Ethical conflicts in patient care situations of community pharmacists: a cross-sectional online survey.

Background: Community pharmacy practice is rarely considered in ethical research, although various ethical conflicts are known for this setting. Data on the actual frequency and perceived burden of ethical conflicts occurring in the community pharmacy setting are required.

Aim: The survey aimed at investigating the frequency and perceived burden of ethical conflicts, reasons for the perceived burden and influences on decision-making in ethical conflicts in German community pharmacists.

Assessing cardiac mechanics through left ventricular haemodynamic forces.

Haemodynamic forces (HDFs), which represent the forces exchanged between blood and surrounding tissues, are critical in regulating the structure and function of the left ventricle (LV). These forces can be assessed on cardiac magnetic resonance or transthoracic echocardiography exams using specialized software, offering a non-invasive alternative for measuring intraventricular pressure gradients. The analysis of HDFs can be a valuable tool in improving our understanding of cardiovascular disease and providing insights beyond traditional diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Physicians' Attitudes Towards Artificial Intelligence: Results of the PEAK Project.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the medical field. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of physicians towards AI in medical care using focus groups. Most participants seemed to be open to the use of AI in medicine if transparency in AI systems is ensured, regulatory barriers are addressed and personal contact to the patient is maintained.

Anatomic and functional masseter muscle adaptation following orthognathic surgery-MRI analysis in 3 years of follow-up.

Background: Orthodontic and surgical technical advances in recent years have resulted in treatment opportunities for a whole range of craniofacial skeletal disorders either in the adolescent or adult patient. In the growing child, these can include myofunctional orthodontic appliance therapy or distraction osteogenesis procedures, while in the adult, the mainstay approach revolves around orthognathic surgery. The literature agrees that for a change in craniofacial morphology to remain stable, the muscles acting upon the facial skeleton must be capable of adaptation in their structure and, therefore, their function.

[18F]-florbetaben PET/CT is sensitive for cardiac AL amyloidosis.

Often differential diagnosis between AL and ATTR amyloidosis is difficult. Concerning ATTR, sensitive diagnostic tool, as diphosphonate scintigraphy, was validated, instead of no imaging approach is as accurate in AL. Cardiac ultrasound and circulating biomarkers may raise the clinical suspicion but biopsy remains the only option for diagnosis.

What does "urgency" mean when prioritizing cancer treatment? Results from a qualitative study with German oncologists and other experts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: Cancer care in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic was affected by resource scarcity and the necessity to prioritize medical measures. This study explores ethical criteria for prioritization and their application in cancer practices from the perspective of German oncologists and other experts.

Methods: We conducted fourteen semi-structured interviews with German oncologists between February and July 2021 and fed findings of interviews and additional data on prioritizing cancer care into four structured group discussions, in January and February 2022, with 22 experts from medicine, nursing, law, ethics, health services research and health insurance.

Eligibility for vericiguat in a real-world, contemporary heart failure population.

Aims: Vericiguat is a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator and improves survival in patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and an increased risk of decompensation. As real-world data on how many patients could be eligible for vericiguat therapy derive from outdated registries, we aimed to assess eligibility in a prospective cohort of patients with HF.

Methods And Results: Data from consecutive HF patients undergoing an elective ambulatory visit at five university hospitals from 3 July to 28 July 2023 were collected.

Use and Design of Virtual Reality-Supported Learning Scenarios in the Vocational Qualification of Nursing Professionals: Scoping Review.

Background: Numerous reviews advocate using virtual reality (VR) in educational contexts. This medium allows learners to test experiences in realistic environments. Virtually supported scenarios offer a safe and motivating way to explore, practice, and consolidate nursing skills in rare and critical nursing tasks.

Compassionate Othering: the construction of refugee patients in medical students' narratives - a qualitative study using story completion.

Background: Refugees remain a marginalized population and are exposed to a variety of discriminatory processes, among them Othering which categorizes people as belonging or not-belonging according to certain ascribed characteristics. We explored how the narrative construction of refugee patients by medical students constitutes a form of Othering.

Methods: Using story completion, 124 5th year medical students at the Martin- Luther- University Halle-Wittenberg in October 2019 wrote a fictional story in response to a story stem situated in a medical practice.

OPTImal PHARMacological therapy for patients with heart failure: Rationale and design of the OPTIPHARM-HF registry.

Aims: Patients with heart failure (HF) remain often undertreated for multiple reasons, including treatment inertia, contraindications, and intolerance. The OPTIimal PHARMacological therapy for patients with Heart Failure (OPTIPHARM-HF) registry is designed to evaluate the prevalence of evidence-based medical treatment prescription and titration, as well as the causes of its underuse, in a broad real-world population of consecutive patients with HF across the whole ejection fraction spectrum and among different clinical phenotypes.

Methods: The OPTIPHARM-HF registry (NCT06192524) is a prospective, multicenter, observational, national study of adult patients with symptomatic HF, as defined by current international guidelines, regardless of ejection fraction.

Moral competency of students at a german medical school - A longitudinal survey.

Background: Medical students and doctors face various challenges in clinical practice. Some of these challenges are related to ethical issues. Therefore, teaching ethics respectively building moral competences has become an integral part of the medical curriculum in Germany and many other countries.

Impact of QRS misclassifications on heart-rate-variability parameters (results from the CARLA cohort study).

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV), an important marker of autonomic nervous system activity, is usually determined from electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings corrected for extrasystoles and artifacts. Especially in large population-based studies, computer-based algorithms are used to determine RR intervals. The Modular ECG Analysis System MEANS is a widely used tool, especially in large studies.

University Students' Financial Situation During COVID-19 and Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms: Results of the COVID-19 German Student Well-Being Study (C19 GSWS).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on students' financial situation as well as on their mental health.

Aim: To examine the reported change in the financial situation of German university students before and across two time points of the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate its associations with anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Methods: We used data from the cross-sectional COVID-19 German Student Well-being Study conducted at five German universities (N = 7203).

Climate-sensitive health counselling in Germany: a cross-sectional study about previous participation and preferences in the general public.

Background: In response to climate change (CC), medicine needs to consider new aspects in health counselling of patients. Such climate-sensitive health counselling (CSHC) may include counselling patients on preventing and coping with climate-sensitive diseases or on leading healthy and climate-friendly lifestyles. This study aimed to identify previous participation in and preferences for CSHC as well as associated sociodemographic and attitudinal factors among the general public in Germany.

Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in ATTR Amyloidosis: A Clinical Update.

Hereditary transthyretin-related amyloidosis (hATTR) is the most common form of familial amyloidosis. It is an autosomal dominant disease caused by a pathogenic variant in the TTR gene. More than 140 TTR gene variants have been associated with hATTR, with the Val30Met variant representing the most common worldwide.

The Role of Scintigraphy with Bone Radiotracers in Cardiac Amyloidosis.

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is caused by the myocardial deposition of misfolded proteins, either amyloid transthyretin (ATTR) or immunoglobulin light chains (AL). The paradigm of this condition has transformed, since CA is increasingly recognized as a relatively prevalent cause of heart failure. Cardiac scintigraphy with bone tracers is the unique noninvasive technique able to confirm CA without performing tissue biopsy or advanced imaging tests.

Sudden cardiac death during scuba diving: a case report of a patient with unknown hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Scuba diving is a recreational activity usually considered at low impact on cardiovascular system. However, when diving, increased ambient pressure exerts several effects on the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, mainly due to redistribution of peripheral blood into the central circulation. This phenomenon, also known as blood shift, may produce a significant overload on a non-healthy heart.