La atención sanitaria a pacientes con multimorbilidad. La percepción de los profesionales

Objetivo Explorar las percepciones de los profesionales sanitarios sobre las características de la atención sanitaria a pacientes con multimorbilidad. Diseño Estudio cualitativo de trayectoria fenomenológica realizado entre enero y septiembre de 2015 mediante 3 entrevistas grupales (grupos de discusión) y 15 individuales. Emplazamiento Servicio Aragonés de Salud. Participantes Profesionales médicos y de enfermería del Servicio Aragonés de Salud pertenecientes a distintos servicios: Medicina Interna, Atención Primaria, Urgencias y Gestión. También se incluyó un farmacéutico. Métodos Se realizó un muestreo intencional no probabilístico que permitiese configurar las unidades muestrales buscando criterios de representatividad del discurso, permitiendo conocer e interpretar el fenómeno estudiado en profundidad, en sus diferentes visiones. Se entrevistó a profesionales sanitarios con perfiles diferentes que conociesen en profundidad la atención a pacientes con multimorbilidad. Las entrevistas fueron grabadas, transcritas literalmente e interpretadas, mediante el análisis social del discurso. Resultados Se identifica una cultura profesional orientada a la atención de enfermedades individuales, falta de coordinación entre especialidades, pacientes sometidos a numerosas prescripciones, Guías de Práctica Clínica y formación especialmente centradas en enfermedades individuales. Conclusiones Tanto la cultura profesional como la organización del sistema sanitario se encuentran orientadas a la atención de enfermedades individuales, lo que redunda en dificultades para ofrecer una atención más integral a los pacientes con multimorbilidad. Objective: To explore the perceptions of health professionals about the characteristics of health care for patients with multimorbidity. Design: Qualitative study of phenomenological trajectory made between January and September 2015 through 3 group interviews and 15 individual interviews. Location: Aragonese Health Service. Participants: Medical and nursing professionals of the Aragon Health Service belonging to various services: Internal Medicine, Primary Care, Emergency and Management. A pharmacist was also included. Methods: A non-probabilistic intentional sampling was carried out that allowed for the selection of professionals in terms of discourse representation criteria, allowing to know and interpret the phenomenon studied in depth, in its different visions. We interviewed health professionals with different profiles who knew in depth the characteristics of care provided to patients with multimorbidity. The interviews were recorded, transcribed literally and interpreted, through the social analysis of the discourse. Results: Professional culture oriented to individual pathologies, lack of coordination among professionals, high prevalence of multi-prescriptions, Clinical Practice Guidelines oriented to individual pathologies and specialist training focused on individual diseases. Conclusions: Both the professional culture and the organization of the healthcare system have been oriented towards the attention to individual pathologies, which results in the difficulty to offer a more integrated care to patients with multimorbidity

Polypharmacy Patterns: Unravelling Systematic Associations between Prescribed Medications

Objectives: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the existence of systematic associations in drug prescription that lead to the establishment of patterns of polypharmacy, and the clinical interpretation of the associations found in each pattern. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted based on information obtained from electronic medical records and the primary care pharmacy database in 2008. An exploratory factor analysis of drug dispensing information regarding 79,089 adult patients was performed to identify the patterns of polypharmacy. The analysis was stratified by age and sex. Results: Seven patterns of polypharmacy were identified, which may be classified depending on the type of disease they are intended to treat: cardiovascular, depression-anxiety, acute respiratory infection (ARI), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rhinitis-asthma, pain, and menopause. Some of these patterns revealed a clear clinical consistency and included drugs that are prescribed together for the same clinical indication (i.e., ARI and COPD patterns). Other patterns were more complex but also clinically consistent: in the cardiovascular pattern, drugs for the treatment of known risk factors—such as hypertension or dyslipidemia—were combined with other medications for the treatment of diabetes or established cardiovascular pathology (e.g., antiplatelet agents). Almost all of the patterns included drugs for preventing or treating potential side effects of other drugs in the same pattern. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated the existence of non-random associations in drug prescription, resulting in patterns of polypharmacy that are sound from the pharmacological and clinical viewpoints and that exist in a significant proportion of the population. This finding necessitates future longitudinal studies to confirm some of the proposed causal associations. The information discovered would further the development and/or adaptation of clinical patient guidelines to patients with multimorbidity who are taking multiple drugs

