[Interdisciplinary teleconsultation: first practical experiences with 100 patients]. / Interdisziplinäre Telekonsultation: Erste praktische Erfahrungen mit 100 Patienten.

UNLABELLED: PROBLEM DEFINITION: Increasing specialization can be observed in the various medical fields and as a consequence there is little professional exchange between ear nose and throat (ENT) specialists and general practitioners. At the same time there has been significant technological development in telemedicine over the last 5 years; however, this potential is not being sufficiently exploited. The objective of this project is to implement a practicable solution for teleconsulation between ENT specialists and general practitioners. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The connection is based on a secure broadband internet connection, the corresponding server structure and a video endoscopic system. In the period from 01 January 2011 to 30 June 2012 (18 months) a total of 102 patients were included in the study in which 4 general practitioners and 5 ENT specialists participated. The protocol comprised the following parameters: indications and typical questions, number of patients presenting to the ENT specialist due to the available teleconsultation service (CBO), number of patients referred to the ENT specialist after teleconsultation (CIO), assessment of the quality of the additional expert opinion (LOQ GP), assessment of the accuracy of the specialist physician tele-diagnosis (TDS-FA) and assessment of the impact of the expert physician diagnosis on the general medical treatment (COS). RESULTS: Teleconsultation was most frequently used for diagnostics on tonsils (37% of the presented cases), the external auditory canal (32%) and the inner nose (15%). Of the patients analyzed were 53.9% presented to the ENT specialist only because the teleconsultation service provided an effortless opportunity and after teleconsultation 40.1% of the patients were referred to the ENT specialist. General practitioners assessed the benefit from the specialist opinion with 64 points. Diagnostic certainty of the specialist opinion, i.e. the validity scale of the diagnosis made, was on average 2.0. In approximately 35.3% of the cases (36 out of 102 patients) participating general practitioners documented a considerable impact of teleconsultation on the diagnosis and/or therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Teleconsultation between general practitioners and ENT specialists can provide an advantage in treatment quality and patient comfort. According to the experience gained there is a very low risk of diminishing the professional competency of ENT medicine and the involvement of the expert group in the early project stage allows a greater leeway in project implementation. This could also have an impact on future medical performance specifications. According to the ENT experts involved in the project further applications of teleconsultation are very conceivable.

Outbreak of hot-foot syndrome - caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause the hot-foot syndrome, presenting with painful plantar erythematous nodules. Particularly, the mechanically stressed areas of the foot are affected after contact with contaminated water from saunas, swimming pools, hot tubs, etc. We report an outbreak of hot-foot syndrome caused by Pseudomonas in 10 patients. The therapeutic regimens applied reached from local antiseptic therapy to systemic antibiotics.

[Evaluation of a daily used navigation system for FESS]. / Untersuchungen zur Effizienz eines Navigationssystems für die HNO-Chirurgie: Auswertungen von 300 Patienten.

PROBLEM: The aim of this study is to proof the clinical efficiency by using a modern navigation system for Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: An optical navigation system was used in clinical routine of 300 patients. Two groups with 150 patients each were examined. Group A was treated with navigation assistance (Karl Storz Navigation Panel Unit NPU), Group B was treated without navigation by conventional FESS. Examination period was limited to 12 months. Median follow-up is 22 and 26 weeks. Perioperative, intraoperative and postoperative parameters were recorded by workflow-analysis, clinical and radiological findings and standardized questionnary. RESULTS: Application of the navigation system needs 1.1 min additional perioperative time in average. Intraoperative time reduction by the navigation system was about 10 min per case (Group A 32.6 (SD 11.2) min, Gruppe B 42.7 (SD 9.5) min). Specific information by the navigation system was evaluated in all surgical areas as usefull and additional to a-priori-knowledge. Postoperatively patients from group A (10/89) show lower rate of re-polyposis then in group B (24/71). Fenestration of the sphenoid sinus were sufficient by CT-evaluation in 100% (group A) and 23% (group B). CONCLUSIONS: The advantages of the examined navigation system in comparison to the gold standard of FESS are proven. Navigation assistance led to an reduced intraoperative time consumption, increased postoperative results and lowered the workload of the surgeons.

[Virtual endoscopy of the nose and paranasal sinuses in real-time. Surgical planning system "Sinus endoscopy" (SPS-SE)]. / Virtuelle Echtzeit-Endoskopie der Nase und Nasennebenhöhlen. Surgical-Planning-System "Sinus Endoscopy" (SPS-SE).

PROBLEM: The aim of this study was the development and clinical evaluation of a new method for virtual endoscopy of the nose and paranasal sinuses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The surgical planning system "sinus endoscopy" (SPS-SE) was completely newly developed. The surfaces of the CT images are represented with direct volume rendering (raycasting) which allows a sufficiently high image repetition frequency with the movement of the virtual endoscopy and material effects for a natural appearance were added. Detail accuracy of the virtual illustrations was examined with the help of a picture-statistic comparison between optical and the virtual endoscopy. The evaluation of the system by the patients and physicians was made with a validated questionnaire. RESULTS: The deviations from defined landmarks of virtual in comparison to optical endoscopy are between 1.4 mm and 11.1 mm. Manoeuvering the virtual endoscope was found to be better than with the optical endoscope but the important parameters for visualization were similar. The accuracy of volume rendering, the high variability of scaling of the anatomical borders and orientation were judged to be negative factors. Altogether there was a balanced opinion from the ENT surgeons but without exception patients judged the system positively. DISCUSSION: This investigation proved the efficiency of SPS-SE for three-dimensional real time reconstruction of high-resolution CT data of the nose and paranasal sinuses. However, some modifications are necessary before introduction into routine use.