Protocol design and current status of CLIVIT: a randomized controlled multicenter relevance trial comparing clips versus ligatures in thyroid surgery.

Background: Annually, more than 90000 surgical procedures of the thyroid gland are performed in Germany. Strategies aimed at reducing the duration of the surgical procedure are relevant to patients and the health care system especially in the context of reducing costs. However, new techniques for quick and safe hemostasis have to be tested in clinically relevance randomized controlled trials before a general recommendation can be given.

Methodological aspects of the evaluation of postoperative cancer surveillance. Part I: Validity.

This contribution deals with problems of determining the validity and efficacy of diagnostic procedures used in postoperative cancer surveillance. While there is a large number of follow-up studies attempting to estimate sensitivity, specificity, or the predictive values of follow-up tests, the methodological aspects of validation are rarely addressed adequately in these publications, and the estimations of validity are often not well-founded. In the first part of this paper we analyze aspects of validity and validation studies.

[Prehospital emergencies (emergencies and acute cases) in childhood].

Objective: To determine incidence and management of prehospital emergencies in children.

Methods: Between November 15, 1994 and March 14, 1995 in the City of Mainz (200,000 inhabitants) children with the diagnosis of a prehospital emergency were identified.

Results: 390 children were discovered, 62% in the age group 0-3 years.