the minimum volume standards are no longer allowed to perform these surgeries and are not entitled tor reimbursement. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to explore which effects are expected by healthcare professionals and patient representatives and what possible solutions exist for Brandenburg, a rural federal state in northeast Germany. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study 19 expert interviews were conducted with hospital employees (head/senior physicians, nursing director), resident physicians and patient representatives between July 2022 and January 2023. The data analysis was based on content analysis. RESULTS: Healthcare professionals and patient representatives expect a redistribution into a few clinics for surgical care (specialized centres); conversely more clinics that do not (no longer) perform the defined surgeries but could function as gatekeeping hospitals for basic care, diagnostics and follow-up (regional centres). The redistribution could also impact forms of treatment that are not directly defined within the regulation for minimum volume standards. The increased thresholds could also affect medical training and staff recruitment. A solution could be collaborations between different hospitals, which would have to be structurally promoted. CONCLUSION: The study showed that minimum volume standards not only influence the quality of outcomes and accessibility but also have a multitude of other effects. Particularly for rural regions, minimum volume standards are challenging for access to esophageal and pancreatic surgery as well as for communication between specialized and regional centres or resident providers.

An interactive feedback system for increasing hand antisepsis adherence in stationary intensive care.

BACKGROUND: Pathogens causing infections are in many cases transmitted via the hands of personnel. Thus, hand antisepsis has strong epidemiological evidence of infection prevention. Depending on various factors, hand antisepsis adherence ranges between 9.1% and 85.2%. AIM: To evaluate a new transponder system that reminded medical staff to use an alcohol-based hand rub based on indication by giving real-time feedback, to detect hand antisepsis adherence. METHODS: The monitoring system consisted of three components: a portable transponder detecting alcohol-based hand rub and able to give feedback; a beacon recognizing entries to and exits from the patient's surroundings; and a sensor placed at the hand-rub dispensers to count the number of hand rubs. With these components, the system provided feedback when hand antisepsis was not conducted although it was necessary according to moments 1, 4, and 5 of hand antisepsis. Adherence was measured in two use-cases with five phases, starting with the baseline measurement followed by intervention periods and phases without intervention to test the sustainability of the feedback. FINDINGS: Using the monitoring system, hand antisepsis adherence was increased by up to 104.5% in comparison to the baseline measurement. When the intervention ceased, however, hand antisepsis adherence decreased to less than or equal to the baseline measurement. CONCLUSION: A short-term intervention alone is not sufficient to lead to a long-term change in hand antisepsis adherence. Rather, permanent feedback and/or the integration in a multi-modal intervention strategy are necessary.

Hospital volume-outcome relationship in total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis aimed to investigate the relationship between hospital volume and outcomes for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL and CINAHL were searched up to February 2020 for randomised controlled trials and cohort studies that reported TKA performed in hospitals with at least two different volumes and any associated patient-relevant outcomes. The adjusted effect estimates (odds ratios, OR) were pooled using a random-effects, linear dose-response meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was quantified using the I2-statistic. ROBINS-I and the GRADE approach were used to assess the risk of bias and the confidence in the cumulative evidence, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 68 cohort studies with data from 1985 to 2018 were included. The risk of bias for all outcomes ranged from moderate to critical. Higher hospital volume may be associated with a lower rate of early revision ≤ 12 months (narrative synthesis of k = 7 studies, n = 301,378 patients) and is likely associated with lower mortality ≤ 3 months (OR = 0.91 per additional 50 TKAs/year, 95% confidence interval [0.87-0.95], k = 9, n = 2,638,996, I2 = 51%) and readmissions ≤ 3 months (OR = 0.98 [0.97-0.99], k = 3, n = 830,381, I2 = 44%). Hospital volume may not be associated with the rates of deep infections within 1-4 years, late revision (1-10 years) or adverse events ≤ 3 months. The confidence in the cumulative evidence was moderate for mortality and readmission rates; low for early revision rates; and very low for deep infection, late revision and adverse event rates. CONCLUSION: An inverse volume-outcome relationship probably exists for some TKA outcomes, including mortality and readmissions, and may exist for early revisions. Small reductions in unfavourable outcomes may be clinically relevant at the population level, supporting centralisation of TKA to high-volume hospitals. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III. REGISTRATION NUMBER: The study was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO CRD42019131209 available at: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=131209 ).

