Absence of SV40 in Austrian tumors correlates with low incidence of mesotheliomas.
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Between 1955 and 1963 millions of people were worldwide vaccinated with polio-vaccines that were contaminated with the simian virus 40 (SV40). This tumor-inducing virus has subsequently been detected in several human tumors. In Austria, polio mass vaccination started in winter 1961/62 with a presumably SV40-free British vaccine. Thus, we hypothesized that the Austrian population should be SV40-free. We used a polymerase chain reaction-based (PCR) method to search for SV40 sequences in DNA that was extracted from 14 giant cell tumors, ten osteosarcomas and eight mesotheliomas. SV40 was easily detected in two bone tumor DNAs from Italy, and one from the USA, and in one SV40 positive cell line. In parallel experiments all Austrian samples tested consistently negative. Our findings support the notion that: 1) polio vaccination is the main source for SV40 in human populations, 2) Austria was not exposed to SV40, and 3) its absence correlates with the low incidence of mesotheliomas in Austria. (+info)
Drug reimbursement: indicators of inappropriate resource allocation.
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AIMS: In many countries, governments and third parties find themselves paying for (reimbursing) unproven, inadequate products limiting their ability to invest in therapies with evidence of relevant patient benefit. We examined how three characteristics, level of therapeutic evidence, susceptibility of inappropriate prescribing, and intercountry variation can be used to identify inefficiencies in pharmaceutical reimbursement among four European Union countries, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. METHODS: Specific classes of medicines were chosen to provide useful examples of how healthcare resources could be reallocated. A high level of therapeutic evidence was defined as a substantial body of evidence in at least one indication with clear-cut support of relevant patient benefit. The susceptibility of inappropriate prescribing was defined as the likelihood of prescribing a drug outside the scenario for which clear-cut evidence (if any) has been documented to produce relevant benefit for the patient. The intercountry variation represents the variation in utilization of reimbursed drugs across the four countries. RESULTS: The combination of these characteristics provides a useful tool for assessing appropriate reimbursement decisions. It would be beneficial to healthcare payers as well as patients to move resources from products that have a low level of therapeutic evidence and a high susceptibility of inappropriate prescribing to products with a high level of therapeutic evidence and low susceptibility of inappropriate prescribing, and to use intercountry variation as a signal of drug classes that should be subject to further scrutiny. CONCLUSIONS: A method is presented to help policy-makers identify inefficiencies in the spending of limited health care resources, and to reallocate resources to products that have been shown to improve patient care through evidence-based medicine. (+info)
Patient satisfaction with anaesthesia care: development of a psychometric questionnaire and benchmarking among six hospitals in Switzerland and Austria.
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BACKGROUND: We describe the development and comparison of a psychometric questionnaire on patient satisfaction with anaesthesia care among six hospitals. METHODS: We used a rigorous protocol: generation of items, construction of the pilot questionnaire, pilot study, statistical analysis (construct validity, factor analysis, reliability analysis), compilation of the final questionnaire, main study, repeated analysis of construct validity and reliability. We compared the mean total problem score and the scores for the dimensions: 'Information/Involvement in decision-making', and 'Continuity of personal care by anaesthetist'. The influence of potential confounding variables was tested (multiple linear regression). RESULTS: The average problem score from all hospitals was 18.6%. Most problems are mentioned in the dimensions 'Information/Involvement in decision-making' (mean problem score: 30.9%) and 'Continuity of personal care by anaesthetist' (mean problem score: 32.2%). The overall assessment of the quality of anaesthesia care was good to excellent in 98.7% of cases. The most important dimension was 'Information/Involvement in decision-making'. The mean total problem score was significantly lower for two hospitals than the total mean for all hospitals (significantly higher at two hospitals) (P<0.05). Amongst the confounding variables considered, age, sex, subjective state of health, type of anaesthesia and level of education had an influence on the total problem score and the two dimensions mentioned. There were only marginal differences with and without the influence of the confounding variables for the different hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: A psychometric questionnaire on patient satisfaction with anaesthesia care must cover areas such as patient information, involvement in decision-making, and contact with the anaesthetist. The assessment using summed scores for dimensions is more informative than a global summed rating. There were significant differences between hospitals. Moreover, the high problem scores indicate a great potential for improvement at all hospitals. (+info)
Classification of blood pressure levels by ambulatory blood pressure in hypertension.
