In 2005, the Working Group for the Survey and Utilisation of Secondary Data (AGENS) of the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP) and the German Society for Epidemiology (DGEpi) first published "Good Practice in Secondary Data Analysis (GPS)" formulating a standard for conducting secondary data analyses. GPS is intended as a guide for planning and conducting analyses and can provide a basis for contracts between data owners. The domain of these guidelines does not only include data routinely gathered by statutory health insurance funds and further statutory social insurance funds, but all forms of secondary data. The 11 guidelines range from ethical principles and study planning through quality assurance measures and data preparation to data privacy, contractual conditions and responsible communication of analytical results. They are complemented by explanations and practical assistance in the form of recommendations. GPS targets all persons directing their attention to secondary data, their analysis and interpretation from a scientific point of view and by employing scientific methods. This includes data owners. Furthermore, GPS is suitable to assess scientific publications regarding their quality by authors, referees and readers. In 2008, the first version of GPS was evaluated and revised by members of AGENS and the Epidemiological Methods Working Group of DGEpi, DGSMP and GMDS including other epidemiological experts and had then been accredited as implementation regulations of Good Epidemiological Practice (GEP). Since 2012, this third version of GPS is on hand and available for downloading from the DGEpi website at no charge. Especially linguistic specifications have been integrated into the current revision; its internal consistency was increased. With regards to contents, further recommendations concerning the guideline on data privacy have been added. On the basis of future developments in science and data privacy, further revisions will follow.

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It emerged from this study that there is no added value when using specialised physician rating and searching portals compared to using the search engine Google when trying to find a doctor having a particular specialty. The usage of several searching portals is recommended to identify as many suitable doctors as possible.

None of the three sources can be considered ideal. Part of the differences could be explained by methodological and regional effects. More insight could be gained by comparing data at the individual level. According to recent legislation, data from all statutory sickness funds are supposed to be merged. This would simplify such comparisons and most likely would allow for more valid information regarding the incidence and treatment of AMI and many other diseases.

Between 1962 and 1980, a total of 706 patients with chronic arteriosclerotic vascular changes or kinking or coiling of the carotid artery, were subjected to surgery at the Surgical Department of the University Hospital at Erlangen. In 1981, a total of 703 patients were analysed to obtain information about the postoperative course. In addition to a computation of the survival rates, together with the stroke rates, broken down by the clinical stage, the preoperative haemodynamic effect of the carotid stenosis was taken into account. Patients with transient ischaemic attacks or mild cerebral infarction affecting the carotid artery territory, revealed a favourable long-term survival rate, and a low rate of strokes, irrespective of whether haemodynamically effective carotid stenoses presented or not. Patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis, with chronic cerebral ischaemia, with non-hemispheric attacks, and with completed cerebral infarction, revealed, all in all, no favourable survival rates. For patients with preoperative haemodynamically effective carotid stenoses, the incidence of strokes was markedly lower than in patients without haemodynamically effective stenoses. This means that an indication for carotid artery surgery in these patients, can only be justified if the carotid stenosis is haemodynamically effective, but not if the stenosis is lowgrade.

Solvent induced polyneuropathy and encephalopathy have been acknowledged quite recently as occupational diseases in Germany. For compensation first of all the diagnosis has to be proven. For differential diagnosis other known causes as well as non-organic mental diseases must be taken into consideration. The causality between proven exposures and diagnosed disease has at least to be probable. To evaluate causation extensive experience of the experts is needed. In this context scientific criteria regarding neurotoxicity of the solvent, duration of exposure, individual aspects of non-occupational influences, time course of the disease are important within a through synoptic evaluation. Possibilities and limitations of sensitive diagnostic measures such as neurographic, neuropsychologic and neuroimaging examinations are discussed. The prognosis of toxic polyneuropathy and encephalopathy is in general favorable if exposure has stopped. Additionally, adequate therapy and rehabilitation measures are supportive for a good prognosis.

The risk of ocular involvement in temporal arteritis is difficult to assess in the individual case. Using Doppler ultrasound sonography a clearly reduced flow or arrest of flow in the supratrochlear artery of the amaurotic side could be demonstrated in three patients. Attempts to compress branches of the external carotid artery caused no change of flow behaviour. Doppler sonography thus permits assessment of involvement of orbital vessels. This indicates the risk of loss of vision.