Wiener klinische Wochenschrift
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Jun 2020
Review Meta AnalysisFrailty as a predictor of all-cause mortality and readmission in older patients with acute coronary syndrome : A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Evidence from longitudinal studies linking frailty and outcome after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is mixed. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine whether frailty is a predictor of all-cause mortality and hospital readmission in older patients with ACS. ⋯ Both frailty and pre-frailty are risk factors for all-cause mortality and readmission in older patients with ACS. Therefore, frailty assessment should be given sufficient attention in the management of older patients with ACS to help improve survival and reduce readmission rate.
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · Jun 2020
ReviewHeart failure disease management programs in Austria 2019 : A systematic survey of the Heart Failure Working Group and the Working Group for Cardiological Assistance and Care Personnel of the Austrian Society of Cardiology.
Heart failure (HF) is common and is associated with high morbidity, mortality and high health expenditure. A multidisciplinary disease management plan (DMP) can reduce morbidity and mortality, save costs and improve the quality of life. In Austria, three HF-specific DMPs are currently in a project phase and four established DMPs are active. ⋯ This survey presents a systematic survey of the HF-specific DMPs in Austria. Disparities between programs are highlighted and discussed. The nationwide establishment of HF-specific DMPs that integrate primary care and cardiology services including a regulation of the remuneration of stakeholders and program infrastructure is needed to decrease the burden of HF for both the individual and society.
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Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. · May 2020
ReviewFrom St. John's wort to tomato and from Rhodiola to cranberry : A review of phytotherapy and some examples.
This study evaluated the definition, the prevalence of use and the governmental regulations of phytotherapy and four examples of herbal medicine are discussed in more detail. ⋯ The findings were diverse and must be individually taken into account. Evidence for efficacy varies within and between the four examples. An explanation for the lack of reproducibility of findings from preclinical and clinical experiments might be the insufficient standardization of herbal medicines. There is no scientific reason why phytotherapy should not be investigated with the same rigor as conventional drugs to establish the efficacy and potential risks. Meanwhile, it is concluded that care is essential when using herbal medicine in the daily routine and informing patients about potential shortcomings and dangers of herbal medicines should be considered a duty of pharmacists and physicians.
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The use of homeopathy is remarkably popular. Popularity, however, is not an arbiter in a scientific discourse. In fact, the assumptions underlying homeopathy violate fundamental laws of nature. ⋯ Relaxed regulations and lack of scientific literacy and of health education allow for continuous thriving of homeopathy. While the tide may be changing on the regulatory side, health education of the general public is presumably more important to support informed decision making by patients. Otherwise, the responsible patient, who is posited to decide on the medical choices, remains a convenient legal fiction.
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In summer 2019 an extracurricular activity was started at the Medical University of Vienna (MUW) with the title: "Esoterism in Medicine", where different chapters were evaluated by students. Here we present the subheading "Vaccine Hesitancy". ⋯ Other objections were taken from blogs and social media. The students' rebuttal was based on current scientific literature (preferentially pubmed), but also from other scientific sources like authorities.