Background: In the past ten years, the number of publications on injuries associated with electric scooters (e-scooters) has been increasing continuously. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to synthesize the original study results on injury types, injury severity, clinical care, accident mechanisms, risk factors, and patient characteristics associated with e-scooter accidents. Methods: The literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE and Medline. We included quantitative clinical studies published between 07/2019 and 07/2024 that report e-scooter-associated injuries in patients who presented to an emergency department. Variables that were reported as proportions (e.g., frequency of extremity fractures) were summarized using a proportional meta-analysis. Parameters on a continuous scale were combined using a meta-analysis of the arithmetic means. Results: Among 524 unique records, 149 articles met the inclusion criteria, and 68 were eligible for quantitative analyses. Most e-scooter patients sustained injuries to the head and face with a pooled frequency of 42.1% (95% CI 38.7–45.4). Injuries of the upper extremities were estimated at 40.1% of patients (95% CI 35.8–44.4). Fractures of the extremities occurred with a pooled frequency of 25.7% (95% CI 22.5–28.9). An estimated proportion of 2.3% (95% CI 1.6–3.0) sustained severe traumatic brain injuries. Determined by the Injury Severity Score (ISS), 2.8% (95% CI 1.5–4.1) of the e-scooter patients were severely injured (ISS ≥ 16). Conclusions: Injuries to the head and face as well as the upper extremities are the most common causes for emergency department visits following e-scooter accidents. One in four patients presented with extremity fractures. Severe injuries, however, affect less than three percent of e-scooter patients.

Spondylodiscitis is a rather rare condition with an annual incidence of 1–7 per 100,000. Thus, empirical data on the treatment of this disease are limited. In 2020, the first German guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of spondylodiscitis was published. In a 5-year retrospective analysis, we examined the patient collective, the current diagnosis and treatment strategy, and the effect of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) diagnostics on therapeutic decisions of a consecutive monocentric cohort of 66 patients without neurological symptoms. The majority of the patients were male (55%) with a mean age of 74 years. Non-operative therapy was found to be associated with short-term treatment success in 54 (82%) of the patients. In 12 patients, who underwent surgical therapy, MRI diagnostics and clinical findings were equally important for the decision to perform a surgery. Patients treated operatively stayed for an average of 33.6 (±12.9) days in the hospital and thus significantly longer than non-operatively treated patients with 22.2 (±8.0) days. The in-house standard of care did not essentially deviate from the guideline’s recommendations. Future research should address early detection of the need for surgical therapy, and immediate anti-infective treatment appropriate to the detected pathogen.

People with post-COVID syndrome (PCS) often suffer from long-term pulmonary consequences. Singing-based respiratory training (SBRT) has proven to be a valuable rehabilitative therapy for people with chronic lung diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of SBRT in people with PCS breathing disorders, their compliance and adherence, and to obtain detailed findings on the effect of this training on people with PCS respiratory symptoms. A randomized controlled, single-blind, bicentric study was conducted with 23 outpatient and 24 inpatient participants undergoing rehabilitation for PCS. Participants either received singing-based respiratory training with the intention of reducing breathing rate or training without the aim of influencing breathing rate. The main outcomes were patient compliance, determination of target parameters for a future efficacy study, and assessment of outcome differences between treatment groups. The 45 study participants were predominantly female (81 %) with a mean age of 51.5 (SD 10.44) years. There was a high level of compliance with SBRT, with 96 % of participants completing all training sessions led by vocal coaches. The overall comparison between baseline and follow-up assessments yielded improvements corresponding to medium effects in the physical component score of the Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12) with a Cohen's d of 0.52 (95 % Confidence Interval, CI 0.05 to 0.99]), in the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7) with a Cohen's d of 0.55 (95 % CI 0.11 to 0.9) and in the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) with a Cohen's d of 0.50 (95 % CI 0.06 to 0.93). SBRT was well-tolerated, with high adherence and compliance among participants in our study. Questionnaires assessing health-related quality of life and mental health may be suitable as primary outcomes for a future confirmatory study. The data suggest that SBRT aimed at reducing the respiratory rate does not have a positive effect compared to regular SBRT. German Register of Clinical Trials (DRKS ID DRKS00028275).

Background: The long-term effects of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in children and adolescents are increasingly discussed due to their potential impact on psycho-social development and education. This study aims to evaluate post-hospital care of children and adolescents after mild TBI using a physician survey. Methods: A self-developed, pre-tested questionnaire on diagnostics and treatment of TBI in outpatient care was sent to a representative sample of general practitioners and pediatricians in Germany. Results: Datasets from 699 general practitioners, 334 pediatricians and 24 neuropediatricians were available and included in the analysis. Nearly half of the general practitioners and most pediatricians say they treat at least one acute pediatric TBI per year. However, a substantive proportion of general practitioners are not familiar with scales assessing TBI severity and have difficulties assessing the symptoms correctly. Pediatricians seem to have better knowledge than general practitioners when it comes to treatment and outpatient care of TBI. Conclusions: To increase knowledge about TBI in outpatient physicians, targeted training courses should be offered, especially for general practitioners. Moreover, handing out written information about long-term effects and reintegration after TBI should be encouraged in outpatient practice.