Clinical ultrasound (ClinUS) is the integration of ultrasound diagnostics into the clinical examination. By comparing clinical ultrasound with other models of ultrasound diagnostics, this overview presents a concept that integrates point-of-care ultrasound, comprehensive specialty-specific ultrasound examinations and specialized multiparametric ultrasound. The applications, advantages and challenges of clinical ultrasound and its special features in comparison to other cross-sectional imaging modalities are discussed using the example of gastroenterology and general medicine in particular.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSonography training has become an important part of university medicine courses. This study explores the impact of digital and analog teaching resources on learning outcomes, knowledge retention, and student preferences and motivation in a flipped classroom setting. This prospective controlled study involving two groups of third-year medical students included a voluntary three-day compact ultrasound course given in a flipped classroom, comprising 26 teaching units of 45 minutes each.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is steadily growing in use in prehospital emergency medicine. While currently used primarily by emergency physicians, POCUS could also be employed by paramedics to support diagnosis and decision-making. Yet to date, no paramedicine-targeted POCUS curricula exist in Germany.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction/aim: Radiological imaging is crucial in modern clinical practice and requires thorough and early training. An understanding of cross-sectional imaging is essential for effective interpretation of such imaging. This study examines the extent to which completing an undergraduate ultrasound course has positive effects on the development of visual-spatial ability, knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, understanding of radiological cross-sectional images, and theoretical ultrasound competencies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrior to the curative resection of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the exclusion of hepatic metastasis using cross-sectional imaging is mandatory. The Doppler perfusion index (DPI) of the liver is a promising method for detecting occult liver metastases, but the underlying visceral duplex sonography is critically viewed in terms of its reproducibility. The aim of this study was to investigate systematically the reproducibility of the measured variables, the calculated blood flow, and the DPI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) are a group of potentially deadly diseases that affect the morphology and function of neutrophils. Rapid diagnosis of MDS is crucial for the initiation of treatment that can vastly improve disease outcome. In this work, we present a new approach for detecting morphological differences between neutrophils isolated from blood samples of high-risk MDS patients and blood bank donors (BBDs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: the use of handheld ultrasonography (HHUS) devices is well established in prehospital emergency diagnostics, as well as in intensive care settings. This is based on several studies in which HHUS devices were compared to conventional high-end ultrasonography (HEUS) devices. Nonetheless, there is limited evidence regarding potential variations in B-scan quality among HHUS devices from various manufacturers, and regarding whether any such differences hold clinical significance in intensive care medicine settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Handheld ultrasound (HHUS) devices have chiefly been deployed in emergency medicine, where they are considered a valid tool. The data situation is less clear in the case of internal questions in abdominal sonography. In our study, we investigate whether HHUS devices from different manufacturers differ in their B-scan quality, and whether any differences are relevant for the significance of an internal ultrasound examination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: ultrasound diagnostics have a broad spectrum of applications, including among diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Accordingly, it is important for the users to have a well-founded and up-to-date education in this dynamic examination method. The right balance between online and in-class teaching still needs to be explored in this context.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: A meaningful sonographic examination is decisively dependent on the B-scan quality of the ultrasound device. When selecting a suitable ultrasound device, B-scan quality should be an important purchase criterion. Although there is no generally accepted method to measure B-scan quality, we tried to evaluate comparable sonography devices from different manufacturers regarding B-scan quality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQuality of life is impaired in MDS, but the role of hemoglobin level is unclear. To study the Hb-QoL correlation at diagnosis and 1 year later, patients filled out the EQ-5D questionnaire, assessing their mobility, self care, daily activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression, using scores of 0 (normal), 1 (mild/moderate), or 2 (poor). They also evaluated their health using a visual analogue scale, scoring from 0 (poor) to 100 (excellent).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Cancer Res Clin Oncol
November 2023
Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in mono- or combination therapy may be acute or delayed, partly arising long after termination of treatment. They may be reversible or persistent. Treatment duration with ICIs is usually one year in the adjuvant setting of solid tumors, and until progression or inacceptable toxicity in metastatic disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBifunctional antibody (BfAb) therapeutics offer the potential for novel functionalities beyond those of the individual monospecific entities. However, combining these entities into a single molecule can have unpredictable effects, including changes in pharmacokinetics that limit the compound's therapeutic profile. A better understanding of how molecular modifications affect in vivo tissue interactions could help inform BfAb design.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAccording to epidemiology studies, the majority of youth sports injuries presenting to primary care, athletic trainers, and emergency departments impact the musculoskeletal system. Both acute and overuse knee injuries can contribute to sports attrition before high school. Effective rehabilitation of knee injuries ensures a timely return to sports participation and minimizes the negative physical, psychological, and social consequences of becoming injured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe spatial confinement of atoms at surfaces and interfaces significantly alters the lattice dynamics of thin films, heterostructures and multilayers. Ultrathin films with high dielectric constants (high-) are of paramount interest for applications as gate layers in current and future integrated circuits. Here we report a lattice dynamics study of high- EuO films with thicknesses of 21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Achievement of initial remission remains the most important clinical factor predicting long term survival in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients treated with intensive chemotherapy. Yet, whether the patient subset in need of a second cycle of intensive induction chemotherapy to reach remission experiences inferior outcomes compared to patients reaching remission after a single cycle of therapy, remains uncertain.
Patients And Methods: Retrospective analysis of 302 consecutive AML patients treated with intensive induction chemotherapy in our institution in 2007-2020.
Correction for 'Structural insights into fusion mechanisms of small extracellular vesicles with model plasma membranes' by Fabio Perissinotto et al., Nanoscale, 2021, 13, 5224-5233, DOI: .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtracellular vesicles (EVs) are a potent intercellular communication system. Such small vesicles transport biomolecules between cells and throughout the body, strongly influencing the fate of recipient cells. Due to their specific biological functions they have been proposed as biomarkers for various diseases and as optimal candidates for therapeutic applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA substantial segment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will relapse following an initial response to induction therapy or will prove to be primary refractory. High-dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone (HiDAC/MITO) is an established salvage therapy for these patients. We studied all adult patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) AML who were treated with HiDAC/MITO in our center between the years 2008-2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA professional and valid ultrasound examination is dependent upon an extensively experienced examiner. Recognition and classification of rare or minimally distinctive findings are a particular source of uncertainty on the part of the examiner. By creating an online-based video database of sonographic findings, we tried to share our own experience for clinical and educational purposes.
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