Der Nutzen von modernen, patientenzentrierten Erfassungsmethoden der Präzisionsmedizin bei neurobehavioralen Erkrankungen

Neurobehaviorale Erkrankungen wie Depressionen oder chronische Schmerzen sind verantwortlich für einen beachtlichen Anteil der globalen Krankheitslast. Eine große Herausforderung bei der Behandlung dieser Erkrankungen ist die hohe Variabilität der Behandlungsergebnisse. Während einige Patient:innen gut auf bestimmte Behandlungen ansprechen, ist dieselbe Behandlung bei anderen Patient:innen mit ähnlichen Beschwerden wenig oder gar nicht wirksam. Deshalb wird zunehmend davon ausgegangen, dass sich hinter der jeweiligen Diagnose eine Vielzahl von Subgruppen verbirgt, die mutmaßlich von unterschiedlichen Behandlungsansätzen profitieren würden. Die Identifikation dieser Subgruppen würde eine bessere Stratifizierung erlauben. Dieses Konzept der Präzisionsmedizin hat sich bei einigen kardialen oder onkologischen Erkrankungen bereits etabliert. Bei den neurobehavioralen Erkrankungen bestehen jedoch zusätzliche Hürden. Unter anderem sind viele der Konstrukte, die zur Stratifizierung eingesetzt werden könnten, nicht direkt messbar. Die Arbeiten in dieser Habilitationsschrift beschäftigen sich deshalb mit ausgewählten Aspekten der Messung von Konstrukten, welche die Stratifizierung neurobehavioraler Erkrankungen erleichtern könnten. Während sich eine Arbeit mit der Verbesserung der Genauigkeit von Messungen individueller Zustände am Beispiel der Persönlichkeitsstruktur beschäftigt, werden in einer weiteren Arbeit Faktoren untersucht, welche die Genauigkeit von Veränderungsmessungen beeinflussen können. Zwei weitere Arbeiten beschäftigen sich damit, wie auf der Basis von Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) und Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) Subgruppen identifiziert werden können, die relevant für den Verlauf der Behandlungen sind. Die letzte Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der internationalen Standardisierung von PROs, die eine weitere Voraussetzung für die Implementierung von Präzisionsmedizin bei neurobehavioralen Erkrankungen darstellt. Die Ergebnisse der Arbeiten bieten Ansatzpunkte für die Verbesserung der Messungen als Voraussetzung für Präzisionsmedizin bei neurobehavioralen Erkrankungen. Insbesondere die Kombination unterschiedlicher Ansätze, wie dynamische Messungen von Symptomen und Computer-adaptives Testen könnten zukünftig zur besseren Stratifizierung, Erfassung der Behandlungsverläufe und Vorhersage der Outcomes beitragen

