University Hospital Heidelberg

The filtration performance of fabrics against particles of viral size: a systematic review

Wearing a mask is part of the comprehensive strategy to suppress transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and respiratory tract infections. Despite available COVID-19 vaccines, wearing a mask has remained one of the simplest and most effective ways. There was, however, little data av...

Lessons from the field: usability (engineering) in regulated healthcare

Abstract Regulated healthcare settings continue to face gaps between established HCI methodology, user-centered design principles, and everyday clinical practice. Although standards and regulatory frameworks mandate usability engineering, their integration into regulated clinical...

Modulation of neuronal excitability and plasticity by BHLHE41 conveys lithium non-responsiveness

Abstract Many bipolar disorder (BD) patients are non-responsive to lithium. The mechanisms underlying lithium (non-)responsiveness are largely unknown. By using gene-set enrichment analysis methods, we found that core clock gene-sets are significantly associated with lithium resp...

MCL‐1 inhibition triggers a largely reversible cardiac stress signature in a humanised mouse model

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Myeloid cell leukaemia-1 (MCL-1) is an essential anti-apoptotic protein and a promising therapeutic target in oncology. Early clinical studies of MCL-1 inhibitors reported unexpected elevations in cardiac troponin, raising concerns about potential cardioto...

Longitudinal Tumor, Vascular, and Immune Cell Response in Two Rat Prostate Carcinomas After Isoeffective Photon, Proton, and Carbon Ion Irradiation: Impact of Linear Energy Transfer, Dose Level, and Hypoxia

Background/Objectives: High linear energy transfer (LET) carbon ions achieved more effective and biologically robust tumor control than photons in preclinical prostate cancer models; however, the longitudinal development of histopathological parameters remains insufficiently char...

Molecular characterization of mismatch repair deficient tumors in young Jordanian patients

<title>Abstract</title> In Jordan, approximately 19% of colorectal carcinomas (CRCs) in patients younger than 45 years show mismatch repair deficiency (MMRD) by immunohistochemistry (IHC). MMRD in pediatric high-grade gliomas (HGG) and CRC in Jordan appears substantially more fre...

Integrated metabolomics data analysis to generate mechanistic hypotheses with MetaProViz

ABSTRACT With the growing number of metabolomics and lipidomics studies, robust strategies for bioinformatic analyses are increasingly important. However, the absence of standardized and reproducible workflows, coupled with ambiguous metabolite annotations, hampers effective anal...

Can parent–child interactions help reduce socioeconomic differences in language development? Results of a German birth cohort study

Abstract Aim Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families often have lower developmental outcomes than their socioeconomically more advantaged peers. In early childhood, language development (LD) in particular is a key competence for further socialization. There is a ne...

The zlog value: a decade of standardizing laboratory results

Abstract Background The zlog transformation was developed in 2016 as a method-independent and unit-independent standardization of laboratory results for the German Electronic Health Record (ePA). Based on the assumption of a log-normal distribution and the known lower and upper r...

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on 30-Day Readmission Rates After Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair and Open Repair

AIM: Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and open aneurysm repair (OAR) are established treatments for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). This meta-analysis evaluated 30-day readmission, patient characteristics, postoperative complications, and length of stay after EVAR and OAR, an...

Ipsilateral inhibitory rTMS restores interhemispheric motor cortex balance and reduces phantom limb pain: an exploratory longitudinal nTMS mapping study

Abstract Background Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a debilitating condition associated with maladaptive neuroplastic changes following limb amputation. The prevailing neuromodulatory approach targets the deafferented contralateral motor cortex, yet interhemispheric imbalance is incre...

Implementation barriers, facilitators, and fidelity of a mobile money-based savings tool for pregnant women in the Analamanga region of Madagascar: an ex-post process evaluation

Abstract Background Mobile payment services could improve access to obstetric care by easing saving, raising revenue, and pooling resources. Between 2019 and 2022, a mobile money-based savings tool for obstetric care was implemented in the Analamanga region of Madagascar followin...

Conservative and surgical treatment of wrist osteoarthritis: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION: Wrist osteoarthritis leads to pain and functional impairment. Despite conservative treatment options, surgery remains a central therapeutic component. In Germany, the number of patients rose from over 472,000 cases in 2018 to more than 580,000 in 2024. This review e...

Subgroup variations in effectiveness of femoropopliteal sirolimus versus paclitaxel-coated balloon angioplasty: post hoc results of the randomised SIRONA trial

INTRODUCTION: The randomised SIRONA trial showed that sirolimus-coated balloon (SCB) angioplasty was non-inferior to paclitaxel-coated balloon angioplasty (PCB) regarding femoropopliteal primary patency. There was no difference in clinically driven target lesion revascularisation...

Rab4b controls hepatic glucose production during fasting through glycophagy

Abstract Hepatic glucose production, essential for maintaining glycemia, is often altered in metabolic-associated fatty liver and glycogen storage diseases. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms that regulate the glucose production by hepatocyte is pivotal. Recent studies have...

Technical note: reconstructing dose distributions from manually planned electron boosts in breast radiotherapy

Purpose In breast radiotherapy, delivery of manually-calculated electron boosts limits retrospective dose–response analyses as dose distribution is unavailable. This work evaluates the feasibility of reconstructing dose distributions from manually planned electron boosts in breas...

Mapping gendered ageism in health care: concepts, contexts, and gaps

While ageism and sexism are increasingly acknowledged as critical determinants of health and health care, the concept of “gendered ageism” remains under-theorised and empirically underdeveloped, with notable gaps in conceptual clarity and engagement with how age and gender co-con...

Caregiver-reported experience of integrated care for children with special health care needs and its sociodemographic, health- and network-related correlates in Germany: Cross-sectional results from the PART-CHILD cohort

Abstract Background Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) often rely on cross-sectoral care networks involving medical, therapeutic, educational, and social services. However, key dimensions of integrated care, including cross-sectoral communication and attention to fam...

Durable clinical and immunologic response to an off-the-shelf EWSR1–FLI1 peptide vaccine in metastatic Ewing sarcoma

Abstract Ewing sarcoma is a rare, fusion-driven malignancy with poor prognosis in the metastatic setting, for which no established immunotherapeutic treatment is currently available. Fusion breakpoints are rational precision immunotherapy targets, yet clinical evidence of immunog...

Reduction of postoperative care unit observation time following carotid endarterectomy: a targeted approach

To evaluate the safety and feasibility of reducing the postoperative care unit (POCU) observation period from four hours to two hours following carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for asymptomatic, high grade carotid stenosis. Monocentric, retrospective-prospective observational cohort...