Respiratory symptoms of Swiss people with primary ciliary dyskinesia.

Background Mostly derived from chart reviews, where symptoms are recorded in a nonstandardised manner, clinical data about primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) are inconsistent, which leads to missing and unreliable information. We assessed the prevalence and frequency of respiratory and ear symptoms and studied differences by age and sex among an unselected population of Swiss people with PCD. Methods We sent a questionnaire that included items from the FOLLOW-PCD standardised questionnaire to all Swiss PCD registry participants. Results We received questionnaires from 74 (86%) out of 86 invited persons or their caregivers (median age 23 years, range 3-73 years), including 68% adults (≥18 years) and 51% females. Among participants, 70 (94%) reported chronic nasal symptoms; most frequently runny nose (65%), blocked nose (55%) or anosmia (38%). Ear pain and hearing problems were reported by 58% of the participants. Almost all (99%) reported cough and sputum production. The most common chronic cough complications were gastro-oesophageal reflux (n=11; 15%), vomiting (n=8; 11%) and urinary incontinence (n=6; 8%). Only nine (12%) participants reported frequent wheeze, which occurred mainly during infection or exercise, while 49 (66%) reported shortness of breath, and 9% even at rest or during daily activities. Older patients reported more frequent nasal symptoms and shortness of breath. We found no difference by sex or ultrastructural ciliary defect. Conclusion This is the first study to describe patient-reported PCD symptoms. The consistent collection of standardised clinical data will allow us to better characterise the phenotypic variability of the disease and study disease course and prognosis

Respiratory symptoms of Swiss people with primary ciliary dyskinesia

BACKGROUND Mostly derived from chart reviews, where symptoms are recorded in a nonstandardised manner, clinical data about primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) are inconsistent, which leads to missing and unreliable information. We assessed the prevalence and frequency of respiratory and ear symptoms and studied differences by age and sex among an unselected population of Swiss people with PCD. METHODS We sent a questionnaire that included items from the FOLLOW-PCD standardised questionnaire to all Swiss PCD registry participants. RESULTS We received questionnaires from 74 (86%) out of 86 invited persons or their caregivers (median age 23 years, range 3-73 years), including 68% adults (≥18 years) and 51% females. Among participants, 70 (94%) reported chronic nasal symptoms; most frequently runny nose (65%), blocked nose (55%) or anosmia (38%). Ear pain and hearing problems were reported by 58% of the participants. Almost all (99%) reported cough and sputum production. The most common chronic cough complications were gastro-oesophageal reflux (n=11; 15%), vomiting (n=8; 11%) and urinary incontinence (n=6; 8%). Only nine (12%) participants reported frequent wheeze, which occurred mainly during infection or exercise, while 49 (66%) reported shortness of breath, and 9% even at rest or during daily activities. Older patients reported more frequent nasal symptoms and shortness of breath. We found no difference by sex or ultrastructural ciliary defect. CONCLUSION This is the first study to describe patient-reported PCD symptoms. The consistent collection of standardised clinical data will allow us to better characterise the phenotypic variability of the disease and study disease course and prognosis

(1)(8)F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging for the detection of experimental colorectal liver metastases.

Item does not contain fulltextDuring the treatment of colorectal liver metastases, evaluation of treatment efficacy is of the utmost importance for decision making. The aim of the present study was to explore the ability of preclinical imaging modalities to detect experimental liver metastases. Nine male Wag/Rij rats underwent a laparotomy with intraportal injection of CC531 tumor cells. On days 7, 10, and 14 after tumor induction, sequential positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were acquired of each rat. At each time point, three rats were euthanized and the metastases in the liver were documented histologically. Topographically, the liver was divided into eight segments and the image findings were compared on a segment-by-segment basis with the histopathologic findings. Sixty-four liver segments were analyzed, 20 of which contained tumor deposits. The overall sensitivity of PET, CT, and MRI was 30%, 25%, and 20%, respectively. For the detection of tumors with a histologic diameter exceeding 1 mm (n = 8), the sensitivity of PET, CT, and MRI was 63%, 38%, and 38%, respectively. The overall specificity of PET, CT, and MRI was 98%, 100%, and 93%, respectively. This study showed encouraging detectability and sensitivity for preclinical imaging of small liver tumors and provides valuable information on the imaging techniques for designing future protocols

Das Lagemanagement des Robert Koch-Instituts während der COVID-19-Pandemie und der Austausch zwischen Bund und Ländern

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) plays a central role in Germany in the management of health hazards of biological origin. The RKI's crisis management aims to contribute to protecting the health of the population in Germany in significant epidemic situations and to maintain the RKI's working ability over a long period of time even under high load. This article illustrates the crisis management of the RKI in general as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic. The generic RKI crisis management structures and the setup of the RKI emergency operations centre (EOC), their operationalisation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting challenges as of 31 October 2020 are described in this paper. The exchange between the federal and state governments during the pandemic is also described.The COVID-19 pandemic has led to extraordinary circumstances. During the epidemic situation, good communication and coordination has been essential, both within the RKI and with other federal or state authorities and expert groups. Under great pressure, the RKI produces and regularly updates recommendations, statements and assessments on various topics. To provide operational support for all COVID-19 related activities, an EOC was activated at the RKI. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there are various challenges regarding personnel and structures. It became apparent that good preparation (e.g. existing task descriptions and premises) has an important positive impact on crisis management