Gegenübertragung in der stationären, psychosomatischen Therapie

Countertransference has since developed to a very important tool in inpatient psychosomatic treatment. It has gained in importance for the understanding of unconscious conflicts and related treatment outcome in psychodynamic psychotherapy as well. That is both for single therapy and for integrative psychodynamic therapy with the “core” (Janssen 2004) of multiprofessional team. The aim of this study was apart from providing data on the reliability and factor structure of the countertransference questionnaire, to assess, a) if countertransference differs between diverse types of therapy, b) in which usual manner countertransference is connected to the experience and configuration of the patients relationships, c) if countertransference is associated to patients exposure and d) if countertransference depends on various diagnoses. Method: The Countertransference Questionnaire, German version (CTQ-D) is a translation from the CTQ, provided by Drew Westen et al., Emory University, Atlanta, USA. The Countertransference of a sample of 137 patients was measured by several therapists (physicians, psychologists and nursing staff) by the CTQ-D on admission and discharge. A total number of 1131 questionnaires were filled in. Factor analysis of CTQ-D yielded seven statistically and clinically coherent factors: 1) aggressive/resigning, 2) positive, 3) overwhelmed, 4) protective, 5) indifferent, 6) overinvolved, 7) sexualized. Patients completed Checklist-90 Revised (SCL 90R), Helping Alliance Questionnaire (HAQ), Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP) and the Assessment of DSM-IV Personality Disorders (ADP-IV) on admission and discharge. Results: The study revealed several specific and significant correlations between the therapists’ countertransference reactions and the patients’ self-reporting tools: a) Conflict orientated treatment procedures (conversational therapy) induce higher levels of aggressive/resigning CT in therapists, experience orientated treatment procedures (body work and art therapy) induce higher positive, protective and overinvolved countertransference feelings. b) We found a negative correlation between higher patients’ marital satisfaction and negative countertransference reactions and another negative correlation between higher patients’ outcome satisfaction and therapists feeling negative, overwhelmed and protective. A higher IIP-rating in patients sticks together with therapists feeling overwhelmed. c) Patients with high GSI (Global severity index) induce distinctive feelings of being negative, overwhelmed, indifferent in therapists, and less feelings of being positive. Symptom change was positively correlated with overinvolved, positive and sexualized countertransference reactions and negatively correlated with negative and indifferent feelings. d) Maximum values of therapists feeling negative, overwhelmed and protective and minimum values of therapists feeling positive are counted in patients with personality disorders. Patients who suffer from eating disorders created highest levels of positive and overinvolved feelings in therapists. Patients with somatoform disorder induced distinctive feelings of indifference as well. Patients with affective disorder didn’t even induce high countertransference feelings at all. Conclusion: These findings make clear that countertransference is a significant tool to assess shaping of patients relationship, patients liability and proceeding in inpatient psychosomatic treatment. The findings point out the importance of resolving negative countertransference constellations by discussing them in supervisions and team-meetings. Patients with somatoform disorder and personality disorder should hence be reviewed constantly. The CTQ-D Questionnaire could either be used in research or in education and daily routine e.g. to predict symptom change in patients.Die Gegenübertragung hat sich mittlerweile zu einem der wichtigsten Instrumente der stationären psychosomatischen Therapie entwickelt. Ihr kommt in der psychodynamischen Psychotherapie für das Verständnis der unbewussten Konflikte und für den damit zusammenhängenden