Dtsch Arztebl Int
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The WHO regards hand hygiene as an essential tool for the prevention of nosocomial infection, but compliance in clinical practice is often low. ⋯ Improved compliance in hand hygiene, with proper use of alcohol-based hand rubs, can reduce the nosocomial infection rate by as much as 40%.
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Even though the performance of coronary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures through the distal forearm arteries has become a well-established practice, only a small minority of procedures employ transcarpal approach. The aim of this review is to describe the state of art in cardiac catheterization through distal forearm arteries, to point out the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, and to discuss the specific aspects in which it differs from the transfemoral approach. ⋯ The current data give a favorable view of this procedure as long as its specific requirements in terms of pretreatment, choice of materials, technique, post-procedural care, and expertise of the physician are taken into account.
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The physician that initially sees a patient with an extensive and deep dermal burn injury must be able to provide initial acute treatment and to make a well-founded decision whether to have the patient transported to a burn care center (BCC). Physicians from a variety of specialities will be involved in the management of long-term sequelae. ⋯ The effective treatment of severe burns is interdisciplinary, involving general practitioners and emergency physicians as well as plastic surgeons and physicians of other specialties. Knowledge of the basic principles of treatment enables physicians to care for patients with burns appropriately both in the acute setting and in the long term.
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Descriptive statistics are an essential part of biometric analysis and a prerequisite for the understanding of further statistical evaluations, including the drawing of inferences. When data are well presented, it is usually obvious whether the author has collected and evaluated them correctly and in keeping with accepted practice in the field. ⋯ The description of collected data is indispensable. If the data are of good quality, valid and important conclusions can already be drawn when they are properly described. Furthermore, data description provides a basis for inferential statistics.
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Ongoing demographic changes in Europe are heightening the importance of adequate treatment for glaucoma, a disorder that is markedly more common in the elderly. ⋯ The goal of glaucoma treatment is to protect the patient from blindness and visual impairment while keeping the treatment-related decline in quality of life to a minimum. Any type of glaucoma treatment, be it medical or surgical, must further this aim in consideration of the situation of the individual patient.