INTRODUCTIONThe course of acute pancreatitis ranges from a mild transitory edematous to a severe necrotizing form. Necrotizing pancreatitis occurs in about 20% of all patients suffering from acute pancreatitis [1] . If infection of the necrotic tissue occurs mortality rates of up to 50% are reported with sepsis and multiorgan failure as most frequent causes [2][3][4][5] . It is generally accepted that in infected necrotizing pancreatitis the infected non-vital solid tissue has to be removed in order to control the sepsis. The standard treatment has traditionally been surgery [5,6] . By using modern surgical techniques like open packing, repeated laparatomies, closed packing or closed continuous lavage mortality rates could be decreased to 20%-40% [7][8][9][10][11][12] . However, these techniques are associated with a considerable surgical trauma which often causes escalation of multiorgan failure and sepsis [7,13] . Moreover, total anaesthesia is mandatory. Thus, in the last decade minimal invasive treatment regimes and in particular percutaneous drainage therapy were included in the management of infected necrotizing pancreatitis. Ultrasound (US) or computed tomography (CT) guided placement of drainages is reported to be effective in up to 90% for drainage of fluid collections or abscesses with purely liquid content [14] . However, the success rates Abstract AIM: To assess the outcome of patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis treated by percutaneous drainage with special focus on the influence of drainage size and number.

Objective To assess the outcomes in a large cohort of patients suffering from rheumatic diseases admitted to the ICU of a tertiary university medical center. Methods A retrospective chart analysis was performed in 108 patients suffering from various rheumatic diseases and the outcomes, including morbidity and mortality, were assessed in relation to the underlying diseases, treatments and complications. Results Overall, 48 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, five patients with spondyloarthritis, 14 patients with vasculitis, 30 patients with connective tissue diseases and 11 patients suffering from other rheumatologic conditions were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). The reasons for ICU admission included infection (30%), cardiovascular complications (22%), gastrointestinal problems (18%), endocrinological disorders (7%), neurological complications (2%) and others (3%). A total of 4% of the admitted patients required close monitoring and 14% suffered from acute exacerbation of the underlying rheumatic disease. The ICU mortality rate was 16%, whereas the overall hospital mortality rate was 20%. Fatal outcomes were related to exacerbation of the rheumatic disease in 14% of the patients, infectious complications in 46% of the patients and other reasons in 41% of the patients. An increased Apache II score, the need for mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, treatment with vasopressor drugs and plasma exchange therapy were identified as risk factors for mortality. Conclusion The overall outcomes of critically ill patients with rheumatic diseases are impaired compared to that observed in other patient groups. However, there were no significant differences in outcomes between the different rheumatic disease groups or based on the use of immunosuppressive therapy in this study. An increased Apache II score, the need for mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, treatment with vasopressor drugs and plasma exchange therapy were identified as risk factors for mortality.

Background Recent studies have shown a decrease of admissions to accident and emergency (A&E) departments after the local outbreaks of COVID-19. However, differential trends of admission counts, for example according to diagnosis, are less well understood. This information is crucial to inform targeted intervention. Therefore, we aimed to compare admission counts in German A&E departments before and after 12th march in 2020 with 2019 according to demographic factors and diagnosis groups. Methods Routine data of all admissions between 02.12.2019–30.06.2020 and 01.12.2018–30.06.2019 was available from six hospitals in five cities from north-western, eastern, south-eastern, and south-western Germany. We defined 10 diagnosis groups using ICD-10 codes: mental disorders due to use of alcohol (MDA), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cholelithiasis or cholecystitis, back pain, fractures of the forearm, and fractures of the femur. We calculated rate ratios comparing different periods in 12.03.2020–30.06.2020 with 12.03.2019–30.06.2019. Results Forty-one thousand three hundred fifty-three cases were admitted between 12.03.2020–30.06.2020 and 51,030 cases between 12.03.2019–30.06.2019. Admission counts prior to 12.03. were equal in 2020 and 2019. In the period after 12.03., the decrease of admissions in 2020 compared to 2019 was largest between 26.03. and 08.04. (− 30%, 95% CI − 33% to − 27%). When analysing the entire period 12.03.-30.06., the decrease of admissions was heterogeneous among hospitals, and larger among people aged 0–17 years compared to older age groups. In the first 8 weeks after 12.03., admission counts of all diagnoses except femur fractures and pneumonia declined. Admissions with pneumonia increased in this early period. Between 07.05. and 30.6.2020, we noted that admissions with AMI (+ 13%, 95% CI − 3% to + 32%) and cholelithiasis or cholecystitis (+ 20%, 95% CI + 1% to + 44%) were higher than in 2019. Conclusions Our results suggest differential trends of admission counts according to age, location, and diagnosis. An initial decrease of admissions with MDA, AMI, stroke or TIA, heart failure, COPD, cholelithiasis or cholecystitis, and back pain imply delays of emergency care in Germany. Finally, our study suggests a delayed increase of admissions with AMI and cholelithiasis or cholecystitis.

Pleural effusions may result from various inflammatory, hemodynamic, or neoplastic conditions. A common diagnostic problem lies in distinguishing malignant from benign pleural effusions using routine cytological evaluation. We studied pleural fluid samples obtained from 14 patients with histologically confirmed malignancy and from 6 patients with benign pleural effusions using 12 microsatellite markers from 8 different chromosomal regions. Supernatants and cellular sediments of all 20 pleural fluid samples were analyzed. Routine cytological examination was 100% specific for malignancy but was only 57% sensitive. Microsatellite analyses of pleural fluid supernatants showed genetic alterations in tumor patients only. However, 50% of pleural effusions that were considered negative for malignancy by routine cytological analysis showed either loss of heterozygosity or microsatellite instability. The sensitivity of pleural fluid examination rose to 79% when routine cytological assessment was supplemented by molecular studies. Our data suggest that microsatellite analysis increases the sensitivity of cytological pleural fluid examination in assessing potential malignancy and that combining cytological and molecular methods may improve yield and certainty in diagnostically challenging cases.

Introduction: Close monitoring of arterial blood pressure (BP) is a central part of cardiovascular surveillance of patients at risk for hypotension. Therefore, patients undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures with the use of sedating agents are monitored by discontinuous non-invasive BP measurement (NIBP). Continuous non-invasive BP monitoring based on vascular unloading technique (CNAP®, CN Systems, Graz) may improve patient safety in those settings. We investigated if this new technique improved monitoring of patients undergoing interventional endoscopy.Methods: 40 patients undergoing interventional endoscopy between April and December 2007 were prospectively studied with CNAP® in addition to standard monitoring (NIBP, ECG and oxygen saturation). All monitoring values were extracted from the surveillance network at one-second intervals, and clinical parameters were documented. The variance of CNAP® values were calculated for every interval between two NIBP measurements.Results: 2660 minutes of monitoring were recorded (mean 60.1±34.4 min/patient). All patients were analgosedated with midazolam and pethidine, and 24/40 had propofol infusion (mean 90.9±70.3 mg). The mean arterial pressure for CNAP® was 102.4±21.2 mmHg and 106.8±24.8 mmHg for NIBP. Based on the first NIBP value in an interval between two NIBP measurements, BP values determined by CNAP® showed a maximum increase of 30.8±21.7% and a maximum decrease of 22.4±28.3% (mean of all intervals).Discussion: Conventional intermittent blood pressure monitoring of patients receiving sedating agents failed to detect fast changes in BP. The new technique CNAP® improved the detection of rapid BP changes, and may contribute to a better patient safety for those undergoing interventional procedures.