Behandlungserfolg eine zentrale Funktion zu. Dies gilt für die Einzeltherapie, aber auch für die integrative stationäre psychodynamische Therapie und deren „Herzstück“ (Janssen 2004) - das multiprofessionelle Team. Die Ziele der Arbeit bestehen - abgesehen von der Beschreibung der Faktorenstruktur und Reliabilität des Gegenübertragungsfragebogens - darin, herauszufinden, ob sich a) die Gegenübertragung in unterschiedlichen Therapieverfahren unterscheidet, b) in welcher Weise die Gegenübertragung mit dem Beziehungserleben und der Beziehungsgestaltung des Patienten zusammenhängt, c) ob die Gegenübertragung mit der Belastung des Patienten zusammenhängt und d) ob sich die Gegenübertragung abhängig von der Diagnose unterscheidet. Methode: Dazu wurde mithilfe des Gegenübertragungsfragebogens (CTQ-D) die Gegenübertragung von 137 Patienten durch mehrere Therapeuten (Ärzte, Psychologen und Pflegekräfte) aus zwei psychosomatischen Kliniken zu Therapiebeginn und zum Therapieende erhoben. Insgesamt flossen 1131 Fragebögen in die Auswertung mit ein. Die Faktorenanalyse des CTQ-D ergab eine Lösung mit sieben statistisch und klinisch kohärenten Faktoren: 1) aggressiv-resignative GÜ, 2) positiv-zugeneigte GÜ, 3) überwältigt-verängstigte GÜ, 4) protektiv-elterliche GÜ, 5) desinteressierte GÜ, 6) verstrickte GÜ und 7) sexualisierte GÜ. Die Patienten füllten die Symptomcheckliste (SCL-90R), den Helping Alliance Questionaire (HAQ), das Inventar zur Erfassung interpersonaler Probleme (IIP) und den Fragebogen zur Erhebung von Persönlichkeitsstörungen (ADP-IV) zu Beginn und zum Ende der Therapie aus. Ergebnisse: Es konnten einige spezifische und signifikante Zusammenhänge zwischen der Gegenübertragung der Therapeuten und den Selbstbeurteilungsinstrumenten der Patienten nachgewiesen werden: a) Konfliktorientierte Therapieverfahren (Gesprächstherapien) erzeugen bei den Therapeuten höhere aggressiv-resignative Gegenübertragung, erlebnisorientierte Therapieverfahren (Körpertherapie und Gestaltungstherapie) rufen höhere positiv-zugeneigte, protektiv-elterliche und verstrickte Gegenübertragung hervor. b) Die Beziehungszufriedenheit der Patienten ist umso größer, je geringer die aggressiv-resignative Gegenübertragung von den Therapeuten wahrgenommen wird und die Therapiezufriedenheit ist umso größer, je geringer die aggressiv-resignative, überwältigt-verängstigte und protektiv-elterliche Gegenübertragung ausgeprägt ist. Ein hoher IIP-Wert bei den Patienten hängt mit dem Erleben von überwältigt-verängstigter Gegenübertragung zusammen. c) Patienten mit hohem GSI rufen bei den Therapeuten hohe aggressiv-resignative, überwältigt-verängstigte, desinteressierte und geringe positiv-zugeneigte Gegenübertragung hervor. Verstrickte, positiv-zugeneigte und sexualisierte Gegenübertragung hängen mit einem guten Therapieverlauf zusammen, aggressiv-resignative und desinteressierte Gegenübertragung deuten auf eine schlechte Entwicklung im Verlauf hin. d) Die höchsten Werte der aggressiv-resignativen, überwältigtverängstigten und protektiv-elterlichen GÜ und die geringste positiv-zugeneigte GÜ wird bei der Gruppe der Persönlichkeitsstörungen wahrgenommen. Den höchsten Wert der positiv-zugeneigten und der verstrickten GÜ erreicht die Gruppe der Essstörungen. Somatoforme Störungen rufen in den Therapeuten ein hohes Maß an Desinteresse hervor. Die Gruppe der affektiven Störungen erzeugt bei den Therapeuten in allen Dimensionen geringe Gegenübertragungsgefühle. Folgerung: Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen, dass die Gegenübertragung ein aussagekräftiges Instrument zur Beurteilung der Beziehungsgestaltung, der Belastung und der Verlaufsbeurteilung der Patienten auf einer psychosomatischen Station darstellt. Sie betonen auch die Bedeutung der Auflösung negativer Gegenübertragungskonstellationen durch Supervisionen und Teambesprechungen im stationären Alltag. Dabei bedürfen schwierige Patienten, beispielsweise mit somatoformer Störung oder Persönlichkeitsstörung besonderer Aufmerksamkeit. Dem CTQ-D kann neben dem Einsatz als wissenschaftlichem Instrument im Rahmen der Ausbildung und im klinischen Alltag zur Vorhersage des Therapieverlaufs umfassende Bedeutung zukommen

