[Hepatic transit times and liver elasticity compared with meld in predicting a 1 year adverse clinical outcome of a clinically diagnosed cirrhosis].

Introduction And Objectives: Hepatic transit times measured by the contrast enhanced ultrasonography and liver elasticity were found to predict a clinically significant portal hypertension. However, these modalities we not yet sufficiently evaluated in predicting adverse clinical outcome in patients with clinically diagnosed cirrhosis (D´Amico stages > 1), having a clinically significant portal hypertension. The aim of our study was to assess the predictive power of the liver transit times and the liver elasticity on an adverse clinical outcome of clinically diagnosed cirrhosis compared with the MELD score.

Regulation of healthcare ethics committees in Europe.

In this article, the question is discussed if and how Healthcare Ethics Committees (HECs) should be regulated. The paper consists of two parts. First, authors from eight EC member countries describe the status quo in their respective countries, and give reasons as to the form of regulation they consider most adequate.

Relationships between the Central ("National") Ethics Committee and local ethics committees in the Slovak Republic.

A brief outline about the present relationships between Central ("National") Ethics Committee at the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic, and the local ethics committees in Slovakia is given. The planned improvements concerning the function of the system of ethics committees in the Slovak Republic are also outlined.

Establishment and work of ethics committees in central and eastern European countries.

The genuine reform efforts in medicine and health care in Central and East European (CEE) countries have continued to pose important and thought-provoking challenges to the newly reborn disciplines of medical ethics (or bioethics). They are embodied in the bulk of new ethical problems, concepts and quandaries brought about by the developments, changes, clashes, and "real life" issues of the CEE countries' health care systems and biomedical sciences. Certain part, quite variable from country to country, of this bio-ethical endeavour has been confined to the work and activities of ethics committees (ECs) or similar bodies.

Bioethics and the challenges of a society in transition: the birth and development of bioethics in post-totalitarian Slovakia.

This paper provides an analysis of the first decade of bioethics development in Slovakia (1990-1999), together with an overview of the most important bioethical issues entering the scene of public debate and scholarly ethical analysis.