[Pain clinics within Austrian hospitals, for patients with pathologies of the locomotor system. Analysis of care and comparison with Germany]. / Schmerztherapeutische Einrichtungen für Erkrankungen des Bewegungssystems an österreichischen Krankenanstalten. Versorgungsanalyse und Vergleich mit Deutschland.

This paper gives a comparative overview of the current clinical care of patients experiencing pain in the musculoskeletal system in Austria and in Germany. The questionnaire used in this study was modified from one used in a survey carried out in Germany in 2002. In our version we asked specifically about pain in the musculoskeletal system. In all 228 health care facilities were reviewed, 56.6% of which offer at least one option for pain therapy. In Austria, the majority of patients with pain in the musculoskeletal system are treated by specialists in the departments of anaesthesiology, internal medicine, and orthopaedics. In 17.4% of the clinics in Austria there are plans to extend the pain therapy they offer, but in over half of the hospitals that responded facilities for pain therapy are considered to be vulnerable. The study highlights a significant higher percentage of in-patient pain therapy services in Austria, while in Germany, in contrast, there are more outpatient options for pain therapy. The quality of pain therapy could by further improved by more intense cooperation between the inpatient and outpatient sectors and by the establishment of interdisciplinary and multimodal solutions.

[Is connective tissue reattachment on root surfaces exposed to the oral environment possible?]. / Gibt es bindegewebiges Rettachement an parodontal geschädigten Wurzeloberflächen?

In advanced periodontal diseases, where the root surface a longer time is exposed to the oral environment, retaining of teeth is only possible through de novo-attachment of the periodontal ligament on the diseased root surface. Even when surgical reconstruction of the alveolar bone is successful, connective tissue fibers fail to attach to the affected dental cementum. Patients with two- and three wall pockets can be successfully treated by Nymans method of guided tissue regeneration. However the restoration of the dental attachment apparatus in cases with advanced horizontal destruction of the alveolar bone is still an unsolved problem of periodontal therapy. Investigations of an artificial attachment support will be presented. A synthetic felt glued onto the root surface with special dental adhesives shall obtain the necessary support reattachment of the connective tissue fibers at the periodontitis affect root.

The use of the fibrin adhesion system for local hemostasis in oral surgery.

In 144 patients with bleeding disorders and in 11 patients with normal coagulation, 517 wound sealings were performed using the fibrin adhesion system (FAS) with the primary object of local hemostasis. Excellent results were obtained in patients with bleeding disorders caused by impaired thrombocyte function or anticoagulant therapy. Replacement therapy or the withdrawal of anticoagulant medication was thereby avoided. Ultimate hemostasis in patients with hemophilia was achieved by fibrin sealing in combination with low-dose replacement therapy with clotting factor concentrates. Though the risk of hepatitis transmission cannot be completely ruled out, the advantages, such as excellent tissue tolerance, complete resorption, and a wide spectrum of practical uses, speak in favor of the use of this physiologic tissue adhesive.

Carcinoma of the oral cavity: on the prognostic significance of the primary tumour site (by organs) in the oral cavity.

The prognostic significance of so-called organ sites was investigated in 585 cases with carcinoma of the oral cavity and lips. For the subsamples studied the numerical distribution of TNM categories, life tables and life table comparisons were computed. This produced the following results: 1. There is no demonstrable difference in prognosis between identical T catagories in the organs of the oral cavity. 2. In some cases there is a significant difference between identical N categories in organs of the oral cavity. In the No category this is, however, attributable to the substantial differences in the numerical distribution of T categories. By contrast, a logical explanation for the computationally demonstrable significant differences in the Nx category is not available. The problem is currently being investigated. 3. An assessment of identical TN combinations in the "organs" of the oral cavity proved to be impossible on account of the inadequate number of cases available. The so-called "organ localization" of primary tumours in the oral cavity need not - at least for the time being - be accorded any prognostic relevance. The findings should, however, be re-examined on the basis of greater numbers.

[A retrospective study of carcinomas of the oral cavity: a preliminary report (author's transl)]. / Karzinome der Mundhöhle. Vorläufiger Bericht über eine retrospektive Studie.

UNLABELLED: The German-Austrian-Swiss Research Team on Maxillofacial Tumours is investigating a series of 585 carcinomas of the oral cavity, lips and oropharynx by biostatistical methods. The aim of the study is the determination of relevant prognostic symptoms of oral cavity carcinomas, classification of the series on the basis of these symptoms, the determination of therapeutic efficacy and the assessment of collective and individual prognosis. PRELIMINARY RESULTS: 1. Factors of prognostic relevance are probably only tumour size and intensity of regional metastases. 2. The classification of the series becomes problematic due to the lack of relevant prognostic factors.

Carcinoma of the oral cavity: on the prognostic significance of the primary tumour site (by levels and areas).

The prognostic significance of primary tumour site in carcinomas of the oral cavity was investigated in a series of 585 cases. For the subsamples (levels and areas of oral cavity) studied, the numerical distribution of TNM categories, life tables and life table comparisons were computed. This produced the following results: Given an identical extension and analogous metastazising rate, there is no computationally demonstrable difference in prognosis between primary tumours sited at different levels and areas of the oral cavity. The exception are the T1Nx categories, for which a difference exists between precanine and retromolar sites. These results should be re-examined on the basis of a larger series.