A Spanish version for the new ERA-EDTA coding system for primary renal disease

Background: The European Renal Association and the European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) have issued an English-language new coding system for primary kidney disease (PKD) aimed at solving the problems that were identified in the list of "Primary renal diagnoses" that has been in use for over 40 years. Purpose: In the context of Registro Español de Enfermos Renales (Spanish Registry of Renal Patients, REER]), the need for a translation and adaptation of terms, definitions and notes for the new ERA-EDTA codes was perceived in order to help those who have Spanish as their working language when using such codes. Methods: Bilingual nephrologists contributed a professional translation and were involved in a terminological adaptation process, which included a number of phases to contrast translation outputs. Codes, paragraphs, definitions and diagnostic criteria were reviewed and agreements and disagreements aroused for each term were labelled. Finally, the version that was accepted by a majority of reviewers was agreed. Results: A wide agreement was reached in the first review phase, with only 5 points of discrepancy remaining, which were agreed on in the final phase. Conclusions: Translation and adaptation into Spanish represent an improvement that will help to introduce and use the new coding system for PKD, as it can help reducing the time devoted to coding and also the period of adaptation of health workers to the new codes

A Spanish version for the new ERA-EDTA coding system for primary renal disease

Background: The European Renal Association and the European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) have issued an English-language new coding system for primary kidney disease (PKD) aimed at solving the problems that were identified in the list of "Primary renal diagnoses" that has been in use for over 40 years. Purpose: In the context of Registro Español de Enfermos Renales (Spanish Registry of Renal Patients, REER]), the need for a translation and adaptation of terms, definitions and notes for the new ERA-EDTA codes was perceived in order to help those who have Spanish as their working language when using such codes. Methods: Bilingual nephrologists contributed a professional translation and were involved in a terminological adaptation process, which included a number of phases to contrast translation outputs. Codes, paragraphs, definitions and diagnostic criteria were reviewed and agreements and disagreements aroused for each term were labelled. Finally, the version that was accepted by a majority of reviewers was agreed. Results: A wide agreement was reached in the first review phase, with only 5 points of discrepancy remaining, which were agreed on in the final phase. Conclusions: Translation and adaptation into Spanish represent an improvement that will help to introduce and use the new coding system for PKD, as it can help reducing the time devoted to coding and also the period of adaptation of health workers to the new codes

Cohort Profile: The epidemiology of chronic diseases and multimorbidity. The EpiChron cohort study

Why was the cohort set up? Greater life expectancy in Europe over the past few decades has been translated into an increasing burden of chronic diseases that accumulate as the population ages, whereas acute infectious diseases have been progressively pushed into the background. The incidence of conditions such as hypertension, obesity and asthma has increased dramatically worldwide, and cancer, diabetes and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases are responsible for almost 70% of global deaths. Concurrently, the prevalence of multimorbidity (as of people affected by more than one chronic disorder) is also increasing and appears as the most common chronic condition at present. Multimorbidity affects almost 3 in 4 individuals aged 65 years and older, although it represents a problem not only for the elderly but also for adult and even young populations, at whom prevention strategies should aim. People affected by multimorbidity often experience fragmentation of care, greater and inadequate use of health services and polypharmacy, which in turn may increase the risk of low adherence and adverse drug reactions. All of this leads to individuals’ quality of life deterioration and higher risk of mortality. Besides, handling patients with multimorbidity represents a daily challenge for physicians and health systems..