[Application and interpretation of the R classification for lung cancer : Results of a survey of certified lung cancer centers]. / Anwendung und Interpretation der R­Klassifikation beim Lungenkarzinom : Ergebnisse einer Umfrage an zertifizierten Lungenkrebszentren.

The residual (R) tumor classification is an essential, even if facultative component of the TNM classification; however, it should alway be included in the pathology results of certified lung cancer centers. In discussions it becomes clear again and again that different hospitals and departments have different approaches and interpretations with respect to the R status after lung resection. We carried out a questionnaire-based survey of pathologists (with specialization in pulmonary pathology) and thoracic surgeons on the application of the R classification for lung tumors. The results of the survey revealed the different perceptions of the participating centers with respect to application and interpretation, which results in divergent decisions for adjuvant therapy and complicates the comparability of national and international studies. The results of the survey are especially valuable because all participants have a high level of expertise in the field of thoracic pathology and the data reflect the current practice in certified lung cancer centers. It appears to be necessary to examine the application and interpretation of the R classification for lung cancer more closely in an interdisciplinary exchange and to produce a catalogue of criteria to guarantee at least a better national standardization.

Effects of a structured educational intervention on knowledge and emergency management in patients at risk for anaphylaxis.

BACKGROUND: Structured educational programmes for patients at risk for anaphylaxis have not yet been established. Patients and caregivers often lack adequate skills in managing the disease. METHODS: To investigate effects of structured patient education intervention on knowledge, emergency management skills and psychological parameters in patients with previous episodes of anaphylaxis and caregivers of affected children 95 caregivers (11 male, 84 female, mean age 37 years) of affected children and 98 patients (32 male, 66 female, mean age 47.5 years) were randomly assigned to an intervention (IG) or control group (CG) in a multicentre randomized controlled trial. The IG received two 3-h schooling modules of group education; the CG received standard auto-injector training only. Knowledge of anaphylaxis and emergency management competence in a validated training anaphylaxis situation as main outcome measures as well as secondary psychological parameters were assessed at baseline and 3 months after intervention. RESULTS: In comparison with controls, the intervention led to significant improvement of knowledge from baseline to 3-month follow-up (caregivers: IG 3.2/13.2 improvement/baseline vs CG 0.7/12.6; P < 0.001; patients: IG 3.9/10.8 vs 1.3/12.6; P < 0.001). Moreover, emergency management competence was increased after intervention as compared to controls (caregivers: IG 8.6/11.2 vs CG 1.2/10.8; P < 0.001; patients: 7.1/11.0 vs 1.1/11.1; P < 0.001). Intervention showed significant reduction of caregiver anxiety (-1.9/8.4 vs -0.7/7.5; P < 0.05). There were no significant changes in the depression scores. CONCLUSION: Structured patient education programmes may be beneficial in the management of anaphylaxis by increasing patients' empowerment to prevent and treat the disease.

Investigating recurrent neural networks for OCT A-scan based tissue analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has been proposed as a high resolution image modality to guide transbronchial biopsies. In this study we address the question, whether individual A-scans obtained in needle direction can contribute to the identification of pulmonary nodules. METHODS: OCT A-scans from freshly resected human lung tissue specimen were recorded through a customized needle with an embedded optical fiber. Bidirectional Long Short Term Memory networks (BLSTMs) were trained on randomly distributed training and test sets of the acquired A-scans. Patient specific training and different pre-processing steps were evaluated. RESULTS: Classification rates from 67.5% up to 76% were archived for different training scenarios. Sensitivity and specificity were highest for a patient specific training with 0.87 and 0.85. Low pass filtering decreased the accuracy from 73.2% on a reference distribution to 62.2% for higher cutoff frequencies and to 56% for lower cutoff frequencies. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that a grey value based classification is feasible and may provide additional information for diagnosis and navigation. Furthermore, the experiments show patient specific signal properties and indicate that the lower and upper parts of the frequency spectrum contribute to the classification.

