COVID-19 and telehealth: a window of opportunity and its challenges

Disrupted healthcare systems and the need for physical distancing seem to open a window of opportunity for a broader exposure to telehealth solutions, many of which might have the potential to improve care long after the pandemic passes.

Early off-label treatment during pandemics? A dilemma

Decisions for or against off-label treatment need to be based on clearly defined selection and treatment criteria, a strong biological rationale, a critical appraisal of prior evidence, and the estimated harm-benefit ratio.

Individualised nutritional support in medical inpatients – a practical guideline

The significance of malnutrition in medical patients in hospitals has finally been recognised, and malnutrition has become an independent diagnosis. This is relevant not only for the care of patients but also economically, and as such is of paramount importance in health care.

How to test trust in  clinical competence

Medical students have to be educated on the basis of predefined professional competencies. These competencies are listed in a new catalogue of learning objectives for the undergraduate medical curriculum, the PROFILES document (Principal Relevant Objectives for Integrative Learning and Education in Switzerland). Introducing PROFILES in the undergraduate medical curriculum is an opportunity to revisit the concept of maximally just versus biologically authentic clinical skills tests.

Five reasons why data on compassionate use of remdesivir deserved publication (and are worth reading)

Although pre-clinical data are still scarce and results from clinical trials currently underway are awaited, remdesivir has been and is still used in many patients for the treatment of forms of COVID-19 of differing severity, as part of compassionate use or expanded access programmes. Despite these premises, the recent publication in a prestigious journal of the first case-series of COVID-19 patients treated with remdesivir under a compassionate use programme has been welcomed with considerable scepticism, if not open hostility

Copeptin-based diagnosis of diabetes insipidus

With the establishment of copeptin, a stable and reliable surrogate marker for arginine vasopressin, diagnosis of the polyuria-polydipsia syndrome has been newly evaluated.

Guideline of the Swiss Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (SSGO) on acute and recurrent urinary tract infections in women, including pregnancy

This guideline from the Swiss Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics provides quick answers for every day clinical questions concerning urinary tract infections, especially for obstetricians and gynaecologists.

Digital health and the COVID-19 epidemic: an assessment framework for apps from an epidemiological and legal perspective

Building on an existing trustworthiness checklist for digital health applications, the authors searched the literature and developed a framework to guide the assessment of smartphone and web-based applications that aim to contribute to controlling the current epidemic or mitigating its effects.

Swiss experience of atezolizumab for platinum-pretreated urinary tract carcinoma: the SAUL study in real-world practice

Atezolizumab is an approved therapy for urothelial carcinoma based on results from phase II and III trials. The global SAUL study evaluated atezolizumab in a broader patient population more representative of real-world populations.

icumonitoring.ch: a platform for short-term forecasting of intensive care unit occupancy during the COVID-19 epidemic in Switzerland

In Switzerland, the COVID-19 epidemic is progressively slowing down owing to “social distancing” measures introduced by the Federal Council on 16 March 2020. However, the gradual ease of these measures may initiate a second epidemic wave, the length and intensity of which are difficult to anticipate. The authors introduce icumonitoring.ch, a platform providing hospital-level projections for ICU occupancy.

Reproductive number of the COVID-19 epidemic in Switzerland with a focus on the Cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft

The reproductive number in Switzerland was between 1.5 and 2 during the first third of March, and has consistently decreased to around 1. After the announcement of the latest strict measure on 20 March 2020, namely that gatherings of more than five people in public spaces are prohibited, the reproductive number dropped significantly below 1; the authors of this study estimate the reproductive number to be between 0.6 and 0.8 in the first third of April.

The ecology of medical care in Switzerland: prevalence of illness in the community and healthcare utilisation in Switzerland

This study represents a first attempt to map the healthcare utilisation of the Swiss population. The results indicate that general practitioners are the most important health care resource in Switzerland.