[The Anaesthesiological Questionnaire for patients in cardiac anaesthesia. Results of a multicenter survey by the scientific working group for cardiac anaesthesia of the German Society for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine]. / Der Anästhesiologische Nachbefragungsbogen für Patienten in der Herzanästhesie. Ergebnisse einer Multizentererhebung des wissenschaftlichen Arbeitskreises Kardioanästhesie der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin.

OBJECTIVE: The Anaesthesiological Questionnaire (ANP) is a self-rating method for the assessment of postoperative complaints and patient satisfaction. The questionnaire was adapted for use in cardiac anaesthesia (ANP-KA). The study was conducted to show the value of ANP-KA as a practicable means of assessing the patient's state after cardiac anaesthesia and for its use in quality assurance. METHODS: A total of 1,688 patients from 19 clinics were included who had exclusively received heart valve surgery, CABG surgery or both operations. They completed the ANP-KA between days 1 and 8 postoperatively. RESULTS: The ANP-KA was completed by 79.1% of the patients without any assistance. The highest incidence rates were reported for a dry mouth/thirst (85.1%) and for pain in the area of surgery (60.2%). Plausible and significant differences in patients' symptoms between the grading for the immediate postoperative period and the current state at filling in the questionnaire were found. Women reported more postoperative complaints than men but no differences were found between male and female patients with regard to satisfaction with anaesthesiological care and convalescence. More complaints were reported after heart valve surgery than after CABG and satisfaction with convalescence was significantly lower after heart valve surgery. The clinics differed with respect to the reported somatic complaints and satisfaction scales. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the practicability and validity of the ANP-KA for the assessment of postoperative complaints and patient satisfaction after cardiac surgery.

Cercon move--a navigation aid for dental CAD applications.

The use of existing devices for object orientation in 3D CAD applications requires some practice and familiarization. In this article, the development of Cercon move, a navigation aid for intuitive control of object movements in dental 3D CAD, is presented. Its navigation concept and ergonomics are tailored for the requirements of dental technicians in computer-aided manufacturing of dental restorations.

[Preliminary studies of deaf patients assessed for cochlear implantation]. / Voruntersuchungen gehörloser Patienten zur Cochlea-Implantation.

Two techniques were employed to assess the suitability of deaf patients for cochlear implantation: electrical stimulation by means of ear canal electrode and promontorium electrode. The results of the ear canal tests indicate that the patients may be divided into three groups: I. non-usable dynamics, II. usable dynamics in low-frequency range, and III. usable dynamics over a wider frequency range. Comparable results were obtained via the promontory tests. Since the promontory tests showed a more accurate description of the subjective sensations, it is recommended that this test be performed with those patients who have been preselected on the basis of ear canal stimulation.

[Experiences with the implantation of a multichannel electrode in the acoustic nerve]. / Erfahrungen mit der Implantation einer Mehrkanalelektrode in den Nervus acusticus.

The authors developed a surgical approach to the acoustic nerve enabling the introduction of an electrode into the acoustic nerve. A multichannel electrode was implanted by this method in a deaf patient. The receiver casing for percutaneous transmission was fixed in the mastoid. Encouraging hearing results were obtained over a period of two months by electrical stimulation of the acoustic nerve.

Heterozygous carriers for Bloom syndrome exhibit a spontaneously increased micronucleus formation in cultured fibroblasts.

Cultured fibroblasts of homozygotes and heterozygotes for Bloom syndrome exhibit an enhanced formation of micronuclei. The number of spontaneously occurring micronuclei permit clear separation of heterozygotes from either normal controls or homozygous patients without overlap between these groups. The observed differences could not be enhanced further by the addition of various mutagens. We conclude from the increased chromosomal damage that heterozygotes for Bloom syndrome may have a higher risk for malignant diseases.

[Tissue reaction with platinum-iridium insulated electrodes (author's transl)]. / Untersuchungen zur Gewebeverträglichkeit lackisolierter Platin-Iridium-Elektroden.

Pt-Ir-electrodes were coated with different insulations. Some of the insulations proved to be highly cytotoxic. Pt-Ir (9:1) electrodes coated with "PYRE-M.L." were easy to handle and did not show any cytotoxic effects. A change of electric impedance was found when the voltage was raised and platinum had changed the surface of the cathode.

[Determination of the impaired ear's frequency selectivity using psychoacoustical tuning curves (author's transl)]. / Die Bestimmung des Frequenzselektionsvermögens des funktionsgestörten Gehörs mit Hilfe psychoakustischer Tuningkurven

An apparatus for clinical use is described by which simplified psychoacoustical tuning curves can be measured near 500 Hz and near 4 kHz. Data produced by four groups (normal hearing, conductive hearing loss, noise induced hearing loss and degenerative hearing loss) are separately averaged and compared. The first mentioned two groups as well as the third in the low frequency range show good frequency resolution, the others, however, show largely decreased frequency resolution.