Pathophysiology and management of sensitive skin: position paper from the special interest group on sensitive skin of the International Forum for the Study of Itch (IFSI)

The special interest group on sensitive skin of the International Forum for the Study of Itch previously defined sensitive skin as a syndrome defined by the occurrence of unpleasant sensations (stinging, burning, pain, pruritus and tingling sensations) in response to stimuli that normally should not provoke such sensations. This additional paper focuses on the pathophysiology and the management of sensitive skin. Sensitive skin is not an immunological disorder but is related to alterations of the skin nervous system. Skin barrier abnormalities are frequently associated, but there is no cause and direct relationship. Further studies are needed to better understand the pathophysiology of sensitive skin – as well as the inducing factors. Avoidance of possible triggering factors and the use of well-tolerated cosmetics, especially those containing inhibitors of unpleasant sensations, might be suggested for patients with sensitive skin. The role of psychosocial factors, such as stress or negative expectations, might be relevant for subgroups of patients. To date, there is no clinical trial supporting the use of topical or systemic drugs in sensitive skin. The published data are not sufficient to reach a consensus on sensitive skin management. In general, patients with sensitive skin require a personalized approach, taking into account various biomedical, neural and psychosocial factors affecting sensitive skin.     

Aktualisierte Kurzfassung der Leitlinien zur Pr?vention, Diagnostik und Therapie der nosokomial erworbenen Pneumonie

Hintergrund:  

Die nosokomiale Pneumonie gehört zu den häufigsten nosokomialen Infektionen und ist die häufigste auf der Intensivstation. Die nosokomiale Pneumonie ist mit einer signifikanten Mortalität und Morbidität assoziiert, und ihr Auftreten verschlechtert die Prognose des Patienten deutlich. Nach der Definition der DRGs auch im deutschen Krankenhaussystem ist die nosokomiale Pneumonie überwiegend Sache des Krankenhauses und kann somit nicht nur das Ergebnis der Patientenbehandlung, sondern auch das finanzielle Ergebnis des Krankenhauses beeinträchtigen.     

The REPAIR-AMI and ASTAMI trials: cell isolation procedures: reply

It obviously escaped the notion of Egeland and Brinchman thatthe protocols additionally differ with regard to the washingsteps and buffer components used in the     

Architecture of research in psychiatry, 1953 to 1983

Although there has been one report on the trends in study design in general medicine, we are aware of none for general psychiatry prior to this communication. Accordingly, articles from the American Journal of Psychiatry (N = 194) and the Archives (N = 109) were randomly sampled for the years 1953, 1963, 1973, and 1983. Two raters achieved reliability (kappa = .82) for recognizing the major types of study design (cohort, clinical trial, case control, cross sectional, case report, and review). There was a significant change in study architecture over time, with the percentage of review articles declining and the percentage of case-control and cross-sectional studies increasing. Another major finding was a large increase in use of inclusion and exclusion criteria for diagnosis in non-review article studies. The general trends are for increasingly sophisticated research designs to be used in psychiatry research. The quality of research designs in psychiatry for 1983 also compares favorably with research designs found in a respected medicine journal.