Background: Swallowing dysfunction can complicate acute stroke and directly affect patient's prognosis and recovery through development of chest infection (respiratory morbidity), nutritional problems and dehydration. Objective: To study the relationship of post stroke dysphagia (assessed clinically and by pulse oximetry) with the stroke 'site and size, and with subsequent in hospital respirato...

Due to rather unspecific statutory regulations in Germany, particularly for patients with neurodegenerative disorders, many seniors still drive despite severe driving-related cognitive deficits. An accurate assessment of driving fitness requires immense financial, personnel and temporal resources which go beyond daily clinical routines. In cooperation with a working group from Switzerland, we t...

Abstract. This article discusses an apparently ‘outdated’ concept of thinking about learning within the lifespan. Obviously, term ‘biographical learning’ has been replaced by label ‘lifelong learning’. In a first section, this position is critically examined and importance biography for all experiences emphasised. second step argumentation, it conceptually specified what peculiarity biographica...

OBJECTIVE Based on the results of a recently accomplished multicenter clinical trial for the incremental value of a dual-tracer (18F-FDG and 18F-FLT), dual-modality (PET and CT) imaging in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary lesions, we investigate some issues that might affect the image interpretation and result reporting. METHODS The images were read in two separate sessions. Firstly th...

Abstract: Fast tracking approaches in liver transplantation include postoperative extubation immediately after surgery in the operating theatre. Based on the experience of 837 liver transplantations performed between 01/97 and 05/05, we report on the safety and feasibility of this procedure in almost 80% of transplant recipients, without increasing the incidence of subsequent reintubation (11%)...

Background & Objective: Clear cell carcinomas (CCC) differ from other types of ovarian and endometrial carcinomas in biolo...

Introduction: There are problems in the differential diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and parapneumonic effusion (PPE). We investigated the diagnostic value of levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the discrimination of MPE and PPE. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight patients with MPE and 21 patients with PPE were assessed. CEA and CRP levels wer...

BACKGROUND Quantitative neuromuscular monitoring is the gold standard to detect postoperative residual curarization (PORC). Many anesthesiologists, however, use insensitive, qualitative neuromuscular monitoring or unreliable, clinical tests. Goal of this multicentre, prospective, double-blinded, assessor controlled study was to develop an algorithm of muscle function tests to identify PORC. M...