Determining the feasibility of linked claims and vaccination data for a COVID-19 vaccine pharmacoepidemiological study in Germany-RiCO feasibility study protocol.

Introduction: In Germany, there has been no population-level pharmacoepidemiological study on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines. One factor preventing such a study so far relates to challenges combining the different relevant data bodies on vaccination with suitable outcome data, specifically statutory health insurance claims data. Individual identifiers used across these data bodies are of unknown quality and reliability for data linkage.

[Influence of the treatment setting on the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis within the delegation to rheumatological specialist assistants - A post hoc analysis of the StärkeR study].

Background: The StärkeR study has shown the non-inferiority of a team-based form of care with delegation to rheumatological specialist assistants (RFA) compared to standard care in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Objective: Exploratory analyses regarding a possible influence of the treatment setting (specialist practice/outpatient clinic) on various outcome parameters in patients with RA or PsA in the context of delegation to RFA.

Material And Methods: Patients with RA or PsA and stable adjustment with low disease activity from 3 outpatient clinics and 14 rheumatological specialist practices that participated in the StärkeR study were included in this post hoc analysis.

Health and socio-demographic background of Ukrainian minors and their families in Germany - challenges for refugee medicine : A cross-sectional study from the German Network University Medicine (NUM).

Unlabelled: In 2022, over 1,000,000 people from Ukraine fled to Germany, mostly women and children. The aim of this study was to determine health status and socio-demographic background of Ukrainian refugee minors in Germany and to compare that to German minors. In this study, Ukrainian refugees of all ages, who voluntarily made contact with the study centres via flyers or refugee shelters, were interviewed with the help of trained interpreters from 09-12/2022.

Exploring the molecular profile of localized colon cancer: insights from the AIO Colopredict Plus registry.

Introduction: Understanding the mutational landscape of colon cancer (CC) is crucial for targeted therapy development. Microsatellite instability (MSI-H), rat sarcoma (RAS), and B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (BRAF) mutations (MT) are pivotal markers. Further investigation into clinicopathological features of RAS and BRAF MT in microsatellite stable (MSS) and MSI-H tumors is warranted.

Collaborative advance care planning in palliative care: a randomised controlled trial.

Objective: An effective tool for establishing concordant end-of-life (EOL) care in patients with cancer is advance care planning (ACP). However, various barriers, including psychological obstacles, hamper the access to ACP. Therefore, a new conceptual model combining a psycho-oncological approach with structured ACP was developed.

Nerve cross-sectional area from childhood to old age: A high-resolution nerve ultrasound study.

Background And Purpose: Nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) is not constant over the human lifespan. The relationship between an increasing CSA and age has been described as a linear positive correlation, but few studies have found a linear decrease in nerve size with older age. The aim of the present study was to analyze the development of nerve CSA in a healthy population from early childhood to old age using high-resolution ultrasound.

Career and life planning in the context of the postgraduate medical training - current challenges and opportunities.

Introduction: The possibility of balancing career and family is meanwhile a central concern for most physicians when choosing a job. The aim of this study was to identify current barriers and opportunities for physician education and career planning.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted as an online survey between 11/2021 and 02/2022 and targeted physicians at all career levels in Germany who were members of a clinical professional association.

Visualizing the (Causal) Effect of a Continuous Variable on a Time-To-Event Outcome.

Visualization is a key aspect of communicating the results of any study aiming to estimate causal effects. In studies with time-to-event outcomes, the most popular visualization approach is depicting survival curves stratified by the variable of interest. This approach cannot be used when the variable of interest is continuous.

Risk factors for the deterioration of pulmonary function in primary ciliary dyskinesia.

Background: PCD is a genetic disease leading to a decline in pulmonary function. There is only little knowledge of factors determining the long-term pulmonary outcome. Especially adherence has not been addressed yet although being an independent risk factor for an increased loss of lung capacity in other chronic respiratory diseases.

A comparison of different methods to adjust survival curves for confounders.

Treatment specific survival curves are an important tool to illustrate the treatment effect in studies with time-to-event outcomes. In non-randomized studies, unadjusted estimates can lead to biased depictions due to confounding. Multiple methods to adjust survival curves for confounders exist.

[Positive experiences of specialist assistants and physicians with respect to the delegation research project StaerkeR : Evaluation of the training and experiences within the framework of this project].

Introduction: The delegation of medical services to rheumatology assistants (RFA) has proven to be safe and effective in the evaluation of the research project "StaerkeR". Afterwards, the experiences of the participating RFAs and rheumatologists with delegation were surveyed and discussed within the framework of an opinion research project.

Methods: At the end of the project, the participating RFAs and rheumatologists were surveyed via an online questionnaire (quantitative analysis) (21 questions for physicians and 44 questions for RFAs).

Complete mesocolic excision for right colonic cancer: prospective multicentre study.

Background: Complete mesocolic excision (CME) for right colonic cancer is a more complex operation than standard right hemicolectomy but evidence to support its routine use is still limited. This prospective multicentre study evaluated the effect of CME on long-term survival in colorectal cancer centres in Germany (RESECTAT trial). The primary hypothesis was that 5-year disease-free survival would be higher after CME than non-CME surgery.

Causes of mortality in elderly UICC stage III colon cancer (CC) patients--Tumor-related death and competing risks from the German AIO colorectal study group Colopredict Plus (CPP) registry.

Background: Colon cancer (CC) is a disease of elderly patients (pts.) with a median age of 73 years (yrs.).

The Structured Delegation of Medical Care Services for Patients With Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases.

Background: In some areas of Germany, there is a shortage of specialist physicians for patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Delegating certain medical care services to qualified, specialized rheumatological assistants (SRAs) might be an effective way to supplement the available capacity for specialized medical care.

Methods: Patients under stable treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were included in this trial, which was designed to demonstrate, in a first step, the non-inferiority of a form of care involving delegation of physicians' tasks to SRAs (team-based care), in comparison to standard care, with respect to changes in disease activity at one year.

Amyloid-β misfolding as a plasma biomarker indicates risk for future clinical Alzheimer's disease in individuals with subjective cognitive decline.

Background: We evaluated Aβ misfolding in combination with Aβ ratio as a prognostic tool for future clinical progression to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) in individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

Methods: Baseline plasma samples (n = 203) from SCD subjects in the SCIENCe project and Amsterdam Dementia Cohort (age 61 ± 9 years; 57% male, mean follow-up time 2.7 years) were analyzed using immuno-infrared-sensor technology.