Dtsch Arztebl Int
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Observational Study
The Lack of a Standardized Definition of Chronic Dialysis Treatment in German Statutory Health Insurance Claims Data—Effects on Estimated Incidence and Mortality.
Chronic kidney failure (CKF) is often treated with dialysis, which is invasive and costly and carries major medical risks. The existing studies of patients with CKF requiring dialysis that are based on claims data from German statutory health insurance (SHI) carriers employ varying definitions of this entity, with unclear consequences for the resulting statistical estimates. ⋯ The lack of a standardized definition of CKF requiring dialysis in German SHI claims data leads to variability in the estimated case numbers, mortality, and health-care costs. These differences are most probably in part due to the variable inclusion of inpatients who received short-term dialysis after AKI.
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Observational Study
The Agreement Between Diagnoses as Stated by Patients and Those Contained in Routine Health Insurance Data—Results of a Data Linkage Study.
The frequency of medical diagnoses is a figure of central importance in epidemiology and health services research. Prevalence estimates vary depending on the underlying data. For a better understanding of such discrepancies, we compared patients' diagnoses as reported by themselves in response to our questioning with their diagnoses as stated in the routine data of their health insurance carrier. ⋯ Diagnoses as stated by patients often differ from those found in routine health insurance data. Discrepancies that can be considered negligible were found for only two of the 11 diseases that we studied. Our investigation confirms that these two sources of data yield different estimates of prevalence. Age is a key factor; further reasons for the discrepancies should be investigated, and avoidable causes should be addressed.
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Regression analysis is a standard method in medical research. It is often not clear, however, how the individual components of regression models are to be understood and interpreted. In this article, we provide an overview of this type of analysis and discuss its special features when used in observational studies. ⋯ Researchers need a basic understanding of regression models so that these models will be well defined and their findings will be fully reported and correctly interpreted.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Men's Access to Outpatient Psychosocial Cancer Counseling—a Cluster-Randomized Trial.
Men make use of outpatient cancer counseling less commonly than women, even when they stand to benefit from it. ⋯ The targeted implementation of malespecific measures on multiple levels can increase, by a small amount, the percentage of men among persons seeking outpatient cancer counseling.
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Observational Study
The Increase in Invasive Bacterial Infections With Respiratory Transmission in Germany, 2022/2023.
In late 2022, health care institutions in Germany reported an unusual number of severe, invasive bacterial infections in association with a high incidence of viral respiratory infections. ⋯ The reason for the marked rise in invasive bacterial infections may be an increased circulation of respiratory pathogens and elevated susceptibility in the population after relaxation of the measures taken to prevent COVID-19 infection. Coinfections with respiratory viruses may have reinforced this effect. We recommend continuous surveillance, preventive measures such as raising awareness about invasive bacterial diseases, and vaccination as recommended by the German Standing Committee on Vaccinations (STIKO).