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Between 1976 and 1984, 3,186 laparoscopic tubal sterilisations were performed in the Department of Gynaecology of the City Hospital at München-Harlaching. No death was registered. One severe late complication was observed, but its connection with the laparoscopic intervention is doubtful. 71 minor complications were analysed statistically. During the subsequent observation period of 8 1/2 years, 12 pregnancies were registered, representing a failure rate of 3.8 per thousand. 11 out of these 12 pregnancies were tubal pregnancies. We think that laparoscopic tubal sterilisation is an important contraceptive method, comparable, in terms of safety and mortality risk, to taking the pill. Its application is suitable after family planning has been finalised. The mean age of our patients was 36.5 years.

In a total of 4149 prenatal patients there were 849 patients who became pregnant following the cessation of the use of oral contraceptives. Results were compared with pregnancies of a similar series of 1000 patients who never had employed contraceptive steroids. Comparison shows a lower incidence of abortion of 5,6% in the oral contraceptive group, compared with 9,2% among the control group. Results show also a lower incidence of toxemia. The incidence of obstetrical surgery was a little higher than in the control group. The incidence of premature birth, perinatal mortality, congenital anomalies, the frequency of twins and of asphyxia neonatorum were similar in both groups. A special group of 107 pregnancies occurring immediatly after cessation of the pill shows no higher risks in pregnancy, during birth or with regard to fetal outcome. An exception is made by the incidence of premature birth that was in this special group 8,8% compared with 5,4% among the control group.

A report on the result of a representative survey of family planning behavior in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1985. Interviewers from the EMNID Institute questioned 1267 German women aged between 15 and 45. Of the women interviewed, 6.1% had been sterilized, while in 1.3% of cases, their partner had been sterilized. Regarding the use of reversible methods of contraception, the following figures were established: pill, 37.1%; IUD, 10.3%; condom, 5.9%; rhythm method, 3.9%; withdrawal 3.4%; vaginal diaphragm, 2.1%; mini-pill, 1.3%; locally effective chemical substances, 0.8%. A few women (1.9%) stated that they used a mixture of methods. No information about family planning methods was offered by 13.4% of the women interviewed. The figures obtained were further differentiated according to age, marital status, school education, religion, number of children, desire for more children, profession, and net income. The authors' own questions concerned the early use of contraceptives, the reasons for abandoning a particular method, the reasons for choosing a certain type of contraceptive, sources of information about family planning, the frequency of changes from one type of contraceptive to another, and opinions about the rhythm method. Finally, the result of the EMNID survey is compared with that of known studies both at home and abroad.

In a total of 11,026 prenatal case patients there were 1000 patients who became pregnant following the cessation of the use of oral contraceptives. Results were compared with the pregnancies of 500 patients who never had employed contraceptive steroids. Comparison shows that in both groups the incidence of premature birth, perinatal mortality, congenital anomalies and twins were similar.

A total of 1,267 women in the F.R.G., aged from 15 to 45 years, were interviewed about their family planning behavior and the importance of natural methods of family planning (NFP) in a representative demographic study. It was found that 19.6% of the respondents were not sexually active. The others used various methods, as follows: pill, 38.4%; IUD, 10.3%; condom, 5.9%; diaphragm, 2.1%; spermicides, 0.8%; withdrawal, 3.4%; NFP methods, 3.9%. The main reason for rejecting a method was a possible medical risk. Of the responding women, 73% had some previous knowledge about NFP; 47% of them found such methods to be interesting, and approximately 20% indicated a high probability of the use of NFP methods in the future.

To investigate cross-colonization with and persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis (CF), 181 isolates from 76 CF patients were typed using a P. aeruginosa-specific DNA probe. Whereas sibling pairs predominantly harboured genotypically identical P. aeruginosa strains, all of the other patients harboured different strains. Seventy-nine per cent (22/31) of the infected CF patients harboured the same strains at the beginning and the end of a summer camp. A change of strains was seen in 10% (3/31) of the patients at the end of the camp. Forty-six per cent (6/13) of the patients who were apparently initially uninfected, acquired P. aeruginosa by the end of the period. Genotyping proved that strain change or acquisition was due to cross-colonization in four of nine cases. Very little P. aeruginosa was isolated from the inanimate environment. Persistence of P. aeruginosa after a temporary loss due to antibiotic therapy was seen in 12/16 paired patient strains before and after antibiotic therapy. Thus, suppression followed a flare-up seemed to occur in these patients rather than eradication and a new infection. When 35 patients were followed over a period of 6 months, 7 (20%) changed the strain in their sputum. Only one of 43 patients harboured two different P. aeruginosa strains simultaneously over a long period.