18 research outputs found

    Percutaneous CT fluoroscopy-guided core biopsy of pancreatic lesions: technical and clinical outcome of 104 procedures during a 10-year period

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    Background: In unclear pancreatic lesions, a tissue sample can confirm or exclude the suspected diagnosis and help to provide an optimal treatment strategy to each patient. To date only one small study reported on the outcome of computed tomography (CT) fluoroscopy-guided biopsies of the pancreas. Purpose: To evaluate technical success and diagnostic rate of all CT fluoroscopy-guided core biopsies of the pancreas performed in a single university center during a 10-year period. Material and Methods: In this retrospective study we included all patients who underwent a CT fluoroscopy-guided biopsy of a pancreatic mass at our comprehensive cancer center between 2005 and 2014. All interventions were performed under local anesthesia on a 16-row or 128-row CT scanner. Technical success and diagnostic rates as well as complications and effective patient radiation dose were analyzed. Results: One hundred and one patients (54 women;mean age, 63.912.6 years) underwent a total of 104 CT fluoroscopy-guided biopsies of the pancreas. Ninety-eight of 104 interventions (94.2%) could be performed with technical success and at least one tissue sample could be obtained. In 88 of these 98 samples, a definitive pathological diagnosis, consistent with clinical success could be achieved (89.8%). Overall 19 minor and three major complications occurred during the intra- or 30-day post-interventional period and all other interventions could be performed without complications;there was no death attributable to the intervention. Conclusion: CT fluoroscopy-guided biopsy of pancreatic lesions is an effective procedure characterized by a low major complication and a high diagnostic rate

    HCV-related burden of disease in Europe: a systematic assessment of incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality

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    Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease, end-stage cirrhosis, and liver cancer, but little is known about the burden of disease caused by the virus. We summarised burden of disease data presently available for Europe, compared the data to current expert estimates, and identified areas in which better data are needed. Methods Literature and international health databases were systematically searched for HCV-specific burden of disease data, including incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and liver transplantation. Data were collected for the WHO European region with emphasis on 22 countries. If HCV-specific data were unavailable, these were calculated via HCV-attributable fractions. Results HCV-specific burden of disease data for Europe are scarce. Incidence data provided by national surveillance are not fully comparable and need to be standardised. HCV prevalence data are often inconclusive. According to available data, an estimated 7.3–8.8 million people (1.1–1.3%) are infected in our 22 focus countries. HCV-specific mortality, DALY, and transplantation data are unavailable. Estimations via HCV-attributable fractions indicate that HCV caused more than 86000 deaths and 1.2 million DALYs in the WHO European region in 2002. Most of the DALYs (95%) were accumulated by patients in preventable disease stages. About one-quarter of the liver transplants performed in 25 European countries in 2004 were attributable to HCV. Conclusion Our results indicate that hepatitis C is a major health problem and highlight the importance of timely antiviral treatment. However, data on the burden of disease of hepatitis C in Europe are scarce, outdated or inconclusive, which indicates that hepatitis C is still a neglected disease in many countries. What is needed are public awareness, co-ordinated action plans, and better data. European physicians should be aware that many infections are still undetected, provide timely testing and antiviral treatment, and avoid iatrogenic transmission

    Der Ostdeutsche Heimatdienst und die Volksabstimmungszeit in Ostpreußen. Der Anfang vom Ende der friedlichen Koexistenz? | Ostdeutscher Heimatdienst and the Plebiscite in East Prussia. The Beginning of the End of Peaceful Coexistence?

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    A fierce national East Prussia-related conflict between Germans and Poles after the First World War basically contrasted with the prewar situation in the province. After the decision taken at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to hold a plebiscite in two governmental districts of this German province on their inhabitants’ political affiliations, the vast population there had to take a test on the basic choice of their political, and simultaneously cultural, orientation. Today, researchers agree that the plebiscite of 1920 caused irreversible damage to the multiethnic area. There is no doubt that the so-called Ostdeutscher Heimatdienst organisation strongly contributed to this. The article raises questions as to what circumstances promoted the establishment of the organisation, who its principal actors were, and how they affected the East Prussian population
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