Pulmonary haptoglobin and CD163 are functional immunoregulatory elements in the human lung.

BACKGROUND: The acute-phase protein haptoglobin (Hp) and its receptor CD163 serve as immunomodulators and possess anti-inflammatory besides antioxidant functions. OBJECTIVES: To further understand the role of the recently described pulmonary Hp (pHp) and its receptor CD163 in case of inflammation and infection, pHp and CD163 were investigated on mRNA and protein level to gain insight into the cellular events taking place upon stimulation with the inflammatory mediators LPS, Pam3, cytokine IL-6 and dexamethasone, and upon infection with respiratory pathogens (Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcuspneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae) by use of a human ex vivo tissue culture model and cell cultures of A549 and alveolar epithelial cells type II. In addition, pHp and CD163 expression in COPD and sarcoidosis was assessed. METHODS: We conducted experiments using 942 ex vivo cultured lung samples applying immunohistochemistry, immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence, real-time PCR, RT-PCR, slot and Western immunoblot analyses with tissue lysates and culture supernatants as well as ELISA and cytometric bead array analyses. RESULTS: This study describes for the first time the expression, regulation and secretion of pHp and its receptor CD163 in the human lung. The release of soluble mediators from A549 cell line and human monocyte-derived macrophages was observed indicating that Hp differentially activates the release of soluble mediators and major chemoattractants. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate a native function of pHp and CD163 as functional pulmonary defense elements due to local expression, regulation and secretion during lung infection and as part of the inflammatory immune response of the respiratory system.

Generation and evaluation of a monoclonal antibody, designated MAdL, as a new specific marker for adenocarcinomas of the lung.

BACKGROUND: Different therapy regimens in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are of rising clinical importance, and therefore a clear-cut subdifferentiation is mandatory. The common immunohistochemical markers available today are well applicable for subdifferentiation, but a fraction of indistinct cases still remains, demanding upgrades of the panel by new markers. METHODS: We report here the generation and evaluation of a new monoclonal antibody carrying the MAdL designation, which was raised against primary isolated human alveolar epithelial cells type 2. RESULTS: Upon screening, one clone (MAdL) was identified as a marker for alveolar epithelial cell type II, alveolar macrophages and adenocarcinomas of the lung. In a large-scale study, this antibody, with an optimised staining procedure for formalin-fixed tissues, was then evaluated together with the established markers thyroid transcription factor-1, surfactant protein-A, pro-surfactant protein-B and napsin A in a series of 362 lung cancer specimens. The MAdL displays a high specificity (>99%) for adenocarcinomas of the lung, together with a sensitivity of 76.5%, and is capable of delivering independent additional diagnostic information to the established markers. CONCLUSION: We conclude that MAdL is a new specific marker for adenocarcinomas of the lung, which helps to clarify subdifferentiation in a considerable portion of NSCLCs.

[CT-guided cutting needle biopsies of thoracic lesions in patients with negative bronchoscopic findings]. / CT-gesteuerte Stanzbiopsien thorakaler Läsionen bei Patienten mit bronchoskopisch negativen Voruntersuchungen.