Association between Use of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Protocol and Postoperative Complications in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty in the Postoperative Outcomes Within Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Protocol in Elective Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Study (POWER2)

Importance: The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) care protocol has been shown to improve outcomes compared with traditional care in certain types of surgery. Objective: To assess the association of use of the ERAS protocols with complications in patients undergoing elective total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter, prospective cohort study included patients recruited from 131 centers in Spain from October 22 through December 22, 2018. All consecutive adults scheduled for elective THA or TKA were eligible for inclusion. Patients were stratified between those treated in a self-designated ERAS center (ERAS group) and those treated in a non-ERAS center (non-ERAS group). Data were analyzed from June 15 through September 15, 2019. Exposures: Total hip or knee arthroplasty and perioperative management. Sixteen individual ERAS items were assessed in all included patients, whether they were treated at a center that was part of an established ERAS protocol or not. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was postoperative complications within 30 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes included length of stay and mortality. Results: During the 2-month recruitment period, 6146 patients were included (3580 women [58.2%]; median age, 71 [interquartile range (IQR), 63-76] years). Of these, 680 patients (11.1%) presented with postoperative complications. No differences were found in the number of patients with overall postoperative complications between ERAS and non-ERAS groups (163 [10.2%] vs 517 [11.4%]; odds ratio [OR], 0.89; 95% CI, 0.74-1.07; P =.22). Fewer patients in the ERAS group had moderate to severe complications (73 [4.6%] vs 279 [6.1%]; OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.56-0.96; P =.02). The median overall adherence rate with the ERAS protocol was 50.0% (IQR, 43.8%-62.5%), with the rate for ERAS facilities being 68.8% (IQR, 56.2%-81.2%) vs 50.0% (IQR, 37.5%-56.2%) at non-ERAS centers (P <.001). Among the patients with the highest and lowest quartiles of adherence to ERAS components, the patients with the highest adherence had fewer overall postoperative complications (144 [10.6%] vs 270 [13.0%]; OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.64-0.99; P <.001) and moderate to severe postoperative complications (59 [4.4%] vs 143 [6.9%]; OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.45-0.84; P <.001) and shorter median length of hospital stay (4 [IQR, 3-5] vs 5 [IQR, 4-6] days; OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99; P <.001). Conclusions and Relevance: An increase in adherence to the ERAS program was associated with a decrease in postoperative complications, although only a few ERAS items were individually associated with improved outcomes

Seguimiento de las guías españolas para el manejo del asma por el médico de atención primaria: un estudio observacional ambispectivo

