Gerd Antes

University Medical Center Freiburg

Wie funktionieren Infektionsmodelle, die zur Vorhersage des Corona-Pandemie-verlaufs eingesetzt werden? Wo liegen die Fehlerquellen? I m Laufe der SARS-Cov-2-Pandemie haben In-fektionsmodelle eine herausragende Stellung in der öffentlichen Berichterstattung und politi-schen Entscheidungsfindung eingenommen. Es lohnt sich also, die Grundlagen der In...

Seit einigen Jahren sind wissenschaft-lich tätige Personen mit einem neuen Phänomen konfrontiert: Die Belästi-gung durch (stets englischsprachige) E-Mails, in denen man-meist nach einer freundlichen Begrüßung (Tab. 1)-aufgefordert wird, einen Beitrag in einer in der Mail genannten Zeit-schrift zu veröffentlichen (Tab. 2). Die Titel der sich selbst...

Objective To assess the effect of specialist palliative care on quality of life and additional outcomes relevant to patients in those with advanced illness. Design Systematic review with meta-analysis. Data sources Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, and trial registers searched up to July 2016. Eligibility...

Appendix: Supplementary text, tables and figures

Background: This is an update of the original Cochrane review published in 2013 (Issue 6). Pruritus occurs in patients with disparate underlying diseases and is caused by different pathologic mechanisms. In palliative care patients, pruritus is not the most prevalent but is one of the most puzzling symptoms. It can cause considerable discomfort an...

Einleitung: Informationen über die Wirksamkeit der Einbindung spezialisierter Palliativmedizin (SPC) in die Behandlung von Tumor- und Nicht-Tumorpatienten sind von größter Wichtigkeit für die Entwicklung von Konzepten zur Kooperation von allgemeiner und spezialisierter PC (z.B. Early PC). Methoden: Für eine systematische Übersichtsarbeit nach Cochr...

Objective: To systematically review methodological articles which focus on non-publication of studies and to describe methods of detecting and/or quantifying and/or adjusting for dissemination in meta-analyses To evaluate whether the methods have been applied to an empirical dataset for which one can be reasonably confident that all studies conduc...

Background: Pruritus (itch) is a distressing and puzzling symptom that occurs in patients with different advanced diseases. The prevalence in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) under hemodialysis exceeds 70%. Aim: To highlight drugs against CKD-related pruritus with large and with no effects. Methods: This work is part of a Cochrane Review...

For the assessment of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions a sound scientific base has been developed during the last twenty years. Under the headline of Evidence-based Medicine nowadays a comprehensive set of tools is offered which can be used to assess the benefit and the risk of medical interventions. The overarching rule which evolved for t...

Objective The aim of this study is to review highly cited articles that focus on non-publication of studies, and to develop a consistent and comprehensive approach to defining (non-) dissemination of research findings. Setting We performed a scoping review of definitions of the term ‘publication bias’ in highly cited publications. Participants Idea...

The ECRAN (European Communication on Research Awareness Needs) project was initiated in 2012, with support from the European Commission, to improve public knowledge about the importance of independent, multinational, clinical trials in Europe. Participants in the ECRAN consortium included clinicians and methodologists directly involved in clinical...

The quality of reporting clinical and preclinical research is not optimal. Reporting guidelines can help make reports of research more complete and transparent, thus increasing their value and making them more useful to all readers. Getting reporting guidelines into practice is complex and expensive, and involves several stakeholders, including pro...

Background: Several therapy optimization studies (TOSs) for the treatment of hematologic and oncologic disorders in children and adolescents have been conducted in Germany. The publication of research results is necessary to ensure that future studies are well designed and based on relevant and unanswered questions. This retrospective cohort study...

http://www.cochranelibrary.com/dotAsset/5bc8d6fd-0604-4bed-beb2-8bc7a74aa4b9.pdf

Background: Specialist palliative care (SPC) interventions aim to relieve and prevent suffering in the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domain. Therefore, SPC is carried out by a multi-professional team with different occupations (e.g., physician, nurse, psychologist, and social worker). Remaining skepticism concerning the need for S...

Studienregister erfüllen vielfältige Zwecke. In erster Linie geben sie einen möglichst lückenlosen Überblick über in Planung befindliche, laufende und abgeschlossene Studien, womit sie zur Transparenz in der Forschung beitragen sollen. Damit sind sie ein Instrument zur Identifikation und Reduktion von Publikationsbias. Studienregister können aber a...

Background The concept of evidence-based medicine (EbM) combines the best available evidence from clinical research with clinical expertise and patient preferences for optimal treatment decisions. For the individualized treatment of patients the performance of high quality clinical trials is a prerequisite as well as the transparent publication and...

