Data protection and biomedical research in Switzerland: setting the record straight

The objective of this article is to review the interaction of data protection law and biomedical research with a predominant focus on the Swiss context.

Use of SGLT2 inhibitors in cardiovascular diseases: why, when and how?

The authors present an up-to-date narrative literature review of the physiological mechanisms of action, current indications, therapeutic utility and side effects of SGLT2 inhibitors.

Understanding the mechanisms of placebo and nocebo effects

The placebo effect represents an elegant model to understand how the brain works. It is worth knowing that there is not a single but many placebo effects, with different mechanisms across different systems, medical conditions and therapeutic interventions.

PedAMINES: a disruptive mHealth app to tackle paediatric medication errors

Medication errors are among the most common medical adverse events and an important cause of patient morbidity and mortality, affecting millions of people worldwide each year. This problem is especially acute in paediatric settings, where most drugs given intravenously to children are provided in vials prepared for the adult population.

DNA methyltransferases hitchhiking on chromatin

DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that plays a central regulatory role in various biological processes. Elucidating the crosstalk between different histone modifications and DNA methylation, and their combined effect on the genome-wide epigenetic landscape, is of particular interest.

When a T cell engages a B cell: novel insights in multiple sclerosis

This short review summarises important new insights into the interaction between these two cell populations and outlines recent observations regarding how memory B cells activate brain-homing autoreactive T cells in multiple sclerosis.

The new remuneration system TARPSY in Swiss psychiatric hospitals: effects on length of stay and readmissions?

If being evident at all, the effects of the new remuneration system TARPSY on LOS and readmission rates seem to be small. Concerns that declining daily rates in TARPSY would result in early discharges and increased readmission rates did not prove true in adult and geriatric psychiatry.

Attitudes and acceptance of patients undergoing visceral surgery towards an open access electronic medical record – a Swiss-German single-centre study

The question of whether patients should have electronic access to their data has become one of the key topics under discussion.

Adequacy of stress ulcer prophylaxis prescription in the intensive care unit: an observational study

The adequacy of stress ulcer prophylaxis in the ICU is low. In addition, the prescription is frequently continued after ICU and many patients are even discharged home with inadequate acid-suppressive therapy.

Labour outcomes with defibulation at delivery in immigrant Somali and Sudanese women with type III female genital mutilation/cutting

Defibulation at delivery is an effective minor surgical procedure that should be in the armamentarium of the healthcare providers managing women with type III female genital mutilation/cutting.

Supplementum 245: Annual Congress of the Swiss Society of Rheumatology