Detecting high-risk neighborhoods and socioeconomic determinants for common oral diseases in Germany.

Background: Ideally, health services and interventions to improve dental health should be tailored to local target populations. But this is not the standard. Little is known about risk clusters in dental health care and their evaluation based on small-scale, spatial data, particularly among under-represented groups in health surveys.

Effects of whole body vibration in postmenopausal osteopenic women on bone mineral density, muscle strength, postural control and quality of life: the T-bone randomized trial.

Purpose: Osteopenia is common in postmenopausal women and effective interventions increasing or stabilizing bone mineral density (BMD) to prevent fractures are urgently needed.

Methods: Sixty-five postmenopausal women diagnosed with osteopenia (T-score between -1.0 and -2.

Feature and Classification Analysis for Detection and Classification of Tongue Movements From Single-Trial Pre-Movement EEG.

Individuals with severe tetraplegia can benefit from brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). While most movement-related BCI systems focus on right/left hand and/or foot movements, very few studies have considered tongue movements to construct a multiclass BCI. The aim of this study was to decode four movement directions of the tongue (left, right, up, and down) from single-trial pre-movement EEG and provide a feature and classifier investigation.

A case report of COVID-19 monitoring in the Austrian professional football league.

Since the beginning of the COVID -19 pandemic, many contact sport teams are facing major challenges to safely continue training and competition. We present the design and implementation of a structured monitoring concept for the Austrian national football league. 146 professional players from five clubs of the professional Austrian football league were monitored for a period of 12 weeks.

Citizens, doctors, politicians - who´s an expert in times of COVID-19? A survey in Austria and Germany.

Background: This study aimed to explore which measures and risk factors for a COVID - 19 infection are considered most important in the general population, health experts and policymakers and to assess the level of agreement across the groups from Austria and Germany.

Methods: A two-phased survey was conducted, participants were matched according to age and gender. Three different groups were asked which measures they considered most relevant in reducing a COVID-19 transmission, to determine which factors contribute most to the risk of disease, and to evaluate the level of agreement in the assessment of risk factor relevance for (a) the transmission of the disease and (b) the risk of a severe course of COVID-19.

Use of an electronic decision support tool to reduce polypharmacy in elderly people with chronic diseases: cluster randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a computerised decision support tool for comprehensive drug review in elderly people with polypharmacy.

Design: Pragmatic, multicentre, cluster randomised controlled trial.

Setting: 359 general practices in Austria, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

Comparison of high tone therapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation therapy in chemotherapy-induced polyneuropathy.

Introduction: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a worldwide concern in patients receiving neurotoxic agents for cancer therapy. High tone external muscle stimulation is a promising therapeutic approach to alleviate symptoms of CIPN.

Methods: This pilot study aims to investigate whether the application of home-based high-tone external muscle stimulation therapy (HTEMS) improves symptoms of CIPN.

Polypharmacy in older patients with chronic diseases: a cross-sectional analysis of factors associated with excessive polypharmacy.

Background: Polypharmacy is common in older people and associated with potential harms. The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of an older multimorbid population with polypharmacy and to identify factors contributing to excessive polypharmacy in these patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis is based on the PRIMA-eDS trial, a large randomised controlled multicentre study of polypharmacy in primary care.

Multiprofessional COPD care in Austria-challenges and approaches : Results of a qualitative study.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a frequent disease of the lungs. Its prevalence was estimated to be 26% in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) I and 11% for GOLD II-IV in Austria. Globally, it ranks third in mortality rate.

The impact of a disease management programme for type 2 diabetes on health-related quality of life: multilevel analysis of a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease associated with poorer health outcomes and decreased health related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this analysis was to explore the impact of a disease management programme (DMP) in type 2 diabetes on HRQoL. A multilevel model was used to explain the variation in EQ-VAS.

Effectiveness and safety of beta blockers in the management of hypertension in older adults: a systematic review to help reduce inappropriate prescribing.

Background: The benefit from a blood pressure lowering therapy with beta blockers may not outweigh its risks, especially in older populations. The aim of this study was to look for evidence on risks and benefits of beta blockers in older adults and to use this evidence to develop recommendations for the electronic decision support tool of the PRIMA-eDS project.

Methods: Systematic review of the literature using a stage approach with searches for systematic reviews and meta-analyses first, and individual studies only if the previous searches are inconclusive.

Cost analysis of a peer support programme for patients with type 2 diabetes: a secondary analysis of a controlled trial.

Background: This study aimed to explore if group-based peer support as an additional component to a disease management programme (DMP) in type 2 diabetes can reduce the number of prescribed drugs; hospital admissions; and length of hospital stay and therefore be a cost-effective model.