PURPOSE: The usefulness and the complication rate of CT-guided core biopsies for obtaining specimens for histopathological examinations in patients with uncertain thoracic lesions were evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Under local anesthesia CT-guided core biopsies were performed in 121 patients using tru-cut systems (14-18 gauge). Prior to CT all patients underwent bronchoscopy without obtaining sufficient material for a definite histopathological diagnosis. The following areas were punctured: lungs 84 (69%), pleura, chest-wall, ribs 24 (20%) and mediastinum 13 (11%). The diameter of the punctured lesion averaged 4.3 cm. RESULTS: Using CT-guided puncture techniques specimens could be obtained in 118 (97.5%) out of 121 patients. Of these 118 specimens 3 (2.5%) showed marked artifacts and necrosis, which obscured a definite histopathological opinion. In the end the biopsies from 115 (95.0%) out of 121 patients could be used whereby 84 (73.0%) were classified as malignant and 31 (27.0%) as benign. Due to further operations or bronchoscopic procedures in 35 patients additional material was obtained for histopathological tests. In 3 (8.6%) of those 35 patients newly malignant disease was diagnosed, therefore these specimens showed a relevant discrepancy as compared to the result of the CT-guided biopsy. Obviously the vital central part of the tumor was not biopsied due to poor delineation caused by peritumoral infiltration. A small pneumothorax or haemoptysis was seen in 17 (14.3%) out of 121 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Despite negative bronchoscopic findings CT-guided core biopsies will deliver sufficient specimens for histopathological tests in 95% of patients with uncertain thoracic lesions. Infiltrations surrounding the vital part of the tumor may obscure the correct targeting and lead to false negative results in a few patients. Severe complications were not seen in this study, although they might happen in rare cases according to reports in the literature. Therefore CT-guided core biopsies represent an efficient and safe procedure in patients with thoracic lesions.

[Interdisciplinary treatment of non-small cell lung cancer]. / Interdisziplinäre Therapie des nicht-kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinoms.

At the time of diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer, about two thirds of the patients manifest tumor disease limited to the lungs without distant metastases. In this group localized tumor spread (stages I and II) can be distinguished from locally advanced spread including lymph node metastases (stages IIIA and B). In stages I and II with sufficient cardiopulmonary function, surgical resection is considered the standard treatment approach. If lobe resection is not possible due to comorbidities or limited pulmonary function, parenchyma-sparing resection or definitive radiotherapy is advocated. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for individual cases in stage IB and as the standard treatment in stage II. In stages IIIA and IIIB interdisciplinary consultation involving pneumologists/oncologists, surgeons, and radiation oncologists is necessary to reach decisions on treatment recommendations. Generally multiple treatment modalities are employed in these stages, such as induction chemotherapy followed by surgery and subsequent irradiation or simultaneous chemoradiotherapy. These treatment combinations with curative intent should be differentiated from the numerous treatment methods with palliative intent.

[Billing based on a case-based lump sum for stroke. Did this lead to discharge of patients in a worse clinical condition?]. / Abrechnung mittels Fallpauschalen beim Hirninfarkt. Führte dies zu Entlassungen in klinisch schlechterem Zustand?

BACKGROUND: It has been supposed that the introduction of a new inpatient reimbursement system starting in 2004 in Germany using the German diagnosis-related groups (G-DRG) may lead to false incentives with encouragement of premature hospital discharge of patients. Exploring a large database on stroke patients, we addressed the question whether length of stay (LOS) and discharge in more severe condition were associated with the introduction of the G-DRG. We further examined other factors with probable effect on LOS such as variations of patient characteristics and treatment during the observation period. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All stroke patients treated in 2003-2006 in the German state of Hesse (6,100,000 inhabitants) were assessed with respect to stroke severity, symptoms on admission and discharge, LOS and stroke-related deficits on discharge. We compared LOS and outcome in 2003 (before introduction of the G-DRG) with 2004 when the G-DRG had recently been introduced and with 2006 when the G-DRG was already well established in the clinical routine. The effects of LOS and treatment year on outcome were assessed using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: During the observation period, we evaluated 37,396 stroke patients. The length of stay was reduced significantly from 12.2 to 10.4 days (p<0.001). Both severity of stroke on admission and outcome on discharge decreased during the observation period. A multivariate analysis revealed a minor but significant association [odds ratio (OR): 1.020 per day of hospital treatment; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.016-1.024] of LOS on outcome. Treatment in 2006 compared to 2003 led to good outcome with an OR of 1.378 (95% CI: 1.279-1.485). Subgroup analysis limited to patients with severe stroke revealed that LOS was significantly lower in 2006 compared to 2003 also in this patient subgroup; moreover, the proportion of patients discharged with severe outcome was lower in 2006 compared to 2003. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals a significant reduction of LOS during the years after introduction of the G-DRG. However, reduction of LOS was not associated with more severe outcome on discharge, possibly due to changes in stroke treatment implemented during the observational period. Our results do not support the conjecture that changes in the reimbursement system were associated with compromised patient care.

