Effectiveness of structured, multidisciplinary long-term care for pediatric cancer survivors: protocol of the multicenter, randomized-controlled AELKI study.

Background: In Germany, around 2.250 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year. Despite generally positive long-term survival rates, many patients must cope with late effects of the disease and its treatment.

Mandibular device treatment in obstructive sleep apnea -A structured therapy adjustment considering night-to-night variability night-to-night variability in mandibular devices.

Background: Mandibular advancement devices (MAD) are a well-established treatment option for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). MAD are considered preferably for patients with mild to moderate OSA presenting with a elevated night-to-night variability (NNV). This study aimed to determine the treatment effect of MAD on NNV considering different protrusion distances and patient related outcome (PRO).

3D printed versus milled stabilization splints for the management of bruxism and temporomandibular disorders: study protocol for a randomized prospective single-blinded crossover trial.

Background: Nowadays, stabilization splints for the management of bruxism and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) can be produced utilizing a digital workflow comprising a digital impression of the teeth, digital splint design, and computer-aided manufacturing of the splints. The latter is usually a milling process, however, more recently 3D printing gained popularity due to its better cost and time efficiency. It remains unknown whether 3D printed stabilization splints are inferior to milled splints regarding clinical outcomes.

Impact of mediastinal tumor burden and lymphatic spread in locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: A secondary analysis of the multicenter randomized PET-Plan trial.

Purpose: The aim of this secondary analysis of the prospective randomized phase 2 PET-Plan trial (ARO-2009-09; NCT00697333) was to evaluate the impact of mediastinal tumor burden and lymphatic spread in patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: All patients treated per protocol (n = 172) were included. Patients received isotoxically dose-escalated chemoradiotherapy up to a total dose of 60-74 Gy in 30-37 fractions, aiming as high as possible while adhering to normal tissue constraints.

Update to the study protocol: minimisation of dialysis risk in hospital patients with chronic kidney disease (MinDial): a multicentre, stepped-wedge, cluster-randomised controlled trial.

This document reports a brief update to the previously published protocol of the MinDial study.Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00029691. Registered on 12 Sept.

Correlation of greyzone fibrosis compared to troponin T and late gadolinium enhancement with survival and ejection fraction in patients after acute myocardial infarction.

Aims: To quantify greyzone fibrosis (GZF) in patients after acute myocardial infarction (MI) and to evaluate its correlation with MI-free survival and improvements in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) compared with the established risk factors high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and Late Gadolinium Enhancement (LGE).

Methods And Results: The study involved 176 patients who experienced acute MI and underwent cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) prior to hospital discharge, followed by a second CMR on average six months later. LGE was quantified in both examinations, a separate analysis of the GZF was conducted only in the follow-up CMR after resolution of the initial infarct edema.

Effects of a digital intervention on physical activity in adults: A randomized controlled trial in a large-scale sample.

Background: Physical inactivity is associated with health risks, contributing to various diseases and all-cause mortality. Despite recommendations for regular physical activity (PA), many adults remain inactive, influenced by socioeconomic and environmental factors. Digital interventions, particularly web-based PA programs, offer promising possibilities to promote PA across populations.

PREVENTING CARIES AFTER RADIOTHERAPY TO THE HEAD AND NECK REGION - A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

Objectives: Radiotherapy to the head and neck region (HN) bears the risk of a rampant development of caries, making intensified prevention necessary. Aim of this systematic review was to summarize the evidence on the efficacy of caries preventive measures in these patients.

Methods: Clinical studies investigating caries in patients with radiotherapy in the HN with at least 1 caries preventive intervention compared to any control were included.

Update on PI-RADS Version 2.1 Diagnostic Performance Benchmarks for Prostate MRI: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background Prostate MRI for the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) is standardized by the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS), currently in version 2.1. A systematic review and meta-analysis infrastructure with a 12-month update cycle was established to evaluate the diagnostic performance of PI-RADS over time.

TermineR: Extracting information on endogenous proteolytic processing from shotgun proteomics data.

State-of-the-art mass spectrometers combined with modern bioinformatics algorithms for peptide-to-spectrum matching (PSM) with robust statistical scoring allow for more variable features (i.e., post-translational modifications) being reliably identified from (tandem-) mass spectrometry data, often without the need for biochemical enrichment.

Regression without regrets -initial data analysis is a prerequisite for multivariable regression.

