Heart Failure among Older Home Care Clients: An Examination of Client Needs, Medication Use and Outcomes

Population aging in Canada is associated with a rising burden of heart failure (HF), a condition associated with substantial morbidity, mortality and health service use. HF management involves pharmacotherapy, exercise, dietary restrictions and symptom monitoring. First-line combination pharmacotherapy for HF consists of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE inhibitor) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) in conjunction with a β-adrenergic receptor blocker (β-blocker). This combination therapy can reduce mortality, improve symptoms and reduce health service use. However, evidence about the benefits of these therapies has been derived from randomized controlled trials in younger patients from acute care and specialty clinic settings. Little work has explored outcomes among older individuals and those in the community setting. In purposely studying an older cohort of individuals with HF, the goals of this research were three-fold: to comprehensively describe their sociodemographic, clinical and service use characteristics; to describe rates of usage of first-line HF pharmacotherapy and correlates of non-use; and to examine the outcomes of mortality, long-term care (LTC) admission, long-stay hospitalization, admission, new cognitive decline and new functional decline as well as predictors of these outcomes. To achieve these aims, this work made use of the extensive data available through the Resident Assessment Instrument – Home Care (RAI-HC) database in Ontario. The RAI-HC is mandated for use in Ontario to assess all long-stay home care clients (those expected to receive home care service for at least 60 days). This assessment contains over 300 items about sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, diagnoses, service use and geriatric conditions, such as functional abilities and cognition. The study samples included long-stay home care clients older than 65 years of age. The descriptive analyses (N=264,030) demonstrated that older home care clients with HF are a more complex group than home care clients without HF, with more comorbidity and higher use of medications and health care services. From the analyses examining pharmacotherapy use (N=176,860), rates of use of first-line pharmacotherapy were low, with only 30% of clients with HF receiving recommended combination first-line therapies, a similar proportion receiving no therapies and the remainder receiving at least one therapy. The multivariate analyses revealed that hypertension and diabetes mellitus diagnoses affect first-line therapy use. Regardless of clinical subgroup, use of these therapies was less likely among older clients and those with functional impairment, airway disease or behavioural symptoms. Longitudinal analyses were done using Cox proportional hazards regression modeling (N=9,283) in which individuals were followed for nine months after each RAI-HC assessment. Results from these analyses showed that female gender and living alone reduced the risk of all outcomes except LTC admission, while age over 85 years generally increased the risk of all examined outcomes. Comprehensive clinical indicators, the Changes in Health, End-stage disease, Signs and Symptoms (CHESS) scale and Method for Assigning Priority Level (MAPLe) algorithm, increased the risk of all outcomes except new cognitive decline. ACE inhibitor use was protective of LTC admission and functional decline, but not mortality, long-stay hospitalizations or cognitive decline. The complexity of older individuals with HF could impair self-care abilities and points to the need for initiatives to help such individuals manage their care at home with appropriate support and services. The low rates of use of first-line pharmacotherapy among older home care clients with HF highlights the need for better understanding of which factors affect prescribing practices. Better evidence, that is more applicable to older individuals with HF, is needed about the therapeutic benefits of first-line therapies to help enhance the evidence base and improve patient care

Diagnostic data for neurological conditions in interRAI assessments in home care, nursing home and mental health care settings: a validity study

Background: The interRAI suite of assessment instruments can provide valuable information to support person-specific care planning across the continuum of care. Comprehensive clinical information is collected with these instruments, including disease diagnoses. In Canada, interRAI data holdings represent some of the largest repositories of clinical information in the country for persons with neurological conditions. This study examined the accuracy of the diagnostic information captured by interRAI instruments designed for use in the home care, long-term care and mental health care settings as compared with national administrative databases. Methods: The interRAI assessments were matched with an inpatient hospital record and emergency department (ED) visit record in the preceding 90 days. Diagnoses captured on the interRAI instruments were compared to those recorded in either administrative record for each individual. Diagnostic validity was examined through sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value analysis for the following conditions: multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury, stroke, diabetes mellitus, heart failure and reactive airway disease. Results: In the three large study samples (home care: n = 128,448; long-term care: n = 26,644; mental health: n = 13,812), interRAI diagnoses demonstrated high specificity when compared to administrative records, for both neurological conditions (range 0.80 - 1.00) and comparative chronic diseases (range 0.83 - 1.00). Sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were more varied by specific diagnosis, with sensitivities and PPV for neurological conditions ranging from 0.23 to 0.94 and 0.14 to 0.77, respectively. The interRAI assessments routinely captured more cases of the diagnoses of interest than the administrative records. Conclusions: The interRAI assessment collected accurate information about disease diagnoses when compared to administrative records within three months. Such information is likely relevant to day-to-day care in these three environments and can be used to inform care planning and resource allocation decisions.Public Health Agency of Canada. In addition, Dr. Hirdes’ participation is supported through the Ontario Home Care Research and Knowledge Exchange Chair funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. Dr. Marrie is supported, in part, by a Don Paty Career Development Award from the MS Society of Canad

