University Hospital Heidelberg

Preoperative Injection of Botulinum Toxin Into the Sphincter of Oddi Does Not Prevent Pancreatic Fistula After Distal Pancreatectomy: The Randomized Controlled PREBOTPilot Trial

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether preoperative injection of botulinum toxin (BTX) into the sphincter of Oddi (SO) is a safe and feasible strategy to prevent postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) after distal pancreatectomy (DP). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: POPF remains a common an...

Trends in glaucoma diagnosis and medical management in Germany: A nationwide claims data analysis over 10 years

Abstract Purpose Analysing longitudinal trends in recorded diagnosis and medical management of glaucoma in Germany over a 10‐year period. Methods A retrospective cohort study using nationwide outpatient claims and prescription data from the German statutory health insurance syste...

Real‐World Experience With Multimodal Treatment of Resectable Stage II – III Non‐Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Single Institutional Analysis

ABSTRACT Neoadjuvant therapy has recently become an integral component of multimodal treatment for resectable lung cancer. However, real‐world data on perioperative morbidity and treatment adherence remain limited. This study aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of differen...

Facing uncertainty in primary care: perceptions, strategies and educational needs – a qualitative explorative study with German general practice trainees

Abstract Background Uncertainty is an inherent aspect of everyday practice in primary care with a context of low-prevalence conditions. Dealing with diagnostic ambiguity and therapeutic uncertainty constitutes a central challenge within postgraduate medical training in general pr...

Globalising the access to advanced molecular diagnostics of CNS tumors: Experience of the Molecular Neuro-Pathology (MNP) Outreach Consortium

Central nervous system (CNS) tumors pose a major global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where outcomes remain disproportionately poor. The global CONCORD-3 study (Lancet Oncology) highlighted stark disparities in five-year survival (201...

Prognosis of acute symptomatic seizures and impact of prolonged treatment with anti‐seizure medication

Abstract Objectives Acute symptomatic epileptic seizures (ASySs) occur in temporal proximity to acute brain insults. Given their low risk of subsequent unprovoked seizures, current guidelines recommend either no treatment with anti‐seizure medication (ASM) or early discontinuatio...

Outcomes of front-line tagraxofusp in patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) in a real-world scenario

Abstract Tagraxofusp (TAG), a CD123-directed protein-drug conjugate, is approved in front-line and relapsed/refractory blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN). Multicenter real-world outcomes and the contribution of up-front consolidation post-TAG remain less defined...

Intraluminal thrombus burden is an independent imaging predictor of distal runoff impairment in popliteal artery aneurysms

Background : In popliteal artery aneurysms (PAAs), computed tomography angiography (CTA)-derived intraluminal thrombus burden and distal runoff vessel patency remain insufficiently characterized. We examined this relationship and the added value of thrombus burden assessment in C...

Durable treatment response to Trastuzumab deruxtecan in two patients with recurrent grade III anaplastic ependymoma

Abstract Background Anaplastic ependymoma is a rare and aggressive central nervous system malignancy for which effective systemic treatment options are limited. Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), an antibody–drug conjugate targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), h...

MAIA frailty subgroup analysis: long-term follow-up with daratumumab plus lenalidomide/dexamethasone in transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed myeloma

Abstract In MAIA (Daratumumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone versus lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma), daratumumab plus lenalidomide/dexamethasone (D-Rd) improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) versus Rd in tran...

Characterization of SPP1 + macrophages and their correlation with resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer liver metastasis

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRLM) remains a major clinical challenge, with outcomes varying widely among patients, yet the mechanisms that drive therapeutic resistance remain incompletely understood. In this study, we integrated single‑c...

Rapid and Efficient Affinity Isolation of Engineered Extracellular Vesicles Encapsulating Functional Proteins via Internal Twin‐Strep Tetraspanin Tagging

ABSTRACT Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are mediators of intercellular communication and promising protein‐delivery vehicles, but isolation of sufficiently pure, intact, engineered EVs remains challenging due to abundant cellular and serum‐derived contaminants. Here, structure‐guid...

German inpatient penicillin allergy delabeling cost-impact model: code, inputs, and reproducibility package

This package contains the R script, Excel input workbook, supplementary methods, and run instructions for a cost-impact model of inpatient penicillin allergy delabeling in Germany. The script generates results tables and figures for the index episode and ten-year follow-up. The s...

Ethical and design considerations related to automated, confidential HIV testing invitations: insights from senders and recipients of SMS-based HIV testing invitations in Tanzania

Abstract Background Identifying individuals with undiagnosed HIV remains a global challenge. Mobile health (mHealth) approaches that leverage social networks hold potential to increase HIV testing uptake but also raise ethical considerations. Methods We conducted a qualitative st...

Comprehensive profiling of brain dynamics during anesthesia across phylogeny

Abstract The behavioral effects of anesthetics are highly conserved across species, hinting at shared and fundamental underlying mechanisms. Here we compile a dataset of multiscale neural activity during wakefulness and anesthesia, encompassing human, macaque, marmoset, mouse, ze...

AI Dermatology's Unfulfilled Promise: Why Early Melanoma Detection Remains Unverified

A growing number of artificial intelligence (AI) systems for melanoma diagnosis now match dermatologist-level performance. Early detection is a driving factor, yet it is rarely validated beyond aggregate diagnostic accuracy. More targeted studies are necessary so these claims bec...

Total en Bloc Urethra Preservation at Robot-Assisted Prostatectomy (ToP-RAP): A Prospective IDEAL Stage 1–2a Study

Background/objective: Urinary continence recovery after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy remains variable despite technical refinements intended to preserve function. We describe Total en bloc Urethra Preservation at Robot-assisted Prostatectomy (ToP-RAP), a technique that pr...

SpaCEy links spatial tissue patterns to clinical outcomes using explainable graph neural networks

Abstract Tissues are complex ecosystems organised in space, and alterations in this organisation underpin multiple diseases. Spatial omics enables molecular profiling of tissue organisation, but linking these patterns to clinical outcomes remains challenging. We present SpaCEy (...

A comparative study of causal machine learning models for personalized treatment of acute ischemic stroke

Abstract Background Accurate estimation of the individualized treatment effect (ITE) is critical for supporting personalized decision-making in acute ischaemic stroke, while the average treatment effect (ATE) provides a cohort-level benchmark for method comparison and context. Ho...

Diagnosing autoimmune encephalitis in psychiatry: clinical recommendations and unresolved challenges from the GENERATE network

Psychiatric syndromes can be caused by underlying autoimmune encephalitis (AE). This represents a diagnostic challenge at the interface of psychiatry and neurology. While AE mostly manifests with a combined, complex neuropsychiatric syndrome, some patients with AE may (initially)...