A Step Towards a Better Understanding of Pain Phenotypes: Latent Class Analysis in Chronic Pain Patients Receiving Multimodal Inpatient Treatment

Purpose: The number of non-responders to treatment among patients with chronic pain (CP) is high, although intensive multimodal treatment is broadly accessible. One reason is the large variability in manifestations of CP. To facilitate the development of tailored treatment approaches, phenotypes of CP must be identified. In this study, we aim to identify subgroups in patients with CP based on several aspects of self-reported health. Patients and Methods: A latent class analysis (LCA) was carried out in retrospective data from 411 patients with CP of different origins. All patients experienced severe physical and psychosocial consequences and were therefore undergoing multimodal inpatient pain treatment. Self-reported measures of pain (visual analogue scales for pain intensity, frequency, and impairment; Pain Perception Scale), emotional distress (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9; Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, GAD-7) and physical health (Short Form Health Survey; SF-8) were collected immediately after admission and before discharge. Instruments assessed at admission were used as input to the LCA. Resulting classes were compared in terms of patient characteristics and treatment outcome. Results: A model with four latent classes demonstrated the best model fit and interpretability. Classes 1 to 4 included patients with high (54.7%), extreme (17.0%), moderate (15.6%), and low (12.7%) pain burden, respectively. Patients in class 4 showed high levels of emotional distress, whereas emotional distress in the other classes corresponded to the levels of pain burden. While pain as well as physical and mental health improved in class 1, only the levels of depression and anxiety improved in patients in the other groups during multimodal treatment. Conclusion: The specific needs of these subgroups should be taken into account when developing individualized treatment programs. However, the retrospective design limits the significance of the results and replication in prospective studies is desirable

Measurement of Personality Structure by the OPD Structure Questionnaire Can Help to Discriminate Between Subtypes of Eating-Disorders

Background: Differentiation between purging type (AN-P) and restricting type (AN-R) is common in anorexia nervosa (AN) and relevant for clinical practice. However, differences of personality pathology in eating disorders (ED) and their subtypes, which can be captured by the operationalized psychodynamic diagnosis (OPD) system, have not been systematically investigated to date. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore differences in personality structure between the subtypes of AN and bulimia nervosa (BN) using the OPD structure questionnaire (OPD-SQ). In addition, the ability of the instrument to support the classification of eating disorders was examined. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective, exploratory study in a subset sample of a larger validation study. The OPD-SQ had been collected from n = 60 patients with AN or BN. Patients were assigned to the ED groups by clinical assessment. Statistical analyses included multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and discriminant analysis. Results: Differences between ED groups were observed on 5 OPD-SQ main scales and 9 subscales, as well as on the global scale. AN-P patients demonstrated the lowest personality structure on most of the main scales and subscales, whereas AN-R patients showed a higher personality structure level as compared to both BN and AN-P patients. The OPD-SQ scales with the largest differences include self-perception, object perception, and attachment to internal objects. Discriminant analysis resulted in satisfactory assignment to ED groups by OPD-SQ subscales. Conclusions: Personality structure was found to be less developed in patients with BN and AN-P as compared to patients with AN-R. Although the results have to be proven in larger prospective studies, these results suggest that the OPD-SQ may be used to support the clinical assessment and classification in patients with EDs

Psychometric properties of the PROMIS Preference score (PROPr) in patients with rheumatological and psychosomatic conditions

Background: The PROMIS Preference score (PROPr) is a new generic preference-based health-related quality of life (HRQoL) score that can be used as a health state utility (HSU) score for quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in cost-utility analyses (CUAs). It is the first HSU score based on item response theory (IRT) and has demonstrated favorable psychometric properties in first analyses. The PROPr combines the seven PROMIS domains: cognition, depression, fatigue, pain, physical function, sleep disturbance, and ability to participate in social roles and activities. It was developed based on preferences of the US general population. The aim of this study was to validate the PROPr in a German inpatient sample and to compare it to the EQ-5D. Methods: We collected PROPr and EQ-5D-5L data from 141 patients undergoing inpatient treatment in the rheumatology and psychosomatic departments. We evaluated the criterion and convergent validity, and ceiling and floor effects of the PROPr and compared those characteristics to those of the EQ-5D. Results: The mean PROPr (0.26, 95% CI: 0.23; 0.29) and the mean EQ-5D (0.44, 95% CI: 0.38; 0.51) scores differed significantly (d = 0.18, p < 0.001). Compared to the EQ-5D, the PROPr scores were less scattered across the measurement range which has resulted in smaller confidence intervals of the mean scores. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the two scores was r = 0.72 (p < 0.001). Both scores showed fair agreement with an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) of 0.48 (p < 0.05). The PROPr and EQ-5D demonstrated similar discrimination power across sex, age, and conditions. While the PROPr showed a floor effect, the EQ-5D showed a ceiling effect. Conclusion: The PROPr measures HSU considerably lower than the EQ-5D as a result of different construction, anchors and measurement ranges. Because QALYs derived with the EQ-5D are widely considered state-of-the-art, application of the PROPr for QALY measurements would be problematic