The Value of Admission Clinical Data for Diagnosing Heart Failure in Long-term Care

Background Heart failure (HF) is common in long-term care (LTC). Diagnostic uncertainty is important barrier to optimal HF management, stemming from inadequate health information transfer upon LTC admission. We determine the utility of admission clinical information to confirm a HF diagnosis in new LTC residents. Methods This was a prospective cohort study. From February 2004 to November 2006, information about new residents from 41 LTC homes in Ontario, Canada, was collected from residents and caregivers, and all available health records. A prior HF diagnosis was confirmed by consensus review of available data by two independent experts. Multivariate modelling was utilized to determine the utility of the admission clinical assessment in confirming a prior HF diagnosis. Results A total of 449 residents were included for analysis, aged84.3±6.5 years, and 21.6% had a prior HF diagnosis. The most useful clinical item for diagnosing HF was a “history of HF”. The final model included “history of HF’ (OR [odds ratio] 13.66, 95% CI 6.61–28.24), “fluid on the lungs” (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.04–3.89), “orthopnea” (OR 1.76, 95% CI 0.93–3.33), “taking β-blocker” (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.10– 3.94), “taking loop diuretics” (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.12–3.98), and “history of coronary artery disease” (OR 2.83, 95% CI 1.42–5.64). Conclusion Elements of the clinical assessment for new LTC residents can help confirm a prior HF diagnosis. An admission history of HF is highly predictiveCanadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; Study ID 117947-BCA-CEBA-126289

Adverse events among Ontario home care clients associated with emergency room visit or hospitalization: a retrospective cohort study

Background: Home care (HC) is a critical component of the ongoing restructuring of healthcare in Canada. It impacts three dimensions of healthcare delivery: primary healthcare, chronic disease management, and aging at home strategies. The purpose of our study is to investigate a significant safety dimension of HC, the occurrence of adverse events and their related outcomes. The study reports on the incidence of HC adverse events, the magnitude of the events, the types of events that occur, and the consequences experienced by HC clients in the province of Ontario. Methods: A retrospective cohort design was used, utilizing comprehensive secondary databases available for Ontario HC clients from the years 2008 and 2009. The data were derived from the Canadian Home Care Reporting System, the Hospital Discharge Abstract Database, the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System, the Ontario Mental Health Reporting System, and the Continuing Care Reporting System. Descriptive analysis was used to identify the type and frequency of the adverse events recorded and the consequences of the events. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between the events and their consequences. Results: The study found that the incident rate for adverse events for the HC clients included in the cohort was 13%. The most frequent adverse events identified in the databases were injurious falls, injuries from other than a fall, and medication-related incidents. With respect to outcomes, we determined that an injurious fall was associated with a significant increase in the odds of a client requiring long-term-care facility admission and of client death. We further determined that three types of events, delirium, sepsis, and medication-related incidents were associated directly with an increase in the odds of client death. Conclusions: Our study concludes that 13% of clients in homecare experience an adverse event annually. We also determined that an injurious fall was the most frequent of the adverse events and was associated with increased admission to long-term care or death. We recommend the use of tools that are presently available in Canada, such as the Resident Assessment Instrument and its Clinical Assessment Protocols, for assessing and mitigating the risk of an adverse event occurring.This work was supported by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute; Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (Institutes of Health Services and Policy Research, Aging, Circulatory and Respiratory Health and Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis); the Change Foundation; and the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (grant number HC-10-05 Doran-Blais

Adverse Events Associated with Hospitalization or Detected through the RAI-HC Assessment among Canadian Home Care Clients

Background: The occurrence of adverse events (AEs) in care settings is a patient safety concern that has significant consequences across healthcare systems. Patient safety problems have been well documented in acute care settings; however, similar data for clients in home care (HC) settings in Canada are limited. The purpose of this Canadian study was to investigate AEs in HC, specifically those associated with hospitalization or detected through the Resident Assessment Instrument for Home Care (RAI-HC). Method: A retrospective cohort design was used. The cohort consisted of HC clients from the provinces of Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. Results: The overall incidence rate of AEs associated with hospitalization ranged from 6% to 9%. The incidence rate of AEs determined from the RAI-HC was 4%. Injurious falls, injuries from other than fall and medication-related events were the most frequent AEs associated with hospitalization, whereas new caregiver distress was the most frequent AE identified through the RAI-HC. Conclusion: The incidence of AEs from all sources of data ranged from 4% to 9%. More resources are needed to target strategies for addressing safety risks in HC in a broader context. Tools such as the RAI-HC and its Clinical Assessment Protocols, already available in Canada, could be very useful in the assessment and management of HC clients who are at safety risk.Canadian Patient Safety Institute, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Institutes of Health Services and Policy Research, Aging, Circulatory and Respiratory Health and Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis), the Change Foundation, the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (grant number HC-10-105 Doran-Blais