Dissemination bias in clinical research severely impedes informed decision-making not only for healthcare professionals and patients, but also for funders, research ethics committees, regulatory bodies and other stakeholder groups that make health-related decisions. Decisions based on incomplete and biased evidence cannot only harm people, but may...

This is an Erratum to BMC Medicine 2015, 13:34, highlighting a corrected references list. Please see related article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/13/34

Because of their easy accessibility and versatile biological properties, mesenchymal stem cells taken from fatty tissue (adipose-derived stem cells, ADSC) are attractive for various potential clinical uses. For example, ADSC can be added to fatty tissue before transplantation in the hope of improving the outcome of autologous lipotransfer: the modi...

Troger and co-authors assume to have presented evidence proving that mistletoe treatment in patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic carcinoma significantly improves quality of life compared with best supportive care (BSC). In the original publication (1) the authors claim that survival was significantly extended by this therapy. To...

Background: The synthesis of published research in systematic reviews is essential when providing evidence to inform clinical and health policy decision-making. However, the validity of systematic reviews is threatened if journal publications represent a biased selection of all studies that have been conducted (dissemination bias). To investigate...

Pruritus is a rare but troublesome symptom in palliative-care patients with a variety of underlying diseases. The pharmacotherapy of pruritus is often off-label, and an evidence-based evaluation is needed. A Cochrane Review published in 2013 was updated with a systematic literature search up to January 2014. Randomized and controlled trials (RCTs)...

Hintergrund Praktisch tätige Ärzte treffen täglich eine Vielzahl von medizinischen Entscheidungen. Diese basieren überwiegend auf dem in der Ausbildung Erlernten und persönlicher Erfahrung, sollen heutzutage jedoch auch Patientenpräferenzen und die wissenschaftliche Evidenz für den Nutzen einer Intervention berücksichtigen. Mit dem Ziel der bestmö...

Eine Stärkung von Wissenstransfer, evidenzbasierter Praxis und Interventionsforschung in den Gesundheitsfachberufen der Pflege, Geburtshilfe, Physiotherapie, Ergotherapie und Logopädie ist notwendig, um auf die gestiegene Komplexität und den Anforderungswandel im deutschen Gesundheitssystem angemessen reagieren zu können. Das Deutsche Cochrane Zent...

Clinical trials are undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of clinical interventions or to investigate other unclarified (e.g. diagnostic) research questions. But not every clinical study is optimally planned, conducted and analysed and is therefore exposed to risk of systematic errors which can distort (bias) the study results. Clinic...

Background: Informal carers of people with dementia can suffer from depressive symptoms, emotional distress and other physiological, social and financial consequences. Objectives: This review focuses on three main objectives:To:1) produce a quantitative review of the efficacy of telephone counselling for informal carers of people with dementia;2...

Gesundheits- und versorgungspolitisch wird medizinisches Wissen zunehmend pra-xisrelevant. Es ist Grundlage einer hochwertigen gesundheitlichen Versorgung und spielt bei den Leistungsentscheidungen und –bewertungen auf allen Ebenen des Versorgungssystems eine entscheidende Rolle. Wie entsteht dieses Wissen? Wie wird es zur Verfügung gestellt und sc...

Background: Non-steroidal antiandrogens and castration are the main therapy options for advanced stages of prostate cancer. However, debate regarding the value of these treatment options continues. Objectives: To assess the effects of non-steroidal antiandrogen monotherapy compared with luteinising hormone-releasing hormone agonists or surgical...

Prebiotics, defined as nondigestible dietary ingredients resistant to gastric acidity and fermented by the intestinal flora, are used to positively influence the composition of intestinal flora, thereby promoting health benefits. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy of prebiotics in the prevention of acute infectious d...

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To determine the effects of pelvic floor muscle training against other single treatment modalities in the management of female urinary (stress, mixed, urgency) incontinence. We will make the following comparisons: • PFMT versus lifestyle intervention, based...

In order to address the increasing complexity and continuously changing needs and demands in the German healthcare system, there is a need to strengthen knowledge translation, evidence-based practice and the conduct of clinical trials in the field of allied health professions. An interdisciplinary working group representing the fields of nursing, m...

Clinical trials are undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of clinical interventions or to investigate other unclarified (e.g. diagnostic) research questions. But not every clinical study is optimally planned, conducted and analysed and is therefore exposed to risk of systematic errors which can distort (bias) the study results. Clinic...

Systematic reviews should build on a protocol that describes the rationale, hypothesis, and planned methods of the review; few reviews report whether a protocol exists. Detailed, well-described protocols can facilitate the understanding and appraisal of the review methods, as well as the detection of modifications to methods and selective reporting...

The article addresses a problem that faces professional practitioners who, with the growing number of studies being carried out, are finding it difficult to maintain an overview of what new knowledge is relevant to their practice as well as scientifically based. As a solution, the author suggests user-friendly summaries of quality-assured, systemat...