Statistical regression models are used for predicting outcomes based on the values of some predictor variables or for describing the association of an outcome with predictors. With a data set at hand, a regression model can be easily fit with standard software packages. This bears the risk that data analysts may rush to perform sophisticated analyses without sufficient knowledge of basic properties, associations in and errors of their data, leading to wrong interpretation and presentation of the modeling results that lacks clarity.

Association of Bacterial Load and Colonization Sites With the Risk of Postoperative Infection.

Background: The independent effects of extranasal-only carriage, carriage at multiple bodily sites, or the bacterial load of colonizing (SA) on the risk of developing SA surgical site infections and postoperative bloodstream infections (SA SSI/BSIs) are unclear. We aimed to quantify these effects in this large prospective cohort study.

Methods: Surgical patients aged 18 years or older were screened for SA carriage in the nose, throat, or perineum within 30 days before surgery.

crossnma: An R package to synthesize cross-design evidence and cross-format data using network meta-analysis and network meta-regression.

Background: Although aggregate data (AD) from randomised clinical trials (RCTs) are used in the majority of network meta-analyses (NMAs), other study designs (e.g., cohort studies and other non-randomised studies, NRS) can be informative about relative treatment effects.

Assessing marginal effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 across Africa: a hybrid modeling study.

Since 2019, a new strain of coronavirus has challenged global health systems. Due its fragile healthcare systems, Africa was predicted to be the most affected continent. However, past experiences of African countries with epidemics and other factors, including actions taken by governments, have contributed to reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Oral-hygiene-related self-efficacy in periodontal therapy: A 4-year longitudinal study.

Aim: Oral hygiene-related self-efficacy (OHSE) describes one's confidence to successfully execute oral hygiene behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term course of OHSE in patients during initial periodontal therapy (IPT) and supportive periodontal therapy (SPT) and its association with clinical parameters.

Materials And Methods: Patients diagnosed with periodontitis, undergoing either IPT or SPT, were evaluated at two timepoints.

Shortest path or random walks? A framework for path weights in network meta-analysis.

Quantifying the contributions, or weights, of comparisons or single studies to the estimates in a network meta-analysis (NMA) is an active area of research. We extend this work to include the contributions of paths of evidence. We present a general framework, based on the path-design matrix, that describes the problem of finding path contributions as a linear equation.

Association between continuity of care and inappropriate prescribing in outpatient care in Germany: a cross-sectional analysis conducted as part of the LoChro trial.

Objectives: Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and potential prescribing omissions (PPOs) are common in multimorbid patients. This study aims to describe PIMs and PPOs in an open-access outpatient setting and to investigate any association between continuity of care (CoC) and PIMs and PPOs in multimorbid older patients.

Design: Cross-sectional study using patient-confirmed outpatient medication plans to describe PIMs and PPOs using the 'Screening Tool of Older Person's Prescription/Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment' version 2.

Patients' beliefs as predictors of patient satisfaction and health-related quality of life in pediatric rehabilitation.

Objective: This study investigated the predictive value of illness and treatment beliefs for patient satisfaction and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adolescents receiving inpatient rehabilitation treatment. In addition, we examined the relationship between fulfilled rehabilitation-related treatment expectations and patient satisfaction.

Method: In this longitudinal study (recruitment between April 2019 and March 2020), 170 participants ( = 14.

Informing pandemic management in Germany with trustworthy living evidence syntheses and guideline development: lessons learned from the COVID-19 evidence ecosystem.

Objectives: We present the 'COVID-19 evidence ecosystem' (CEOsys) as a German network to inform pandemic management and to support clinical and public health decision-making. We discuss challenges faced when organizing the ecosystem and derive lessons learned for similar networks acting during pandemics or health-related crises.

Study Design And Setting: Bringing together 18 university hospitals and additional institutions, CEOsys key activities included research prioritization, conducting living systematic reviews (LSRs), supporting evidence-based (living) guidelines, knowledge translation (KT), detecting research gaps, and deriving recommendations, backed by technical infrastructure and capacity building.

Serum Concentrations of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 and Procollagen Type I Carboxy Terminal Propeptide Discriminate Infarct-Like Myocarditis and Non-ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Biomarkers simplifying the diagnostic workup by discriminating between non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and infarct-like myocarditis are an unmet clinical need.

Methods And Results: A total of 105 subjects were categorized into groups as follows: ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (n=36), NSTEMI (n=22), infarct-like myocarditis (n=19), cardiomyopathy-like myocarditis (n=18), and healthy control (n=10). All subjects underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and serum concentrations of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and procollagen type I carboxy terminal propeptide (PICP) were measured.