An initial psychometric evaluation of the German PROMIS® v1.2 Physical Function item bank in patients with a wide range of health conditions

Objectives: To translate the PROMIS® Physical Function (PF) item bank version 1.2 into German, and to investigate psychometric properties of resulting full bank and seven derived short forms. Design: Cross-sectional psychometric study. Setting: Inpatient and outpatient clinics of the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Subjects: Ten adult patients with various chronic diseases participated in cognitive debriefing interviews. The final item bank was administered to n=266 adult patients with a broad range of medical conditions. Interventions: Patient-reported outcome assessment as part of routine care. Main measures: PROMIS v1.2 PF bank; MOS SF-36® PF scale (PF-10). Results: Cross-cultural adaptation of the item bank followed established guidelines. For the final German translation, the corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.44 to 0.84. Cronbach’s Alpha was high for each PROMIS PF short form (α=0.88-0.96). The full PROMIS PF bank and most short forms correlated highly with the SF-36 PF-10 (r=0.85-0.90), with the exception of PROMIS Upper Extremity (r=0.64). PROMIS Upper Extremity showed ceiling effects and lower agreement with the full bank than other short forms. Unidimensionality was supported for all PROMIS PF measures using traditional factor analysis and nonparametric item response theory. Conclusions: The German PROMIS PF bank was found to be conceptually equivalent to the English version and fulfilled the psychometric requirements for use of short forms in clinical practice. Future studies should pay particular attention to samples with upper extremity functional limitations to further investigate the dimensional structure of physical function as conceptualized according to PROMIS

Standardization of health outcomes assessment for depression and anxiety: recommendations from the ICHOM Depression and Anxiety Working Group

Purpose National initiatives, such as the UK Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program (IAPT), demonstrate the feasibility of conducting empirical mental health assessments on a large scale, and similar initiatives exist in other countries. However, there is a lack of international consensus on which outcome domains are most salient to monitor treatment progress and how they should be measured. The aim of this project was to propose (1) an essential set of outcome domains relevant across countries and cultures, (2) a set of easily accessible patient-reported instruments, and (3) a psychometric approach to make scores from different instruments comparable. Methods: Twenty-four experts, including ten health outcomes researchers, ten clinical experts from all continents, two patient advocates, and two ICHOM coordinators worked for seven months in a consensus building exercise to develop recommendations based on existing evidence using a structured consensus-driven modified Delphi technique. Results: The group proposes to combine an assessment of potential outcome predictors at baseline (47 items: demographics, functional, clinical status, etc.), with repeated assessments of disease-specific symptoms during the treatment process (19 items: symptoms, side effects, etc.), and a comprehensive annual assessment of broader treatment outcomes (45 items: remission, absenteeism, etc.). Further, it is suggested reporting disease-specific symptoms for depression and anxiety on a standardized metric to increase comparability with other legacy instruments. All recommended instruments are provided online (www.ichom.org). Conclusion: An international standard of health outcomes assessment has the potential to improve clinical decision making, enhance health care for the benefit of patients, and facilitate scientific knowledge. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11136-017-1659-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A Modified Version of the Transactional Stress Concept According to Lazarus and Folkman Was Confirmed in a Psychosomatic Inpatient Sample

