University of Lübeck

Safety and Efficacy of Left Atrial Ablation After Percutaneous Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion in High-Bleeding-Risk Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Multicenter Analysis from the PROCEED-AF Ablation Registry

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Patients with left atrial appendage (LAAO) devices are increasingly referred for AF ablation, yet anticoagulation strategies remain uncertain. The goal of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) in...

Dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes is associated with higher diastolic blood pressure in adolescents: The School*Vape*Science study

Background: E-cigarette use is increasing significantly worldwide, particularly among young people. However, the cardiovascular impact of nicotine exposure during adolescence remains unclear. Although cigarette and e-cigarette use are known to increase arterial stiffness in adult...

CADD-ThresholdApp: an interactive web application for calibrating CADD scores using ClinVar

Abstract Background The Combined Annotation Dependent Depletion (CADD) score is one of the most widely used genome-wide variant deleteriousness scores. In practice, however, the distribution of CADD scores differs across genes and gene sets and may also vary between genome builds...

Prophylactic vs Therapeutic Anticoagulation in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19

Importance Coagulopathy in the context of COVID-19 is a major threat due to deep vein thromboses and pulmonary embolisms. Objective To assess whether therapeutic anticoagulation on top of standard of care (SOC) compared with prophylactic anticoagulation as part of SOC can improve...

Transoral robotic reconstruction of a posterior palatal defect using an upper arm flap following polymorphous adenocarcinoma resection: a novel minimally invasive approach

Abstract Background Surgical management of malignant tumors in the orofacial region frequently necessitates extensive resection, resulting in significant functional and aesthetic morbidity. In younger patients, these sequelae carry a substantial psychosocial burden, emphasizing t...

Risk of psoriasis in patients treated with dupilumab for bullous pemphigoid: A cohort study

The data underlying this article were provided by TriNetX under licence and by permission. Data sharing upon request to TriNetX via the corresponding author.

AI-based smoke removal in robotic urooncologic surgery: a clinical pilot study

Abstract Surgical smoke from electrocautery limits visibility during robot-assisted oncological surgery by obscuring tumor margins, blood vessels and anatomical landmarks. AI-based smoke removal demonstrated promising technical performance, structured clinical evaluation remains...

Do Androgens and Sex Hormone–Binding Globulin Mediate Sex Differences in the Risk of Stroke and Myocardial Infarction? The KORA Study

BACKGROUND: Sex differences in cardiovascular disease are well established, but the role of androgens and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) remains unclear. We investigated whether these hormones and SHBG mediate sex differences in the risk of stroke and myocardial infarction (...

Exploring patients' and family members’ perspectives on intensive care unit experiences through unsolicited feedback: A qualitative content analysis

Background Intensive care unit (ICU) stays are profound and distressing experiences for critically ill patients and their family members, often resulting in physical, psychological, cognitive, and social sequelae. Existing knowledge stems largely from structured interviews or que...

Interaction of walking activity and long-term air pollution on exacerbation rate in COPD

Background Regular walking activity can improve the prognosis in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, its benefit may be reduced when living in highly polluted areas. Aim To assess the combined effects of walking activity and air pollution on the rat...

Migration and tuberculosis transmission in Hamburg, Germany: insights from 25 years of molecular epidemiology

Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) epidemiology in low-incidence settings is increasingly influenced by the importation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (Mtbc) strains from high-incidence regions. Globally, more virulent “generalist” lineages such as Lineage 2 (L2) and Li...

Belantamab mafodotin plus venetoclax in t(11;14)-positive relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma – the BELI(E)VE trial

Abstract Background Multiple myeloma (MM) is a widely incurable B-cell malignancy that predominantly affects older adults, representing 10% of hematologic cancers. Despite advancements in therapy that have significantly extended median overall survival (OS), MM remains a clinical...

The FraiLtx Study Protocol: A Prospective, Single-Center Observational Study on Frailty, Systemic Inflammation, and Monocyte Subsets in Liver Transplant Candidates

Introduction: Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome characterized by diminished physiological reserve and increased susceptibility to stressors, resulting in poor perioperative outcomes. While commonly associated with elderly patients, frailty is increasingly recognized in liver...

Aggregation framework for continuous digital health measures and application to walking activity data

Abstract No standardized procedures for aggregating continuous digital health measures exist. Using a modified Delphi approach, we developed a framework to standardize the selection of aggregations that provide clinically meaningful, stable values. This was applied to aggregate s...

Cocaine, cannabis, champagne—pharmacological and toxicological references in the lyrics of the German rapper Haftbefehl: a content analysis

In popular music, references to (illicit) drugs are widespread and may influence attitudes and behaviors in relation to substance use and abuse, especially among younger generations. While substance-related content in international pop and rap music has been studied extensively,...

A Scoring System Contributing to the Detection of Radiation Pneumonitis in Elderly Patients with Lung Cancer—Results of the POLCAR Trial

Background/Objectives: A symptom-based scoring system (0–9 points) for the identification of radiation pneumonitis was previously evaluated in lung cancer patients without age restrictions. A threshold of five points appeared optimal to detect pneumonitis. Since elderly patients...

Pathology-Guided Transcriptomic Profiling of Prostate Cancer Identifies Grade-Associated Proliferative and Immune Signatures in a MENA Cohort

Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is a heterogeneous disease in which the histopathological grade does not always reflect underlying biological behavior. While transcriptomic studies have provided insight into tumor biology, grade-associated molecular changes remain incompletely d...

Motivating the next generation for primary care in rural Vietnam: insights from medical students and the 585 Policy

Abstract Background Primary health care (PHC) plays a central role in promoting equitable access to health services in Vietnam. However, workforce shortages and unequal distribution of physicians, particularly in remote and disadvantaged areas, remain major challenges. To address...

Tozorakimab to Prevent COPD Exacerbations

BACKGROUND: Many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have exacerbations despite receiving standard-of-care inhaled maintenance therapy. Dysregulated interleukin-33 signaling is implicated in the pathogenesis of COPD. Tozorakimab is a monoclonal antibody tha...

The Pear Strategy for Two‐Ring Pulmonary Vein Isolation: Antral and Sleeve Ablation Using a Balloon‐in‐Basket Pulsed Field Ablation Catheter

ABSTRACT Background Pulsed field ablation (PFA) has emerged as a promising energy source for atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation. This study aimed to describe the adoption and workflow optimization of a novel balloon‐in‐basket PFA catheter using a two rings balloon and pea...