Objetivo Evaluar el grado de seguimiento de las recomendaciones de las versiones de la Guía española para el manejo del asma (GEMA 2009 y 2015) y su repercusión en el control de la enfermedad. Material y métodos Estudio observacional y ambispectivo realizado entre septiembre del 2015 y abril del 2016, en el que participaron 314 médicos de atención primaria y 2.864 pacientes. Resultados Utilizando datos retrospectivos, 81 de los 314 médicos (25, 8% [IC del 95%, 21, 3 a 30, 9]) comunicaron seguir las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2009. Al inicio del estudio, 88 de los 314 médicos (28, 0% [IC del 95%, 23, 4 a 33, 2]) seguían las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2015. El tener un asma mal controlada (OR 0, 19, IC del 95%, 0, 13 a 0, 28) y presentar un asma persistente grave al inicio del estudio (OR 0, 20, IC del 95%, 0, 12 a 0, 34) se asociaron negativamente con tener un asma bien controlada al final del seguimiento. Por el contrario, el seguimiento de las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2015 se asoció de manera positiva con una mayor posibilidad de que el paciente tuviera un asma bien controlada al final del periodo de seguimiento (OR 1, 70, IC del 95%, 1, 40 a 2, 06). Conclusiones El escaso seguimiento de las guías clínicas para el manejo del asma constituye un problema común entre los médicos de atención primaria. Un seguimiento de estas guías se asocia con un control mejor del asma. Existe la necesidad de actuaciones que puedan mejorar el seguimiento por parte de los médicos de atención primaria de las guías para el manejo del asma. Objective: To assess the degree of compliance with the recommendations of the 2009 and 2015 versions of the Spanish guidelines for managing asthma (Guía Española para el Manejo del Asma [GEMA]) and the effect of this compliance on controlling the disease. Material and methods: We conducted an observational ambispective study between September 2015 and April 2016 in which 314 primary care physicians and 2864 patients participated. Results: Using retrospective data, we found that 81 of the 314 physicians (25.8%; 95% CI 21.3–30.9) stated that they complied with the GEMA2009 recommendations. At the start of the study, 88 of the 314 physicians (28.0%; 95% CI 23.4–33.2) complied with the GEMA2015 recommendations. Poorly controlled asthma (OR, 0.19; 95% CI 0.13–0.28) and persistent severe asthma at the start of the study (OR, 0.20; 95% CI 0.12–0.34) were negatively associated with having well-controlled asthma by the end of the follow-up. In contrast, compliance with the GEMA2015 recommendations was positively associated with a greater likelihood that the patient would have well-controlled asthma by the end of the follow-up (OR, 1.70; 95% CI 1.40–2.06). Conclusions: Low compliance with the clinical guidelines for managing asthma is a common problem among primary care physicians. Compliance with these guidelines is associated with better asthma control. Actions need to be taken to improve primary care physician compliance with the asthma management guidelines

Trends in stroke hospitalisation rates and in-hospital mortality in Aragon, 1998-2010

Introduction: Despite the impact of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) on global health, its morbidity and time trends in Spain are not precisely known. Objective: The purpose of our study was to characterise the epidemiology and trends pertaining to stroke in Aragon over the period 1998-2010. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study using the data of the Spanish health system's Minimum Data Set and included all stroke patients admitted to acute care hospitals in Aragon between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2010. We present data globally and broken down by stroke subtype, sex, and age group. Results: The number of cases increased by 13% whereas age- and sex-adjusted hospitalisation rates showed a significant decrease for all types of stroke (mean annual decrease of 1.6%). Men and women in younger age groups showed opposite trends in hospitalisation rates for ischaemic stroke. Case fatality rate at 28 days (17.9%) was higher in patients with intracerebral haemorrhage (35.8%) than in those with subarachnoid haemorrhage (26.2%) or ischaemic stroke (13%). CVD case fatality showed a mean annual decline of 2.8%, at the expense of the fatality rate of ischaemic stroke, and it was more pronounced in men than in women. Discussion: Understanding stroke epidemiology and trends at the regional level will help establish an efficient monitoring system and design appropriate strategies for health planning. Resumen: Introducción: A pesar de la relevancia sanitaria de la enfermedad cerebrovascular (ECV), su morbilidad en España y sus tendencias temporales no se conocen con precisión. Objetivo: El objetivo de nuestro estudio fue caracterizar la epidemiología del ictus en Aragón y su evolución en el periodo 1998-2010. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo retrospectivo a partir de una base de datos extraída del Conjunto Mínimo Básico de Datos, incluyendo todas las altas por ECV de los hospitales de Aragón en el periodo 1998-2010. Se presentan los datos de manera global y separada por tipo de ictus, sexo y franja etaria. Resultados: El número de casos aumentó un 13%, mientras que las tasas de hospitalización ajustadas por edad y sexo han mostrado un descenso significativo para el conjunto de los ictus (descenso medio anual del 1,6%). Hemos observado tendencias opuestas en las tasas de ictus isquémico entre varones y mujeres de los grupos de edad más jóvenes. La tasa de letalidad a los 28 días fue del 17,9%, y fue superior en los pacientes con hemorragia cerebral (35,8%) con respecto a los pacientes con hemorragia subaracnoidea (26,2%) e ictus isquémico (13%). La letalidad por ECV presentó un descenso medio anual del 2,8%, a expensas del descenso observado en el ictus isquémico, y fue más pronunciada en los hombres que en las mujeres. Discusión: El conocimiento de la epidemiología del ictus a nivel regional y sus tendencias contribuirá a establecer un sistema eficiente de vigilancia y diseñar estrategias adecuadas de planificación sanitaria. Keywords: Epidemiology, Cerebrovascular disease, Time trends, Hospitalisation rates, In-hospital mortality, Hospital-based registry, Palabras clave: Epidemiología, Enfermedad cerebrovascular, Tendencias temporales, Tasas de hospitalización, Letalidad hospitalaria, Registros hospitalario