Methods: Controlled study based on a secondary data analysis of a cluster randomized trial. Our study population was general practitioners and patients in the province of Salzburg.

Impact of strategies to reduce polypharmacy on clinically relevant endpoints: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of strategies to reduce polypharmacy on mortality, hospitalization and change in number of drugs.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis: a systematic literature search targeting patients ≥65 years with polypharmacy (≥4 drugs), focusing on patient-relevant outcome measures, was conducted. We included controlled studies aiming to reduce polypharmacy.

Effectiveness of a Peer Support Programme versus Usual Care in Disease Management of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 regarding Improvement of Metabolic Control: A Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial.

Aim: Testing the effectiveness of peer support additionally to a disease management programme (DMP) for type 2 diabetes patients.

Methods: Unblinded cluster-randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving 49 general practices, province of Salzburg, Austria. All patients enrolled in the DMP were eligible, n = 337 participated (intervention: 148 in 19 clusters; control: 189 in 20 clusters).

Polypharmacy in chronic diseases-Reduction of Inappropriate Medication and Adverse drug events in older populations by electronic Decision Support (PRIMA-eDS): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Multimorbidity is increasing in aging populations with a corresponding increase in polypharmacy as well as inappropriate prescribing. Depending on definitions, 25-50 % of patients aged 75 years or older are exposed to at least five drugs. Evidence is increasing that polypharmacy, even when guidelines advise the prescribing of each drug individually, can potentially cause more harm than benefit to older patients, due to factors such as drug-drug and drug-disease interactions.

The impact of preoperative testing for blood glucose concentration and haemoglobin A1c on mortality, changes in management and complications in noncardiac elective surgery: a systematic review.

Background: The risks associated with surgery are elevated in patients with diabetes mellitus. For this reason, preoperative diagnostics frequently include the measurement of blood glucose and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), but it is unclear whether these tests contribute to improved perioperative or postoperative outcomes.

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the evidence that preoperative testing for blood glucose and HbA1c might influence the following outcome parameters: changes in clinical management; mortality; and the incidence of perioperative and postoperative complications in patients undergoing elective, noncardiac surgery.

Effectiveness of the Austrian disease management programme "Therapie Aktiv" for type 2 diabetes regarding the improvement of metabolic control, risk profile and guideline adherence: 2 years of follow up.

Background: We evaluated the disease management programme (DMP) "Therapie Aktiv" for diabetes mellitus type 2 during the first year of implementation in a cluster-randomised controlled trial (RCT), which revealed an improvement of process quality, but only insignificant effects on HbA1c. To further analyse the effects of the DMP we followed up participants of the RCT for another year.

Methods: After completion of the RCT, the study was continued as an open observational trial.

Telemedicine in acute stroke care: the TESSA model.

We conducted a retrospective controlled study to assess the safety and effectiveness of intravenous thrombolysis via videoconferencing, followed by patient transport to a specialized stroke unit. Between 2006 and 2009, 47 stroke patients were treated in peripheral hospitals in the county of Salzburg in Austria by intravenous thrombolysis via telemedicine; 304 patients who were treated with intravenous thrombolysis at a stroke unit served as the control group. The mean age of the patients was 67 years in the telemedicine group and 71 years in the control group.

Telerehabilitation in stroke care--a systematic review.

We conducted a systematic review of telerehabilitation interventions in stroke care. The following databases were searched: Medline, Embase, DARE-NHSEED-HTA (INAHTA) and the Cochrane Library. Nine studies, all published after 2000, were included in the review.

Systematic review of the efficacy and safety of high-intensity focussed ultrasound for the primary and salvage treatment of prostate cancer.

Context: High-intensity focussed ultrasound (HIFU) is an emerging minimally invasive treatment option for prostate cancer.

Objective: Our aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of HIFU in both primary treatment of men with localised and locally advanced prostate cancer as well as salvage treatment of men with recurrent prostate cancer following treatment failure of radical prostatectomy or external-beam radiation therapy.

Evidence Acquisition: We conducted a systematic literature search for studies conducted on humans and published in either English or German in several databases from 2000 to 2010.

Telemedicine in acute stroke management: systematic review.

Objectives: Stroke is the third largest cause of death and a major factor in permanent disability. Disparities in access to healthcare services exist due to geographical barriers and limited resources. Rural locations often lack the resources for adequate acute stroke care.

Clinical decision rules for the use of liquor diagnostics in hospitalized neurology patients reduced costs without affecting clinical outcomes.

Objectives: Excessive use of laboratory diagnostics has been common. This study aimed to evaluate whether clinical decision rules for the use of liquor diagnostics would enable cost containment without affecting medical care.

Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective, cost-minimization study based on the records of all 16,319 patients hospitalized and discharged at a Neurology Clinic in Austria between 2004 and 2006.