Differential trends of admissions in accident and emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

Background: Recent studies have shown a decrease of admissions to accident and emergency (A&E) departments after the local outbreaks of COVID-19. However, differential trends of admission counts, for example according to diagnosis, are less well understood. This information is crucial to inform targeted intervention.

Effect of a strict hygiene bundle for the prevention of nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the hospital: a practical approach from the field.

Background: During the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic it is crucial for hospitals to implement infection prevention strategies to reduce nosocomial transmission to the lowest possible number. This is all the more important because molecular tests for identifying SARS-CoV-2 infected patients are uncertain, and the resources available for them are limited. In this view, a monocentric, retrospective study with an interventional character was conducted to investigate the extent to which the introduction of a strict hygiene bundle including a general mask requirement and daily screening for suspicious patients has an impact on the SARS-CoV-2 nosocomial rate in the pandemic environment.

Non-coronary predictors of elevated high-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) levels in an unselected emergency patient cohort.

Background: Aim of this study was to evaluate the predictors of hs-cTnT in a non-ACS patient cohort admitted to the emergency department.

Hypothesis: Atrial fibrillation and hypertension may not always be sufficient for elevation for hs-cTnT.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, single center study encompassing in total 1003 patients.

Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in Patients with Rheumatologic Diseases Admitted to the ICU.

Objective: To assess the outcomes in a large cohort of patients suffering from rheumatic diseases admitted to the ICU of a tertiary university medical center.

Methods: A retrospective chart analysis was performed in 108 patients suffering from various rheumatic diseases and the outcomes, including morbidity and mortality, were assessed in relation to the underlying diseases, treatments and complications.

Results: Overall, 48 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, five patients with spondyloarthritis, 14 patients with vasculitis, 30 patients with connective tissue diseases and 11 patients suffering from other rheumatologic conditions were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Outcome in a large unselected series of patients with acute pancreatitis.

Background/aims: The objective of this study was to assess the outcome in a large unselected population of patients with acute pancreatitis treated at a single university center.

Methodology: We performed a retrospective analysis of 364 patients with acute pancreatitis and evaluated outcome, morbidity and mortality in relation to different treatment modalities.

Results: 238 patients suffered from interstitial-edematous pancreatitis, 126 patients from the necrotizing form.

Cardiac arrest: composition of resuscitation teams and training techniques: results of a hospital survey in German-speaking countries.

Background: The long-term outcome of patients requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation depends heavily on swift and appropriate care. The aim of this study was to obtain data on the composition and training of resuscitation teams in specialist departments for internal medicine and anesthesiology.

Methods: Between October 2006 and February 2007, 440 questionnaires were sent to departments for anesthesiology and internal medicine in Germany (hospitals with more than 300 beds) and to university hospitals in Switzerland and Austria.

Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding: preoperative CT-guided percutaneous needle localization of the bleeding small bowel segment.

A 57-year-old woman presented with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Double balloon enteroscopy, angiography, and surgery including intraoperative enteroscopy failed to identify the bleeding site. Multidetector computed tomography (CT) depicted active bleeding of a small bowel segment.

Continuous non-invasive arterial pressure technique improves patient monitoring during interventional endoscopy.

Introduction: Close monitoring of arterial blood pressure (BP) is a central part of cardiovascular surveillance of patients at risk for hypotension. Therefore, patients undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures with the use of sedating agents are monitored by discontinuous non-invasive BP measurement (NIBP). Continuous non-invasive BP monitoring based on vascular unloading technique (CNAP, CN Systems, Graz) may improve patient safety in those settings.

Microsatellite analysis of pleural supernatants could increase sensitivity of pleural fluid cytology.

Pleural effusions may result from various inflammatory, hemodynamic, or neoplastic conditions. A common diagnostic problem lies in distinguishing malignant from benign pleural effusions using routine cytological evaluation. We studied pleural fluid samples obtained from 14 patients with histologically confirmed malignancy and from 6 patients with benign pleural effusions using 12 microsatellite markers from 8 different chromosomal regions.

Glucagon production of the rat insulinoma cell line INS-1-A quantitative comparison with primary rat pancreatic islets.

The rat insulinoma cell line INS-1 is the most commonly used clonal cell model in pancreatic beta-cell research. Considering the multihormonality of many insulinomas we examined as to how INS-1 cells comply with the notion of resembling a pure beta-cell line. Glucagon immunoassays revealed that INS-1 cells secrete glucagon in a similar range as islets.

Association of Crohn's disease and latent celiac disease: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestine potentially affecting all parts of the intestine with predilection sites in the terminal ileum and proximal colon. Its prevalence in Western Europe is 20-40/100,000 with equal affection of both sexes and familiar accumulation. Histopathologically, it is characterized by a discontinuous, segmental manifestation and implication of all intestinal layers.