Allergenicity of wine containing processing aids: a double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge.

BACKGROUND: The European Union requires allergenic food ingredients to appear on labels in order to protect allergic consumers. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether traces of egg-, milk-, and fish-derived processing aids used in winemaking might elicit clinical reactions in food-allergic patients. METHODS: Five German wines were fined with a high dose of egg albumin, lysozyme, milk casein, fish gelatin, or isinglass, and filtered. Fourteen adults with allergy to egg (n = 5), milk (n = 5), or fish (n = 4) were included. Skin prick tests were performed with fining agents, and fined and unfined wines. All patients underwent double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges with fined and unfined wines. RESULTS: Skin prick tests were positive to hen's egg (n = 5), ovalbumin (n = 5), lysozyme (n = 4), cow's milk (n = 5), casein (n = 4), and cod (n = 3), but not to isinglass or fish gelatin (n = 0). Positive skin prick test results were observed for wines fined with albumin (n = 3), lysozyme (n = 2), casein (n = 1), gelatin (n = 0), and isinglass (n = 3), and for unfined wines (n = 1-2 in each patient group), with no significant differences between groups. Seventy-five percent of skin test-positive patients had specific immunoglobulin E to other allergens present in wine (eg, carbohydrates). The provocation test revealed no reactions to fined or unfined wines. CONCLUSIONS: Although concentrated fining agents containing ovalbumin, lysozyme, and casein were allergenic in the skin prick test, no patient reacted adversely in the provocation test to fined wine. Wines treated with fining agents at commercial concentrations appear not to present a risk to allergic individuals when filtered,

Spontaneous dissection of the popliteal artery in a young man. A rare cause of the blue toe syndrome.

Spontaneous arterial dissection in peripheral arteries of the extremities is an extremely rare event. We report a case of a spontaneous dissection of a nonaneurysmal popliteal artery in an otherwise healthy 36-year-old man that came to clinical attention as an acute blue toe syndrome. The diagnosis was primarily made by high-resolution duplex ultrasound that revealed a dissection flap (length: 15.5 mm; thickness: 0.4 mm) together with the partially thrombosed false lumen at the dorsal wall of the left popliteal artery (degree of local diameter reduction: 56%). Further work-up by means of contrast-enhanced MR-A and conventional DSA confirmed a moderate stenosis of the popliteal artery compatible with focal dissection and excluded other causes such as popliteal artery entrapment syndrome. Under full-dose intravenous anticoagulation with unfractionated heparin that was switched to oral anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists (target INR: 2-3) and conservative management of the blue toe the patient made a gradual, but eventually complete clinical recovery over 8 weeks.

[Allocating and scheduling operating room time]. / Zuweisung und Planung von Operationsraumkapazitäten Maximierung der Operationsraumeffizienz am Beispiel einer deutschen Universitätsklinik.

During the past decade many scientific advances have been made concerning the development of methodologies to maximize efficiency of surgical facilities through allocating and scheduling of operating rooms. In this article such a methodology is described. Using the analysis of historical data of surgical activity in a facility, future demand is predicted and planned. Part of the methodology includes principles and rules needed for the daily organization and operative management of surgical facilities. They are also derived from the same science and therefore the basis for rational and structured decision making. Medical aspects such as patient safety and free choice of day for surgery have higher priority than the economic goal of maximizing operating room efficiency.