How to define pathologic pelvic floor descent in MR defecography during defecation?

Abdominal Radiology - To assess the extents of pelvic floor descent both during the maximal straining phase and the defecation phase in healthy volunteers and in patients with pelvic floor...     

Budget impact analysis on the introduction of a guideline based hepatitis B and C screening into a routine check-up in the German primary care setting

Objectives: Systematic screening for chronic hepatitis B and C does not yet exist in Germany. Therefore, the implementation of a screening approach within a preventive medical examination performed by primary care physicians (‘Check-Up 35+’) was evaluated in a recent prospective multicenter study. The present analysis estimates the financial consequences for the statutory health insurance by budget impact analysis.

Materials and methods: A Markov cohort model was developed consisting of 21 health states. Four different screening scenarios derived from the previous multicenter study were compared to usual care, a strategy without screening for hepatitis. Actual cost data for Germany were calculated and systematic literature searches for all input parameters were performed.

Results: The base case results in incremental costs for the screening strategies compared to no hepatitis screening of 165–227 € per patient in a 20-year horizon. Two main parameters influence the financial consequences: (A) detection and treatment increase the costs in the beginning. (B) Screening avoids hepatitis induced end-stage liver disease. The initial higher costs exceed the later savings. Sensitivity analyses demonstrate a strong impact of medication costs for the treatment of additionally detected hepatitis infections on the outcome. This finding is robust to sensitivity analysis.

Conclusions: The screening strategy proposed here implies additional costs for the statutory health insurance, however, a decision regarding its usefulness must consider criteria other than cost. For example, the high burden of disease due to liver cirrhosis and liver carcinoma should be considered. Therefore, an additional cost-effectiveness-analysis should be conducted.     

Long-term effects of a linoleic acid-enriched diet, changes in body weight and alcohol consumption on serum total and HDL-cholesterol

Investigations on diet, body weight, and lipoproteins were carried out in 28 patients with stable angina pectoris. They consumed a linoleic acid-enriched diet (P/S ratio = 2) for a period of 2 years. The total fat content remained constant before and during intervention, contributing 34% to energy intake. During intervention serum total cholesterol and the total/HDL cholesterol ratio decreased significantly, but HDL cholesterol did not change. Changes in body weight were significantly inversely related to changes in HDL cholesterol and positively to the total/HDL cholesterol ratio. Changes in alcohol intake were significantly positively related to both total and HDL cholesterol but unrelated to the total/HDL cholesterol ratio. From the results of this long-term study it can be concluded that a moderate fat diet with a P/S ratio of 2 can lower total cholesterol effectively without affecting HDL cholesterol.     

Endoscopic and surgical therapy of malignant colorectal polyps

87 malignant colorectal polyps were removed in 81 patients by endoscopic polypectomy from 1972 until 1987. Thereafter 34 of these patients had a surgical resection of the colon. Surgical resection was performed for incomplete excision of the polyp (20 x), for tumor invasion of the lymphics in the polyp stalk and for moderately/poor differentiated carcinoma. In 6 patients a residual carcinoma was detected in the removed colon specimen, but lymph-node metastasis only in one with moderate-differentiated carcinoma. Our results demonstrate that colorectal polyps with invasive well-differentiated carcinoma and tumor free base do not need a surgical resection. Patients of the high-risk-group (moderately/poor-differentiated carcinoma, invasion of blood vessels and lymphatics, incomplete excision), should be referred to further surgical resection. With regard to the low rate of metastatic spread even in patients with high-risk-polyps accurate differentiation seems to be necessary. In 19 out of 52 (36.5%) patients endoscopic control examinations after surgical or endoscopic resection revealed recurrent pathological findings. On the base of the presented data we conclude that there is a need for short-term endoscopic controls over a period of five years.