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Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is the most common monogenic disorder globally but qualifies as a rare disease in Germany. In 2012, the German Society for Paediatric Oncology and Haematology (GPOH) mandated a consortium of five university hospitals to develop a disease management program for patients with SCD. Besides other activities, this consortium issued treatment guidelines for SCD that strongly favour the use of hydroxyurea and propagated these guidelines in physician and patient education events. In order to quantify the effect of these recommendations, we made use of claims data that were collected by the research institute (WIdO) of the major German insurance company, the Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse (AOK), and of publicly accessible data collected by the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt, Destatis). While the number of patients with SCD in Germany increased from approximately 2200 in 2011 to approximately 3200 in 2019, important components of the recently issued treatment guidelines have been largely implemented. Specifically, the use of hydroxyurea has more than doubled, resulting in a proportion of approximately 44% of all patients with SCD being treated with hydroxyurea in 2019. In strong negative correlation with the use of hydroxyurea, the frequency of acute chest syndromes decreased. Similarly, the proportion of patients who required analgesics and hospitals admissions declined. In sum, these data demonstrate an association between the dissemination of treatment guidelines and changes in clinical practice. The close temporal relationship between the increased use of hydroxyurea and the reduction in the incidence of acute chest syndrome in a representative population-based analysis implies that these changes in clinical practice contributed to an improvement in key measures of disease activity.
Human babesiosis in Europe
(2021)
Babesiosis is attracting increasing attention as a worldwide emerging zoonosis. The first case of human babesiosis in Europe was described in the late 1950s and since then more than 60 cases have been reported in Europe. While the disease is relatively rare in Europe, it is significant because the majority of cases present as life-threatening fulminant infections, mainly in immunocompromised patients. Although appearing clinically similar to human babesiosis elsewhere, particularly in the USA, most European forms of the disease are distinct entities, especially concerning epidemiology, human susceptibility to infection and clinical management. This paper describes the history of the disease and reviews all published cases that have occurred in Europe with regard to the identity and genetic characteristics of the etiological agents, pathogenesis, aspects of epidemiology including the eco-epidemiology of the vectors, the clinical courses of infection, diagnostic tools and clinical management and treatment.
The prevalence of peri-implant diseases around subcrestally placed implants: a cross-sectional study
(2021)
Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of peri-implant health, peri-implant mucositis or periimplantitis for subcrestally placed implants (1–3 mm) on the short-, medium- and long term.
Material and Methods: Two hundred patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study that were treated and screened during regular maintenance visits at one university center. A total of 657 implants were evaluated. Peri-implant health and diseases were assessed according to predefined case definitions. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the correlation with local and systemic factors.
Results: After a median function time of 9.36 ± 6.44 years (range: 1–26 years), the prevalence of peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis was 66.5% and 15.0%, at the patient level, corresponding to 62.6% and 7.5%, at the implant level, respectively. Peri-implantitis was significantly associated with patients’ history of periodontitis (odds ratio, OR 5.33).
Conclusion: Peri-implant diseases were a common finding around subcrestally placed implants.
Objectives: Rising prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) is a major health problem in patients with liver cirrhosis. The impact of MDRO colonization in liver transplantation (LT) candidates and recipients on mortality has not been determined in detail.
Methods: Patients consecutively evaluated and listed for LT in a tertiary German liver transplant center from 2008 to 2018 underwent screening for MDRO colonization including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria (MDRGN), and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). MDRO colonization and infection status were obtained at LT evaluation, planned and unplanned hospitalization, three months upon graft allocation, or at last follow-up on the waiting list.
Results: In total, 351 patients were listed for LT, of whom 164 (47%) underwent LT after a median of 249 (range 0–1662) days. Incidence of MDRO colonization increased during waiting time for LT, and MRDO colonization was associated with increased mortality on the waiting list (HR = 2.57, p<0.0001. One patients was colonized with a carbapenem-resistant strain at listing, 9 patients acquired carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria (CRGN) on the waiting list, and 4 more after LT. In total, 10 of these 14 patients died.
Conclusions: Colonization with MDRO is associated with increased mortality on the waiting list, but not in short-term follow-up after LT. Moreover, colonization with CRGN seems associated with high mortality in liver transplant candidates and recipients.
Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence and treatment patterns of speech and language disorders in Germany.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of data collected from 32% of the German population, insured by the statutory German health insurance (AOK, Local Health Care Funds). We used The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, German Modification (ICD-10 GM) codes for stuttering (F98.5), cluttering (F98.6), and developmental disorders of speech and language (F80) to identify prevalent and newly diagnosed cases each year. Prescription and speech therapy reimbursement data were used to evaluate treatment patterns.
Results: In 2017, 27,977 patients of all ages were diagnosed with stuttering (21,045 males, 75% and 6,932 females, 25%). Stuttering prevalence peaks at age 5 years (boys, 0.89% and girls, 0.40%). Cluttering was diagnosed in 1,800 patients of all ages (1,287 males, 71.5% and 513 females, 28.5%). Developmental disorders of speech and language were identified in 555,774 AOK-insurants (61.2% males and 38.8% females). Treatment data indicate a substantial proportion newly diagnosed stuttering individuals receive treatment (up to 45% of 6-year-old patients), with slightly fewer than 20 sessions per year, on average. We confirmed a previous study showing increased rates of atopic disorders and neurological and psychiatric comorbidities in individuals with stuttering, cluttering, and developmental disorders of speech and language.
Conclusion: This is the first nationwide study using health insurance data to analyze the prevalence and newly diagnosed cases of a speech and language disorder. Prevalence and gender ratio data were consistent with the international literature. The crude prevalence of developmental disorders of speech and language increased from 2015 to 2018, whereas the crude prevalence for stuttering remained stable. For cluttering, the numbers were too low to draw reliable conclusions. Proportional treatment allocation for stuttering peaked at 6 years of age, which is the school entrance year, and is later than the prevalence peak of stuttering.