[Prescription of Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs by German General Practitioners: A Cross-Sectional Study].

Background: Due to their addictive potential, benzodiazepine (BZ) and non-benzodiazepine-agonists (NBZ, so-called Z-drugs) should be taken no longer than 6 weeks. BZ and NBZ are primarily prescribed by general practitioners (GPs). Therefore, we aimed to analyze GPs' data on the patients collective, the amount of BZ/NBZ prescribed and the rate of private prescriptions.

Asthma control and health-related quality of life one year after inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation: the ProKAR Study.

Objectives: Although pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is commonly used for asthmatics in many countries, so far there are no studies addressing the question of whether and for how long an improvement in asthma control (AC) is seen after rehabilitation. The ProKAR study (Prospektive Katamnesestudie Asthma-Rehabilitation) was performed to provide data concerning the short- and long-term impact of PR on AC.

Methods: Two-hundred one adult patients with mild to severe persistent asthma were prospectively followed one year after completion of a 3-week PR program.