More than 3,000 Patients in the Speciality Network Infectious Diseases (SNID) Base Cohort

Just under 15 months after recruitment started in May 2025, more than 3,000 patients have already been included in the base cohort of the Study Network Infectious Diseases (SNID). Inclusions are distributed across the modules Respiratory Infections (1,065), Gastrointestinal Infections (829), Bloodstream Infections (748), CNS Infections (337) and Emerging Infections (38). For every included case, a standardised baseline dataset and biosamples are available. This milestone shows that the infrastructure works, is ready for use and can be activated quickly when new research questions or pathogens emerge. We would like to thank all study teams and all participating patients for their contribution!

Specialty Network Infectious Diseases (SNID) Booth at ESCMID Global in Munich

From 17 to 21 April, the coordination teams of the Study Network Infectious Diseases (SNID) and the NUM Study Network hosted an exhibition booth at ESCMID Global in Munich. The congress for infectious diseases and clinical microbiology attracted an estimated 18,000 experts. Over the five days of the congress, the booth attracted keen interest from researchers, representatives of organisations and industry partners, all of whom received detailed information and advice from both teams. Many new contacts were made, some of which may develop into future partnerships.

News

Cancer care for people living with HIV: Results of HIVCAre study published

In a multicenter, retrospective study, data scientists from the IDMCD analyzed billing data from around 157,000 cancer patients without HIV infection and 900 cancer patients with HIV infection at three German university hospitals. After applying a propensity-score-based matching procedure, the cohort with HIV showed more frequent and longer inpatient stays, a higher rate of suspected treatment complications, differences in the therapy modalities used, and higher in-hospital mortality compared to the cohort without HIV. The data analysis did not require any transfer of patient data out of the participating hospital networks — instead, purpose-built data processing pipelines were used as part of a federated (distributed) data analysis approach.
The study results were published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research – Public Health and Surveillance.

Scientific Contribution on Oncological Treatment Lines Accepted for Publication

The "Institute for Digital Medicine and Clinical Data Sciences" has successfully submitted the manuscript of a survey on oncological treatment lines to the renowned Springer Nature Journal "BMC Cancer" – publication is scheduled for September 2025. The survey addresses the understanding, essential characteristics, and classification criteria of treatment lines from a medical perspective.

DGI Supports "Infektiopedia" in the Future

The German Society for Infectiology (DGI) remains closely connected to "Infektiopedia." Through the promised financial support of the central editorial office, it ensures that the platform is reliably operated and continuously developed. This keeps "Infektiopedia" a trustworthy contact point for physicians who need to make evidence-based decisions for the therapy of infectious diseases based on current information and quality-assured content.

DZIF Core Dataset Published

The German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) has achieved an important step towards data homogenization. The Technical Infrastructure for Bioresources, Biodata and Digital Health (TI BBD) published a core dataset that integrates the basic dataset of the German Centers for Health Research (DZG) and is intended to better connect clinical studies with high reuse value in the future.

Clinical Studies Faster and More Effective: NUM Infection Specialist Network Starts

With the first patient providing her biosamples and clinical data, the starting signal has now been given for the work of the "Infection Specialist Network."

ESCMID Global 2025: Results of the Fidaxomicin Registry Presented

The results of the fidaxomicin registry were presented at ESCMID Global, examining recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection in immunocompromised and elderly patients (> 65 years) between 2013 and 2023. The retrospective, matched observational study was conducted at University Hospital Cologne and University Hospital Frankfurt. The fidaxomicin group showed a significantly higher rate of symptom reduction 10 days after therapy start (95% vs. 86%, p = 0.004) and a significantly lower recurrence rate compared to the vancomycin group (21% vs. 37%, p < 0.001). Treatment costs were statistically significantly higher in the fidaxomicin group, while overall hospitalisation costs were comparable between groups. The study was published in BMC Infectious Diseases in January 2026.

University Medicine Network Success Story Continues

BMBF funding ensures seamless continuation of the University Medicine Network:

NUM Study Network and Infection Specialist Network in Pilot Phase

The NUM Study Network and the Infection Specialist Network have been successfully launched as NUM research infrastructures and are currently in the development and piloting phase, which will continue until the end of June 2025.

Institute Founded!

Thanks to the generous support of the Dr. Rolf M. Schwiete Foundation, the Institute for Digital Medicine and Clinical Data Science was established at the Faculty of Medicine at Goethe University Frankfurt. Prof. Janne Vehreschild takes over as its first director and is providing new impetus for research and teaching in the field of digital medicine.