Surgery of benign thyroid disease by ENT/head and neck surgeons and general surgeons: 233 cases of vocal fold paralysis in 3509 patients.

Purpose: Thyroid surgery is mainly performed by general surgeons (GS). The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficiency of thyroid surgery by ENT/head and neck surgeons (ENT), especially regarding the incidence of vocal fold palsy (VFP).

Methods: We retrospectively analysed 3509 patients (69.

[Patient Satisfaction as a Measure of Quality of Patient Care - Comparison between a University Hospital and a General Hospital].

The aim of the study was to compare the satisfaction of patients of a general hospital with a university hospital. A patient satisfaction index was calculated based on the assessed levels of satisfaction. In general, higher satisfaction could lead to increased competitiveness and improved cost efficiency for achieving profitability.

A novel method for determining residence time distribution in intricately structured microreactors.

A precise characterisation of microreactors can be achieved by determining the residence time distribution as one of the most important flow characteristics. An approach specially designed for microreactor applications was developed, which employs a tracer 'injection' using the optical activation of a caged fluorescent dye. Furthermore, the effect of the laminar flow on the determination of the residence time distribution in microreactors has been taken into account during the measurements and their interpretation to fulfill the requirements of the so-called 'mixing-cup-problem' on the microscale.