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Background: Therapy satisfaction is widely considered an important aspect of clinical care. Still, there are currently no freely available questionnaires for its measurement. We developed the Lübeck Medication Satisfaction Questionnaire (LMSQ) for that purpose. Here, we present its content and psychometric properties. Methods: The LMSQ was validated on 86 patients in a single center study. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test, confirmatory factor analysis, covariance analysis, and a test of exact fit were performed. Reliability was tested using Cronbach’s α and McDonald’s ω. The relationship to other patient-reported outcomes was tested using Pearson’s correlation. Results: Confirmatory factors analysis yielded moderate factor loadings with p < 0.001 in all subscales. Reliability was adequate (α = 0.857 and ω = 0.872). Model fitness was excellent in all tests. The LMSQ was positively correlated with medication adherence (r = 0.603, p < 0.001) and most dimensions of health literacy. Conclusions: The LMSQ possesses adequate psychometric properties for its purpose. We recommend further validation in a more diverse patient collective.

Purpose The goal of this study was to provide recent data on incidence of spinal cord injuries (SCI) in Germany. Methods The source of information was data collected via the mandatory submission of ICD-10 GM Codes by German public hospitals after patient discharge. Data from 2013 to 2020 were retrieved from the databases of the Federal Bureau of Statistics. ICD-10 Codes for acute SCI were identified. Statistical analysis was performed using Jamovi and Excel. Results A total of 10,360 patients were reported, of whom 58.7% suffered from a cervical, 30.8% a thoracic and 10.4% a lumbar lesion. Two peaks in incidence were observed at approximately 30 and 70 years old. A population-size-adjusted overall incidence of 15.73 (SD 0.77) per million per year was calculated. We calculated the incidences in several subpopulations and discovered significantly higher incidences among males and among those over the age of 60. We discovered that differences in age groups mainly concerned injuries of the upper spine, with the incidence in the lumbar spine being similar among age groups. In addition, we found that while the probability of suffering from SCI increases with age, the relative risk of suffering from a complete injury decreases. Conclusions This study closes a long-lasting gap in epidemiological data regarding SCI in Germany, specifically by updating the incidence rates. We found that incidence depends on age, gender and type of lesion. We also provide some new angles for future research, especially considering the relative reduction in complete injuries among the elderly.

Background Hip fractures are a major public health problem worldwide and can lead to disability, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life. We aim to provide a nationwide epidemiological analysis of trochanteric and subtrochanteric fractures and their respective surgical treatments. Methods Data were retrieved from the national database of the German Department of the Interior. ICD-10-GM and OPS data from the period of 2006 to 2020 were analysed and all patients with trochanteric and subtrochanteric fractures as their main diagnosis, who were treated in a German hospital, were included. Patients were grouped by age and gender and linear regression was performed where suitable to calculate statistically significant correlations between variables and incidences. Results 985,104 pertrochanteric fractures and 178,810 subtrochanteric fractures were reported during the analysed period. We calculated a mean incidence of 80.08 ± 6.34 for pertrochanteric and 14.53 ± 1.50 for subtrochanteric fractures per million inhabitants. In both fracture types, a distinct dependence of incidence on age can be determined. Incidence rates equally rise in both sexes through the age groups with an increase of about 288-fold from those under the age of 60 to those over the age of 90 in pertrochanteric fractures, and about 123-fold in subtrochanteric fractures. Intramedullary nailing was the most common kind of treatment for both fracture types with augmentative cerclages on the rise throughout the whole period. Plate and dynamic compression screws were decreasing in frequency over the analysed period in both fractures. Conclusions We provided incidence data on per- and subtrochanteric fractures and their treatment. We calculated an economic impact of approximately 1.563 billion € per year in Germany. With regards to recent literature on costs of treatment and our findings regarding the implementation and utilization of different treatment methods, we conclude that the reinforcement of nationwide prevention programs is a relevant step in lessening the economic burden. We welcome the increased utilisation of intramedullary nailing as many studies show beneficiary outcomes and cost effectiveness in most of the included fracture types.

Background: Currently, the development of the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) and the influence of age and gender on the condition in Germany is unclear.Materials and Methods: Data were extracted from the national database of Federal Health Reporting. It was then normalized for demographic changes. Poisson regression was performed on 933,684 cases to quantify the correlation between age, years, and AKI incidence. Analysis of variance was performed on the same collection to evaluate gender disparities in different age groups.Results: In absolute numbers, registered AKI increased almost sevenfold from 11,964 to 77,719 between 2000 and 2019. After adjusting for demographic changes, the most AKI -6300.5 per million person-years -occur in the elderly (>79 years old). Males have a higher risk for the development of an AKI. The male and female AKI incidence ratio varies significantly between different age groups, and it is the lowest in people <20 and >79 years old.Conclusions: The registered incidence of AKI has risen substantially in the first 20 years of the millennium. The increase can partly be attributed to an increased diagnostic sensitivity provided by changes in the classification of AKI. It could also be shown that men suffer from AKI more often than women, particularly in the younger age groups.