Tendencia de las tasas de hospitalización y de letalidad hospitalaria de la enfermedad cerebrovascular aguda en Aragón en el periodo 1998-2010

Resumen: Introducción: A pesar de la relevancia sanitaria de la enfermedad cerebrovascular (ECV), su morbilidad en España y sus tendencias temporales no se conocen con precisión. Objetivo: El objetivo de nuestro estudio fue caracterizar la epidemiología del ictus en Aragón y su evolución en el periodo 1998-2010. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo retrospectivo a partir de una base de datos extraída del Conjunto Mínimo Básico de Datos, incluyendo todas las altas por ECV de los hospitales de Aragón en el periodo 1998-2010. Se presentan los datos de manera global y separada por tipo de ictus, sexo y franja etaria. Resultados: El número de casos aumentó un 13%, mientras que las tasas de hospitalización ajustadas por edad y sexo han mostrado un descenso significativo para el conjunto de los ictus (descenso medio anual del 1,6%). Hemos observado tendencias opuestas en las tasas de ictus isquémico entre varones y mujeres de los grupos de edad más jóvenes. La tasa de letalidad a los 28 días fue del 17,9%, y fue superior en los pacientes con hemorragia cerebral (35,8%) con respecto a los pacientes con hemorragia subaracnoidea (26,2%) e ictus isquémico (13%). La letalidad por ECV presentó un descenso medio anual del 2,8%, a expensas del descenso observado en el ictus isquémico, y fue más pronunciada en los hombres que en las mujeres. Discusión: El conocimiento de la epidemiología del ictus a nivel regional y sus tendencias contribuirá a establecer un sistema eficiente de vigilancia y diseñar estrategias adecuadas de planificación sanitaria. Abstract: Introduction: Despite the impact of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) on global health, its morbidity and time trends in Spain are not precisely known. Objective: The purpose of our study was to characterise the epidemiology and trends pertaining to stroke in Aragon over the period 1998-2010. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study using the data of the Spanish health system's Minimum Data Set and included all stroke patients admitted to acute care hospitals in Aragon between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2010. We present data globally and broken down by stroke subtype, sex, and age group. Results: The number of cases increased by 13% whereas age- and sex-adjusted hospitalisation rates showed a significant decrease for all types of stroke (mean annual decrease of 1.6%). Men and women in younger age groups showed opposite trends in hospitalisation rates for ischaemic stroke. Case fatality rate at 28 days (17.9%) was higher in patients with intracerebral haemorrhage (35.8%) than in those with subarachnoid haemorrhage (26.2%) or ischaemic stroke (13%). CVD case fatality showed a mean annual decline of 2.8%, at the expense of the fatality rate of ischaemic stroke, and it was more pronounced in men than in women. Discussion: Understanding stroke epidemiology and trends at the regional level will help establish an efficient monitoring system and design appropriate strategies for health planning. Palabras clave: Epidemiología, Enfermedad cerebrovascular, Tendencias temporales, Tasas de hospitalización, Letalidad hospitalaria, Registros hospitalarios, Keywords: Epidemiology, Cerebrovascular disease, Time trends, Hospitalisation rates, In-hospital mortality, Hospital-based registr