Who is at risk for diagnostic discrepancies? Comparison of pre- and postmortal diagnoses in 1800 patients of 3 medical decades in East and West Berlin.

Background: Autopsy rates in Western countries consistently decline to an average of <5%, although clinical autopsies represent a reasonable tool for quality control in hospitals, medically and economically. Comparing pre- and postmortal diagnoses, diagnostic discrepancies as uncovered by clinical autopsies supply crucial information on how to improve clinical treatment. The study aimed at analyzing current diagnostic discrepancy rates, investigating their influencing factors and identifying risk profiles of patients that could be affected by a diagnostic discrepancy.

Expanded human meniscus-derived cells in 3-D polymer-hyaluronan scaffolds for meniscus repair.

Treatment options for lesions of the avascular region of the meniscus using regenerative medicine approaches based on resorbable scaffolds are rare. Recent approaches using scaffold-based techniques for tissue regeneration known from cartilage repair may be a promising treatment option for meniscal tears. The aim of the study was the investigation of meniscus matrix formation of in vitro expanded human meniscus-derived cells in a three-dimensional (3-D) bioresorbable polymer graft for meniscal repair approaches.

Acute myocardial infarction caused by coronary tumor thromboembolism: a rare primary manifestation of malignant tumor disease.

Myocardial infarction in the context of malignant tumor disease is rare but well documented and can occur through various pathophysiological mechanisms. We report an unusual case of a patient with recurrent myocardial infarction due to coronary tumor thromboembolism as the first clinical manifestation of a previously unknown squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. The possible pitfalls leading to a wrong preliminary diagnosis in our case as well as the literature on myocardial infarction in patients with cancer were discussed.

Role of F18-FDG PET for monitoring of radiochemotherapy -- estimation of detectable number of tumour cells.

Background: FDG-PET has been proven to be useful for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. However, no quantitative data exist concerning its sensitivity for treatment monitoring or early diagnosis.

Case Report: We report on a 61-year-old patient with locally advanced cancer of the pancreas head who received sequential radiochemotherapy including gemcitabine and 5-FU/FA.

Osteochondroma of the mandibular condyle: a case report.

A case of osteochondroma of the right mandibular condyle in a 47-year-old woman is presented. Instead of condylectomy, surgical resection was performed, resulting in fewer functional changes and less dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint but recurrence within 12 months after surgery.