Importance When analyzing results of randomized clinical trials, the treatment with the greatest specific effect compared with its placebo control is considered to be the most effective one. Although systematic variations of improvements in placebo control groups would have important implications for the interpretation of placebo-controlled trials...

Evidence mapping is an increasingly popular approach to systematically evaluate published research. While there are methodological standards for systematic reviews, discrepancies exist between the terminology and methods used within evidence mapping. The aim of this systematic review is to describe the methodology and terminology used in evidence m...

A self-test questionnaire has been provided in the internet and in some dental offices for some time now. By using this questionnaire, interested individuals may assess whether they have a temporomandibular disorder (TMD) which might require therapy. It is the aim of this article to examine whether the 11 questions are apt to reliably identify pati...

Background: Health professionals and policymakers aspire to make healthcare decisions based on the entire relevant research evidence. This, however, can rarely be achieved because a considerable amount of research findings are not published, especially in case of 'negative' results - a phenomenon widely recognized as publication bias. Different me...

Background: Pruritus is not the most prevalent but one of the most puzzling symptoms in palliative care patients. It can cause considerable discomfort and has a major impact on patients' quality of life. In the field of palliative care, pruritus is a symptom occurring in patients with disparate underlying diseases and based on different pathologic...

Background: Selective publication of studies, which is commonly called publication bias, is widely recognized. Over the years a new nomenclature for other types of bias related to non-publication or distortion related to the dissemination of research findings has been developed. However, several of these different biases are often still summarized...

Background There is currently no consensus regarding the optimal timing for androgen suppression therapy in patients with prostate cancer that have undergone local therapy with curative intent but are proven to have node-positive disease without signs of distant metastases at the time of local therapy. The objective of this systematic review was to...

Background: Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) are used to inform decision-making and their usefulness depends on the quality and relevance of research and specific studies for health-policy decisions. Little is known about the country of origin of studies used for HTAs. Objective: To investigate which countries have made the largest contribution...

Patienten mangelt es an Gesundheitskompetenz . Ein Grund dafür ist, dass die Struktur des Gesundheits-systems den Zugang zu relevanten Informationen erschwert. Umgekehrt können die Schwächen des Gesundheitssystems und die von ihm bedienten Interessengruppen nur so lange existieren, wie Patien-ten uninformiert bleiben. Um die Gesundheitsversorgung d...

Synthesizing research evidence using systematic and rigorous methods has become a key feature of evidence-based medicine and knowledge translation. Systematic reviews (SRs) may or may not include a meta-analysis depending on the suitability of available data. They are often being criticised as 'secondary research' and denied the status of original...

Transparenz ist in der Forschung wichtig, um Studienergebnisse effektiv in die klinische Routine transferieren zu können. Die wissenschaftliche Transparenz kann u. a. durch ein selektives Berichten von ganzen Studien oder bestimmten Endpunkten eingeschränkt sein. Eine prospektive Studienregistrierung hat das Potenzial, die Transparenz in der klinis...

Tamoxifen has emerged as a potential management option for gynecomastia and breast pain due to non-steroidal antiandrogens, and it is considered an alternative to surgery or radiotherapy. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the benefits and harms of tamoxifen, in comparison to other treatment options, for either the prophylaxis or...

Table S1: Search strategy Table S2: Adverse events: Tamoxifen (10 or 20 mg daily) versus no additional therapy or placebo Table S3: Adverse events: Tamoxifen (20 mg daily) versus anastrozole (1 mg daily) Table S4: Adverse events: Tamoxifen (10 mg daily) versus radiotherapy (single fraction of 12 Gy).

We set out a systemic review to evaluate whether off-label bevacizumab is as safe as licensed ranibizumab, and whether bevacizumab can be justifiably offered to patients as a treatment for age-related macular degeneration with robust evidence of no differential risk. Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched with no limitations of lang...

Search strategy in Medline (Ovid). Note: The literature search also included terms associated with diabetic macular oedema. However, the results of this search will be presented in a separate review. (PDF)

Transparency is essential for the efficient transfer of scientific knowledge from research into practice but is often impaired by non-publication of whole studies or by inappropriate publication of trial results. Prospective trial registration has the potential to increase transparency in scientific research because it allows the evaluation of tria...

Journals invited to participate in survey. (DOCX)

The German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) provides information on planned, ongoing and completed clinical trials in Germany. Together with the currently developed results database at DIMDI (German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information), the DRKS assists hospital pharmacists in one of their main challenges: the provision of drug inform...

Thalassemia is a hereditary anaemia due to ineffective erythropoiesis. In particular, people with thalassaemia major develop secondary iron overload resulting from regular red blood cell transfusion. Iron chelation therapy is needed to prevent long-term complications.Both deferoxamine and deferiprone have been found to be efficacious. However, a sy...