Background: Stress is a major risk factor for the impairment of psychological well-being. The present study aimed to evaluate the empirical evidence of the Transactional Stress Model proposed by Lazarus and Folkman in patients with psychosomatic health conditions. Methods: A structural equation model was applied in two separate subsamples of inpatients from the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine (total n = 2,216) for consecutive model building (sample 1, n = 1,129) and confirmatory analyses (sample 2, n = 1,087) using self-reported health status information about perceived stress, personal resources, coping mechanisms, stress response, and psychological well-being. Results: The initial model was created to reflect the theoretical assumptions by Lazarus and Folkman about their transactional stress concept. This model was modified until a sufficient model fit was reached (sample 1: CFI = 0.904, TLI = 0.898, RMSEA = 0.072 [0.071-0.074], SRMR = 0.061). The modified model was confirmed in a second sample (sample 2: CFI = 0.932, TLI = 0.928, RMSEA = 0.066 [0.065-0.068], SRMR = 0.052). Perceived external stressors and personal resources explained 91% of the variance of the stress response, which was closely related to symptoms of depression (63% variance explained). The attenuating effect of resources on stress response was higher (standardized beta = -0.73, p \u3c 0.001) than the impact of perceived stressors on stress response (standardized beta = 0.34, p \u3c 0.001). Conclusion: The empirical data largely confirmed the theoretical assumption of the Transactional Stress Model, which was first presented by Lazarus and Folkman, in patients with a wide range of psychosomatic conditions. However, data analyses were solely based on self-reported health status. Thus, proposed inner psychological mechanisms such as the appraisal process could not be included in this empirical validation. The operationalization and understanding of coping processes should be further improved

Standardization of health outcomes assessment for depression and anxiety: recommendations from the ICHOM Depression and Anxiety Working Group

National initiatives, such as the UK Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program (IAPT), demonstrate the feasibility of conducting empirical mental health assessments on a large scale, and similar initiatives exist in other countries. However, there is a lack of international consensus on which outcome domains are most salient to monitor treatment progress and how they should be measured. The aim of this project was to propose (1) an essential set of outcome domains relevant across countries and cultures, (2) a set of easily accessible patient-reported instruments, and (3) a psychometric approach to make scores from different instruments comparable. Twenty-four experts, including ten health outcomes researchers, ten clinical experts from all continents, two patient advocates, and two ICHOM coordinators worked for seven months in a consensus building exercise to develop recommendations based on existing evidence using a structured consensus-driven modified Delphi technique. The group proposes to combine an assessment of potential outcome predictors at baseline (47 items: demographics, functional, clinical status, etc.), with repeated assessments of disease-specific symptoms during the treatment process (19 items: symptoms, side effects, etc.), and a comprehensive annual assessment of broader treatment outcomes (45 items: remission, absenteeism, etc.). Further, it is suggested reporting disease-specific symptoms for depression and anxiety on a standardized metric to increase comparability with other legacy instruments. All recommended instruments are provided online An international standard of health outcomes assessment has the potential to improve clinical decision making, enhance health care for the benefit of patients, and facilitate scientific knowledge.Harvard Business School Karolinska Institutet Boston Consulting Group Stichting Benchmark GGZ (Leiden, The Netherlands) Douglas Mental Health University Institute (Montreal, Canada) Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berli

Postdural puncture headache after neuraxial anesthesia: incidence and risk factors

