Code status discussions in medical inpatients: results of a survey of patients and physicians

Original article
Becker C, Künzli N, Perrig S, Beck K, Vincent A, Widmer M, Thommen E, Schaefert R, Bassetti S, Hunziker S
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20194

Code status discussions are useful for understanding patients’ preferences in the case of a cardiac/pulmonary arrest. These discussions can also provide patients with a basis for informed decision-making regarding life-sustaining treatment.

Atrial fibrillation for internists: current practice

Review article: Biomedical intelligence
Meyre P, Conen D, Osswald S, Kühne M, Meyer-Zürn C
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20196

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice, and its prevalence is expected to increase in the near future.

Glycaemic patterns in healthy elderly individuals and in those with impaired glucose metabolism – exploring the relationship with nonglycaemic variables

Original article
Medina Escobar P, Sakem B, Risch L, Risch M, Grebhardt C, Nydegger UE, Stanga Z
Swiss Med Wkly. 2019;149:w20163

This study relates the glycation gap to lipid metabolism, low grade inflammation as evidenced by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and kidney function as estimated by glomerular filtration rates.

The glory of the age is the wisdom of grey hair: association of physician appearance with outcomes in hospitalised medical patients – an observational study

Original article
Haubitz-Eschelbach A, Durmisi M, Haubitz S, Kutz A, Mueller B, Greenwald JL, Schuetz P
Swiss Med Wkly. 2019;149:w20162

The physical appearance of a physician may influence patients’ perception of the physicians’ quality of care. There is a lack of studies investigating whether physician appearance is indeed associated with patient satisfaction and mortality.

Describing adverse events in medical inpatients using the Global Trigger Tool

Original article
Grossmann N, Gratwohl F, Musy SN, Nielen NM, Simon M, Donzé J
Swiss Med Wkly. 2019;149:w20149

Improving patient safety in hospitals demands effective and reliable monitoring of adverse events (AEs). The most common method of assessing AEs is retrospective chart review; the Global Trigger Tool is a promising chart review method.

Appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing in a Swiss tertiary care hospital: a repeated point prevalence survey

Original article
Gürtler N, Erba A, Giehl C, Tschudin-Sutter S, Bassetti S, Osthoff M
Swiss Med Wkly. 2019;149:w20135

Inappropriate use of antimicrobials is associated with the emergence of antimicrobial resistance and adverse events. Antimicrobial stewardship programmes may both optimise treatment of infections and reduce antimicrobial resistance.

Multimorbidity is a game changer

Viewpoint
Battegay E
Swiss Med Wkly. 2019;149:w20131

Estimation of treatment allocation in a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial

Original article
Popovic M, Cesana-Nigro N, Winzeler B, Thomann R, Schütz P, Müller B, Christ-Crain M, Blum CA
Swiss Med Wkly. 2019;149:w20114

The internal validity of double-blinding in randomised placebo-controlled trials (RCT) has become a target of criticism. In several studies, the accuracy of patients’ and physicians’ guesses as to the assigned treament was striking.

Non-invasive diagnosis of liver steatosis: ready for primetime?

Viewpoint
Goossens N
Swiss Med Wkly. 2019;149:w20108

The formal diagnosis of hepatic steatosis relies on liver histology based on a liver biopsy, which is an invasive procedure that is not required in the majority of cases. Due to the high prevalence of liver steatosis, in particular in the context of an increase in NAFLD incidence, there has been renewed interest in use of non-invasive tools to assess the presence of liver disease.

Swiss Delphi study on iron deficiency

Original article
Nowak A, Angelillo-Scherrer A, Betticher D, Dickenmann M, Guessous I, Juillerat P, Korte W, Neuner-Jehle S, Pfister O, Surbek D, Battegay E, Steurer J
Swiss Med Wkly. 2019;149:w20097