Associations among navigational support and health care utilization and costs in patients with advanced cancer: An analysis based on administrative health insurance data.

Background: Fragmented and complex healthcare systems make it difficult to provide continuity of care for patients with advanced cancer near the end of life. Nurse-based cross-sectoral navigation support has the potential to increase patients' quality of life. The objective of this paper was to evaluate associations between navigation support and health care utilization, and the associated costs of care.

The Abdominal Pain Unit (APU). Study protocol of a standardized and structured care pathway for patients with atraumatic abdominal pain in the emergency department: A stepped wedged cluster randomized controlled trial.

This study aims to improve emergency department (ED) care for patients suffering from atraumatic abdominal pain. An application-supported pathway for the ED will be implemented, which supports quick, evidence-based, and standardized diagnosis and treatment steps for patients with atraumatic abdominal pain at the ED. A mixed-methods multicentre cluster randomized controlled stepped wedge trial design will be applied.

Identifying and handling unbalanced baseline characteristics in a non-randomized, controlled, multicenter social care nurse intervention study for patients in advanced stages of cancer.

Purpose: Given the psychosocial burdens patients in advanced stages of cancer face, innovative care concepts are needed. At the same time, such vulnerable patient groups are difficult to reach for participation in intervention studies and randomized patient inclusion may not be feasible. This article aims to identify systematic biases respectively selection effects occurring during the recruitment phase and to discuss their potential causes based on a non-randomized, multicenter intervention study with patients in advanced stages of cancer.

Characteristics and patient-reported outcomes associated with dropout in severely affected oncological patients: an exploratory study.

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are commonly-used surrogates for clinical outcomes in cancer research. When researching severe diseases such as cancer, it is difficult to avoid the problem of incomplete questionnaires from drop-outs or missing data from patients who pass away during the observation period. The aim of this exploratory study was to explore patient characteristics and the patient-reported outcomes associated with the time-to-dropout.

Improving quality of life in cancer patients through higher participation and health literacy: study protocol for evaluating the oncological social care project (OSCAR).

Background: Cancer patients experience psychological and social distress due to their medical treatment and social issues. However, continuous and specialized social support is still lacking. In Germany, a group of company health insurance funds has developed an approach to support cancer patients with monthly structured interviews conducted by specially trained Social Care Nurses.

Suitability of the German version of the Manchester Triage System to redirect emergency department patients to general practitioner care: a prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate the suitability of the German version of the Manchester Triage System (MTS) as a potential tool to redirect emergency department (ED) patients to general practitioner care. Such tools are currently being discussed in the context of reorganisation of emergency care in Germany.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

[Quality of German-Language Guidelines for Post-Stroke Rehabilitation of Aphasia and Dysarthria - Results of a Systematic Review and of an International Comparison].

Aim: Evaluation of German-language guidelines for aphasia and dysarthria rehabilitation, and comparison with international guidelines.

Methods: The quality of the 6 included guidelines, as found through a comprehensive literature search, was sytematically evaluated using AGREE II. Quality ratings were compared to the results of a systematic review of 19 English-language guidelines.

Suitability of current definitions of ambulatory care sensitive conditions for research in emergency department patients: a secondary health data analysis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of existing definitions of ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) in the setting of an emergency department (ED) by assessing ACSC prevalence in patients admitted to hospital after their ED stay. The secondary aim was to identify ACSC suitable for specific application in the ED setting.

Design: Observational clinical study with secondary health data.

Analytical and Clinical Validation of a Point-of-Care Cardiac Troponin T Test with an Improved Detection Limit.

Background: The point-of-care test Roche CARDIAC POC Troponin T (PoC TnT) is an improved assay which has been developed for the Roche cobas h 232 system.

Methods: We performed a multicentre evaluation (four sites) to assess the analytical performance of the PoC TnT assay and to compare it with the central laboratory Elecsys® troponin T high sensitive (lab cTnT-hs) assay.

Results: The relative mean differences found in method comparisons of PoC TnT vs.

[Perception of the Emergency Department for Outpatient Care in a Rural Region in Saxony-Anhalt: A Qualitative Survey of Patients and General Practitioners].

 The increasing number of low-acuity visits to Emergency Departments (ED) is an important issue in Germany and contributes to ED crowding. A sustainable solution needs deeper knowledge of patients' underlying rationales.  To explore patients' motives we conducted 31 semi-structured face-to-face interviews with low-acuity ED patients in a rural region in Saxony-Anhalt.

Patient motives behind low-acuity visits to the emergency department in Germany: a qualitative study comparing urban and rural sites.

Objectives: The increasing number of low-acuity visits to emergency departments (ED) is an important issue in Germany, despite the fact that all costs of inpatient and outpatient treatment are covered by mandatory health insurance. We aimed to explore the motives of patients categorised with low-acuity conditions for visiting an ED.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study in two urban and one rural ED.

Acute heart failure facts and numbers: acute heart failure populations.

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a life-threatening emergency, which largely profits from early diagnosis and treatment. The prevalence of AHF is difficult to assess, estimates range between 1 and 12% in the general population. Despite recent therapeutic advances, in-hospital mortality is high with estimates varying from 4 and 18% in different registries.

Incidence, prevalence and 1-year all-cause mortality of heart failure in Germany: a study based on electronic healthcare data of more than six million persons.

Aims: Heart failure (HF) continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries. Data on the epidemiology of HF are largely lacking for Germany. The aims of this study were to estimate the incidence and prevalence of HF in Germany, to estimate 1-year all-cause mortality in patients who received their first diagnosis of HF in hospital and to assess related risk factors.