A high prevalence of functional bowel disorders was found in this population-based study in Germany. Only about half of the subjects reported health care seeking due to their bowel disorders. Self-medication with over-the-counter agents was frequently performed.

BackgroundSeveral studies evaluated variations in hip fracture incidences, as well as trends of the hip fracture incidences. Comparisons of trends are lacking so far. We compared the incidence rates and, in particular, its trends between Austria and Germany 1995 to 2004 analysing national hospital discharge diagnosis register data.MethodsAnnual frequencies of hip fractures and corresponding incidences per 100,000 person years were estimated, overall and stratified for sex and age, assuming Poisson distribution. Multiple Poisson regression models including country and calendar year, age and sex were used to analyse differences in incidence and trend. The difference of annual changes between the two countries was explored using an interaction term (calender year * country).ResultsOverall, the increase of hip fracture risk was 1.31 fold higher (95% CI 1.29-1.34) in Austria compared to Germany, adjusted for age, sex, and calendar year. The risk increase was comparable for both sexes (males: RR 1.35 (1.32-1.37), females: RR 1.31 (1.29-1.33)). Hip fracture trend from 1995 to 2004 indicates an increase in both countries without a statistically significant difference between Austria and Germany (interaction term: p = 0.67).ConclusionIn this study comparing hip fracture incidences and its trend using pooled data, the incidence in Austria was 30% higher compared to its neighbouring country Germany. For both countries a similar increasing trend of hip fracture incidence over the 10-year study period was calculated. The results need confirmation by other studies.

Subjects with FBD within a three-year period had impaired HRQL compared to subjects without FBD and the general population in Germany. HRQL seemed to be less impaired than in subjects with IBS from the UK and the US.

Background Opportunistic infections (OI) of gastrointestinal (GI) and hepatobilliary system (HB) are common in HIV infected patients. Despite highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) GI OI have been reported in HIV infected patients. There is paucity of data from south Asia describing occurrence of GI and HB OI in AIDS with use of HAART. Method Study population included 74 HIV infected patients (Male = 57, Female = 17) in the age group of 17 to 63 years admitted to a tertiary care referral centre in North India from January 2011 through December 2012. Only subjects who presented with GI and HB system manifestations were enrolled in the study. 74 study subjects were stratified into HAART naïve (36) and HAART experienced (38) groups according to their HAART status on admission. HIV infection was confirmed by western blot test. Gastrointestinal and hepatobilliary pathologies including OI were diagnosed and defined as per standard protocols. Results In HAART experienced group 33% and in HAART naïve group 52% patients were diagnosed with OI. Esophageal candidiasis was present in 10% patients in HAART experienced group and in 7% patients in HAART naïve group (p value > 0.05). Abdominal Tuberculosis was present in 24% patients in HAART experienced group and in 33% patients in HAART naïve group (p value > 0.05). Drug induced liver injury was present in 10 patients in HAART experienced group and in 5 patients in HAART naïve group. Conclusion In our study we conclude that Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary OI are equally common in patients taking HAART; especially esophageal candidiasis and abdominal tuberculosis, reasons for this include HAART resistance, drug noncompliance, immune restoration inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) and high prevalence of tuberculosis in this region. A 7 year old Austrian girl presented with a 20-month history of oral thrush as well as onychomycosis of the hands. In addition, dysphagia suggested esophageal involvement. Her family history was negative for chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC). Prior treatments with systemic antimycotic agents (miconazole, amphotericin B) showed only little relief and were followed by immediate relapses. The initial differential diagnoses were CMC as well as other forms of chronic immunosuppression, including an underlying malignancy such as lymphoma, HIV/AIDS and tpye 1 diabetes mellitus. The initial laboratory examination revealed a positive HIV-ELISA and Western blot, a viral load of 31.000 copies/ml and a severe CD4 cell depletion (94/mm 3 ), leading to the diagnosis of HIV in childhood. After getting an overview about the family situation we realised that the mother had been neglecting her known HIV infection and that the little girl had never been tested before. Conclusion Screening for HIV infection during pregnancy is the key prerequisite for the prevention of vertical HIV transmission. Testing within the first 16 weeks of pregnancy is obligatory since 2010 according to the Austrian prenatal care guidelines. This case report emphasises the importance of...