Non-persistence and non-adherence to long-acting COPD medication therapy: A retrospective cohort study based on a large German claims dataset.

Objectives: The main objectives of this study, based on a large cohort of German COPD patients, were to assess the level of non-persistence (NP) and non-adherence (NA) with long-acting COPD inhaler treatment and to describe factors that may be associated with NP and NA.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis based on claims data provided by a German statutory health insurance fund (years 2010-2012). NP was analyzed for treatment-naïve patients only; it was defined as a gap of >90 days in medication availability.

Risk Reduction of Needle Stick Injuries Due to Continuous Shift from Unsafe to Safe Instruments at a German University Hospital.

This study assessed protective effects of a continuous introduction of safe instruments in terms of reduction of needle stick injuries. The retrospective study analyzed correlations between the increasing proportion of safe instruments and a reduction of the incidence of needle stick injuries linked to such instruments in a German university hospital over 5 years. Incidents declined about 17.