Hintergrund/Ziel der Arbeit: Der postpunktionelle Kopfschmerz (PKS) ist eine Komplikation nach rückenmarknahen Verfahren (RA) mit erheblichem Krankheitswert. Ziel der Untersuchung war es, die Inzidenz des PKS in 2 großen operativen Kollektiven zu untersuchen, mögliche Risikofaktoren zu identifizieren und den Einfluss auf die Krankenhausverweildauer zu untersuchen. Material und Methoden: In einer retrospektiven Analyse des Zeitraums 2010–2012 wurden 341 unfallchirurgische (UCH) und 2113 geburtsmedizinische (GEB) Patient*innen nach Spinalanästhesie (SPA) analysiert. In der statistischen Auswertung (SPSS-23) kamen univariate Analysen mittels Mann-Whitney-U-, Chi2- und Student’s t‑Test sowie logistische Regressionsanalysen zur Anwendung. Ergebnisse: Die Inzidenz des PKS betrug in der UCH-Gruppe 5,9 % und in der GEB-Gruppe 1,8 %. Patient*innen mit PKS in der UCH wiesen ein jüngeres Patientenalter (38 vs. 47 Jahre, p = 0,011), einen geringeren BMI (23,5 vs. 25,2, p = 0,037) sowie ein niedrigeres Köpergewicht (70,5 kg vs. 77 kg, p = 0,006) als Patient*innen ohne PKS auf. Dabei konnten das Alter mit einer „odds ratio“ (OR 97,5 % Konfidenzintervall [KI]) von 0,963 (97,5% KI 0,932–0,991, p = 0,015) und das Köpergewicht mit einer OR von 0,956 (97,5 % KI 0,920–0,989, p = 0,014) als unabhängige Risikofaktoren für die Entstehung eines PKS identifiziert werden. In der GEB wies die SPA eine höhere Inzidenz des PKS auf als die kombinierte Spinalepiduralanästhesie (CSE) (8,6 % vs. 1,2 %, p < 0,001). Dabei erwies sich das Verfahren mit einer OR von 0,049 (97,5 % KI 0,023–0,106, p < 0,001) als unabhängiger Risikofaktor für die Entstehung eines PKS. In beiden Gruppen war der PKS mit einem verlängerten Krankenhausaufenthalt assoziiert (UCH-Gruppe 4 vs. 2 Tage, p = 0,001; GEB-Gruppe 6 vs. 4 Tage, p < 0.0005). Diskussion: Die Inzidenz des PKS nach SPA/CSE war in unserer Untersuchung in den beschriebenen Patientengruppen unterschiedlich, mit einem deutlich höheren Anteil in der UCH-Gruppe. Alter, Konstitution und Verfahren waren hinweisgebende Risikofaktoren eines PKS. In Anbetracht der funktionellen Einschränkungen (Mobilisation, Versorgung des Neugeborenen) und des verlängerten Krankenhausaufenthalts, sollten zukünftige Studien eine frühe Behandlung des PKS untersuchen.Background/objective: Postdural puncture headache (PDPH) is a severe complication after spinal anesthesia. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of PDPH in two different operative cohorts and to identify risk factors for its occurrence as well as to analyze its influence on the duration of hospital stay. Material and methods: In a retrospective study over a period of 3 years (2010–2012), 341 orthopedic surgery (ORT) and 2113 obstetric (OBS) patients were evaluated after spinal anesthesia (SPA). Data were statistically analyzed using (SPSS-23) univariate analyses with the Mann-Whitney U‑test, χ2-test and Student’s t-test as well as logistic regression analysis. Results: The incidence of PDPH was 5.9% in the ORT cohort and 1.8% in the OBS cohort. Patients with PDPH in the ORT cohort were significantly younger (median 38 years vs. 47 years, p = 0.011), had a lower body weight (median 70.5 kg vs. 77 kg, p = 0.006) and a lower body mass index (median 23.5 vs. 25.2, p = 0.037). Body weight (odds ratio (97.5 % Confidence Intervall [CI]), OR 0.956: 97.5% CI 0.920–0.989, p = 0.014) as well as age (OR 0.963: 97.5% CI 0.932–0.991, p = 0.015) were identified as independent risk factors for PDPH. In OBS patients, PDPH occurred more frequently after spinal epidural anesthesia than after combined spinal epidural anesthesia (8.6% vs. 1.2%, p < 0.001) and the type of neuraxial anesthesia was identified as an independent risk factor for PDPH (OR 0.049; 97.5% CI 0.023–0.106, p < 0.001). In both groups the incidence of PDPH was associated with a longer hospital stay (ORT patients 4 days vs. 2 days, p = 0.001; OBS patients 6 days vs. 4 days, p < 0.0005). Conclusion: The incidence of PDPH was different in the two groups with a higher incidence in the ORT but considerably lower than in the literature. Age, constitution and type of neuraxial anesthesia were identified as risk factors of PDPH. Considering the functional imitations (mobilization, neonatal care) and a longer hospital stay, future studies should investigate the impact of an early treatment of PDPH