Pneumonie und diffus parenchymale Lungenerkrankungen im Lungenultraschall

Approximately 200,000 cases of ambulant pneumonia per year are currently anticipated in Germany. In order to reduce complications and to further minimize lethality a rapid diagnosis as well as efficient and quick therapy are significant factors within the medical treatment and the diagnosis can be achieved promptly with the aid of lung ultrasound. This article illustrates the sonomorphology of pneumonia as well as diffuse parenchymal lung disease and presents recent studies on the topic. Furthermore, lung ultrasound is compared with other diagnostic methods.     

Ma?nahmen zur Tabakpr?vention

Systematic reviews on behavioral smoking prevention measures are presented and discussed. These include primary and secondary prevention measures. Primary prevention measures which are school-based, family-based, or community-based interventions as well mass media campaigns can be successful. There are a number of evidence-based cessation techniques available for patients already motivated to quit smoking. The majority of smokers quit on their own. The motivation to stop smoking can be sustainably supported in medical routine with the help of brief interventions.     

Schlüssel zur Diagnostik in der Pneumologie

In times of high-tech medicine, history taking and physical examination are often neglected. It is, however, a fact that even nowadays the patient??s history and clinical findings enable a firm diagnosis to be made in 80% of the cases. If at all necessary, further technical methods just serve as a confirmation of the suspected diagnosis. Not infrequently, a competent and comprehensive clinical evaluation renders further expensive and/or time-consuming tests unnecessary. In particular, it has to be underscored that the subjective pretest probability obtained by history taking and physical examination is the mainstay for the interpretation of further test results.     

Dyspnoe

Dyspnea is defined as a subjective experience of breathing discomfort that consists of qualitatively distinct sensations that vary in intensity. Dyspnea is one of the most frequent and simultaneously one of the most difficult and least understood clinical symptoms. Only since recently is dyspnea being considered, analogous to the concepts of pain, in a differentiated approach. The modalities include besides intensity also quality, immediate unpleasantness and emotional response, including anxiety, depression and other psychological factors, as well as the various aspects of the underlying disease. Only a multidimensional model of dyspnea and instrument of health-related quality of life are able to meet these needs.