Psychological interventions in combination with physiotherapy can be effective in treating fibromyalgia patients, especially if applied early.

The concentration and the species composition of airborne gram-negative bacteria were studied in four cattle houses, one pig house and one poultry barn. On average only between 0.02 and 5.2% of the total number of culturable aerobic bacteria were identified as gram-negative bacteria. Obligate anaerobic gram-negative bacteria were not isolated at all. In the airborne gram-negative bacterial flora the following bacterial families dominated: the Enterobacteriaceae, the Pseudomonadaceae and the Neisseriaceae. Within the family of the Enterobacteriaceae the species Escherichia coli and Enterobacter agglomerans were predominant. In animal houses using straw as bedding material Ent. agglomerans was most frequent, whereas in animal houses without litter E. coli was mainly found. Airborne Neisseriaceae were isolated very frequently in cow barns with Acinetobacter lowffii as the primary species. Airborne Pseudomonadaceae were found in high concentrations during periods of high air humidity. The results presented may also give some indications on the origin and sources of airborne endotoxins in animal housing.

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Percutaneous saline-enhanced and impedance-controlled radiofrequency ablation can be effective in the treatment of unresectable hepatic tumors and minimizes potential carbonization. A greater number of radiofrequency applications, general anesthesia, and increasing experience provide significantly better results.

In a retrospective study, the outcome of the chronic low back pain syndrome was investigated in a group of 53 patients. Average time since the diagnosis was established was 18 years. 25% of the patients--all female but one--developed fibromyalgia. The criteria of Yunus and Wolfe, modified by Müller and Lautenschläger, were applied to establish the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. In 60% of the patients chronic low back pain persisted at the time of final examination, while 8 patients were asymptomatic. Predictive parameters for the chance of getting fibromyalgia were sex and postural disorders such as scoliosis. Other radiological findings, for example degenerative changes of the spine, did not coincide with the group of patients who developed fibromyalgia. The predictive value of pain localisation, number of tender points, presence and severity of functional and vegetative symptoms, and the psychosocial situation is uncertain and should be investigated in further long term prospective studies.

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Linezolid is an antibiotic of the oxazolidinone class that has bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity against a broad range of Gram-positive bacteria, including multiresistant pathogens. Owing to increasing resistance of Gram-positive pathogens to traditional antibiotics such as vancomycin, the oxazolidinones were introduced into therapy. The aim of this review was to summarise actual data on the pharmacokinetics, safety and clinical use of linezolid in preterm infants. The Medline and EMBASE databases were searched using the term 'linezolid' combined with 'newborn', 'neonate', 'preterm' and 'premature' for papers published between January 1987 and June 2009. Studies reporting on a population including preterm infants and other age groups as well as case reports on preterm infants only were acceptable for analysis. Five studies and eight case reports were identified evaluating linezolid in preterm infants. A dosage regimen of 10mg/kg body weight given either orally or intravenously every 8h in infants aged >or=1 week and the same dose given every 12h in infants <1 week was shown to be safe and effective with a mean treatment duration of 10-28 days. In summary, linezolid was shown to be a safe and effective alternative to vancomycin in the treatment of infections with multiresistant Gram-positive pathogens in preterm infants.