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Whereas clinic blood pressure (CBP) above normality is divided into stages, no corresponding classifications are available for 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). We conducted a study (1) to define stages of hypertension by ABP corresponding to CBP stages and (2) to evaluate if these stages have prognostic impact similar to CBP stages. Seven hundred thirty-six hypertensive patients were included. Mean systolic blood pressure was 149+/-15.2/87+/-8.6 mm Hg for CBP and 135+/-13/79+/-9.7 mm Hg for ABP. The mean bias between both methods was -13.3 mm Hg (95% CI, -14.3 to -12.2; 1.96xSD limits of agreement, 15.7 to -42.3) and -7.3 mm Hg (95% CI, -7.9 to -6.6; 1.96xSD limits of agreement, 9.8 to -24.3) for systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P>0.0001 for both), respectively. Classification of hypertension by ABP revealed lower cutoff values for the different stages of hypertension compared with the corresponding cutoff values for CBP (CBP versus ABP: 140/90 versus 132/81 mm Hg; 160/100 versus 140/88 mm Hg; 180/110 versus 148/94 mm Hg, P<0.001). Overall, 82 (11.1%) patients had nonfatal clinical cardiovascular events and 9 (1.2%) patients died of a cardiovascular cause during follow-up. The distribution of cardiovascular events was significantly associated with increasing ABP value (P<0.006). Staging of hypertension by ABP may facilitate the use of this method in daily clinical practice, as ABP can now be used not only to confirm the diagnosis of hypertension but also to assess the severity and prognosis of hypertensive disease. (+info)
Halomonas muralis sp. nov., isolated from microbial biofilms colonizing the walls and murals of the Saint-Catherine chapel (Castle Herberstein, Austria).
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A group of seven halophilic strains (optimal growth at 2.5-10.0% NaCl) was isolated from samples of a wall and a mural painting, both heavily contaminated by microbial growth, inside the Saint-Catherine chapel of Castle Herberstein (Austria). The strains were subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study that included DNA-DNA relatedness studies, DNA base-ratio determinations, 16S rDNA sequence analysis, rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting, fatty acid analysis and phenotypic and biochemical characterization. The data obtained indicate that the strains belong to the genus Halomonas and represent a novel species, for which the name Halomonas muralis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is strain LMG 20969(T) ( = DSM 14789(T)). (+info)
Citricoccus muralis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium isolated from a medieval wall painting.
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A Gram-positive, aerobic, spherical actinobacterium, designated strain 4-0(T), was isolated from a medieval wall painting and characterized to determine its taxonomic position. The peptidoglycan of strain 4-0(T) was of type A4alpha, with lysine as the diagnostic cell wall diamino acid and an interpeptide bridge of Lys-Gly-Glu. Its quinone system contained predominantly MK-9(H2) (64%) and its polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, four unknown glycolipids, two unknown phospholipids and an unknown lipid. The fatty acid profile of strain 4-0(T) was represented by significant amounts of ai-C15:0 and moderate amounts of ai-C17:0, i-C16:0 and i-C15:0 fatty acids. Spermidine was predominant in the polyamine pattern. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 68 mol%. Comparative 16S rDNA sequence studies revealed the highest similarity values (95.4-96.1%) between strain 4-0(T) and species of the genus Micrococcus and certain species of the genus Arthrobacter, including Arthrobacter pascens DSM 20545(T), Arthrobacter ramosus DSM 20546(T), Arthrobacterprotophormiae DSM 20168(T), Arthrobacternicotianae DSM 20123(T) and Arthrobacter globiformis DSM 20124(T). Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that strain 4-0(T) branches deeply on the Micrococcus lineage. Because it is almost equidistant phylogenetically from the genera Micrococcus and Arthrobacter and possesses significant differences in chemotaxonomic characteristics from members of these genera, it is suggested that strain 4-0(T) be classified as a novel species in a new genus; the name Citricoccus muralis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is strain 4-0(T) (= DSM 11442(T) CCM 4981(T)). (+info)
Vienna focus for Austrian ambitions.
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The Austrian Academy of Sciences has taken the bold step of closing a successful institute in Salzburg and opening two new ones in Vienna with the aim of creating an internationally attractive critical mass of biological research activity in the capital. Graham Tebb reports. (+info)
Insider looking out.
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Josef Penninger, the new director of the planned Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna, tells Graham Tebb of hurdles but high hopes he has for shaping a new kind of institution in Austria. (+info)