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Clinical and biochemical data were collected prospectively from 8032 jaundiced patients to form a database as part of a EU-supported project on computer-aided diagnosis. Patients were recruited prospectively from centres in all EU-countries and some other countries as well. Five hundred and twenty-eight jaundiced patients were collected from four centres in Denmark. Alcoholic cirrhosis, acute alcoholic liver disease and malignancy of the pancreas or the biliary tract were more common in the Danish data base: 49% of cases in Denmark as compared to 30% of cases in the international database. Viral hepatitis was underrepresented in Denmark, 16% as compared to 23% in the international group. A crude Bayesian diagnostic programme on the total database with 17 diagnostic groups achieved 63% accuracy. For the 528 Danish cases the diagnostic accuracy was 64% when the European data base was used, whereas it increased to 81% when only the Danish data base was taken as basis for the calculations. In conclusion, we found a drop in diagnostic accuracy for the Danish patients when using the large European data base instead of the national one.

In the period 1964-74 four different dialysate delivery systems have been used in our department. 1) Central mixing of dialysate using tap water and a dialysate delivery line with "dead ends" resulting in stagnant dialysate. 2) Central mixing of dialysate with cold distilled water, otherwise equal to system 1. 3) Local mixing of dialysate with cold distilled water, delivered through a line with "dead ends" resulting in stagnant water. 4) Local mixing of dialysate with distilled water, cooled to 25 degrees C just prior to use, reduced "dead ends" and monitored constant overflow to drain through the water supply line. The bacterial contamination of the four systems was examined and related to the clinical occurrence of pyrogenic and other reactions. An improvement was noted with the change from central to local mixing of dialysate (system 3) but complete sterility and virtual freedom from clinical reactions were first obtained in system 4. It is concluded that the use of sterile or near sterile dialysate is recommendable.