Publications by authors named "Bernd Schucher"

During the annual conference of the German Respiratory Society (DGP = Deutsche Gesellschaft für Pneumologie und Beatmungsmedizin) in 2024, updated recommendations for lung function testing have been published. The original full-length version can be downloaded free of charge as pfd-paper from the journal entitled "Atemwegs- und Lungenkrankheiten, Jahrgang 50 (2024) März (111-184)". In the current recommendations new approaches have been embedded that focus on modern interpretations of lung function results, as has been proposed by the ERS (European Respiratory Society) in collaboration with the ATS (American Thoracic Society).

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Background: Patients in out-of-hospital intensive care are usually provided with a tracheal cannula and often additionally receive mechanical ventilation. Less frequently, they receive non-invasive ventilation. Their potential to be weaned from the ventilator and to have their tracheostomy tubes removed must be evaluated twice per year from January 1, 2025 on.

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Outpatient intensive nursing care offers individuals who require specialized intensive nursing care on a permanent basis the opportunity to survive outside of an intensive care unit in an ambulatory environment. With advancements in surgical and intensive medical practices, coupled with demographic changes in the population resulting in a higher number of older, multimorbid patients, the available treatment options have been continuously extended. Many patients survived their intensive care stays but could not be weaned from ventilation or they had to retain a tracheal cannula, even without ventilation therapy.

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The timely integration of palliative medicine is an important component in the treatment of various advanced diseases. While a German S-3-guideline on palliative medicine exists for patients with incurable cancer, a recommendation for non-oncological patients and especially for palliative patients being treated in the emergency department or intensive care unit is missing to date. Based on the present consensus paper, the palliative care aspects of the respective medical disciplines are addressed.

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The timely integration of palliative medicine is an important component in the treatment of various advanced diseases. While a German S‑3-guideline on palliative medicine exists for patients with incurable cancer, a recommendation for non-oncological patients and especially for palliative patients presenting in the emergency department or intensive care unit is missing to date. Based on the present consensus paper, the palliative care aspects of the respective medical disciplines are addressed.

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The timely integration of palliative medicine is an important component in the treatment of various advanced diseases. While a German S‑3-guideline on palliative medicine exists for patients with incurable cancer, a recommendation for non-oncological patients and especially for palliative patients presenting in the emergency department or intensive care unit is missing to date. Based on the present consensus paper, the palliative care aspects of the respective medical disciplines are addressed.

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The integration of palliative medicine is an important component in the treatment of various advanced diseases. While a German S3 guideline on palliative medicine exists for patients with incurable cancer, a recommendation for non-oncological patients and especially for palliative patients presenting in the emergency department or intensive care unit is missing to date. Based on the present consensus paper, the palliative care aspects of the respective medical disciplines are addressed.

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Background: Evidence is weak for the ability of long-term non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) to improve survival in patients with stable hypercapnic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Previous prospective studies did not target a reduction in hypercapnia when adjusting ventilator settings. This study investigated the effect of long-term NPPV, targeted to markedly reduce hypercapnia, on survival in patients with advanced, stable hypercapnic COPD.

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Background And Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a specific instrument for measuring health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients receiving home mechanical ventilation (HMV).

Methods: The Severe Respiratory Insufficiency (SRI) Questionnaire was developed and tested for its psychometric properties following a multicentric clinical trial including 226 patients receiving HMV (mean age 57.3+/-14.

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Objective: To collect benchmark data on the MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Status Survey (SF-36) in patients receiving noninvasive positive pressure ventilation and to examine whether health-related quality of life is influenced by the underlying disease or by physical parameters.

Design And Setting: Multicentric clinical cross-sectional trial in four general wards specialized in noninvasive positive pressure ventilation.

Patients And Participants: 226 patients (78 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 57 kyphoscoliosis, 20 posttuberculosis sequelae, 17 Duchenne muscular dystrophy, 13 polyneuropathy, 13 myopathy, 6 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 12 obesity-hypoventilation syndrome, 4 poliomyelitis sequelae, 3 phrenic nerve lesion, 3 central hypoventilation syndrome) who used noninvasive positive pressure ventilation for home mechanical ventilation.

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