P.Re.Val.E.: outcome research program for the evaluation of health care quality in Lazio, Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>P.Re.Val.E. is the most comprehensive comparative evaluation program of healthcare outcomes in Lazio, an Italian region, and the first Italian study to make health provider performance data available to the public.</p> <p>The aim of this study is to describe the P.Re.Val.E. and the impact of releasing performance data to the public.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>P.Re.Val.E. included 54 outcome/process indicators encompassing many different clinical areas. Crude and adjusted rates were estimated for the 2006-2009 period. Multivariate regression models and direct standardization procedures were used to control for potential confounding due to individual characteristics. Variable life-adjusted display charts were developed, and 2008-2009 results were compared with those from 2006-2007.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results of 54 outcome indicators were published online at <url>http://www.epidemiologia.lazio.it/prevale10/index.php</url>.</p> <p>Public disclosure of the indicators' results caused mixed reactions but finally promoted discussion and refinement of some indicators.</p> <p>Based on the P.Re.Val.E. experience, the Italian National Agency for Regional Health Services has launched a National Outcome Program aimed at systematically comparing outcomes in hospitals and local health units in Italy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>P.Re.Val.E. highlighted aspects of patient care that merit further investigation and monitoring to improve healthcare services and equity.</p

Prevalence of antibiotic prescription in pediatric outpatients in Italy: the role of local health districts and primary care physicians in determining variation. A multilevel design for healthcare decision support

Abstract Background According to scientific literature, antibacterials are prescribed for common pediatric conditions that do not benefit from antibiotic therapy. The link between antibiotic use and bacterial resistance is well known. Antibiotic overprescribing generates high social costs and severe consequences for children. Our objectives were to analyze antibiotic prescription patterns in pediatric outpatients residing in the Lazio region (Italy), to identify physicians’ characteristics associated with increased propensity for prescription, to identify the priority axes for action to improve the rational use of antibiotics. Methods We enrolled all children aged 13 years or less in 2014. Antibiotic prescription patterns were analyzed during a one-year follow-up period. The main outcome measures were the antibiotic prescription prevalence, and the geographic variation in antibiotic prescribing. Multilevel models were performed to analyze variation. Variation was expressed as Median Odds Ratios (MORs). If the MOR is 1.00, there is no variation between clusters. If there is considerable between-cluster variation, the MOR will be large. Results We enrolled 636,911 children. Most of them were aged 6–13 years (57.3%). In 2015, the antibiotic prescription prevalence was 46% in the 0–13, 58% in the 0–5, and 37% in the 6–13 age group. Overall, penicillins were the most prescribed antibiotics, their consumption increased from 43% to 52% during the 2007–2015 period. In 2015, the antibiotic prescription prevalence ranged from 30% to 62% across local health districts (LHDs) of the region. Moreover, a significant (p < 0.001) variation was observed between physicians working in the same LHD: MORs were equal to 1.52 (1.48–1.56) and 1.46 (1.44–1.48) in the 0–5 and 6–13 age groups, respectively. The probability of prescribing antibiotics was significantly (p < 0.001) lower for more-experienced physicians. Conclusions Pediatric antibiotic use in the Lazio region is much higher than in other European countries. The intra-regional drug prescribing variability underlines the lack of therapeutic protocols shared at regional level and raises equity issues in access to optimal care. Both LHD managers and individual physicians should be involved in training interventions to improve the targeted use of antibiotics and mitigate the effect of contextual variables, such as the spatial-related socioeconomic status of the patient/parent binomial

The effect of heat waves on mortality in susceptible groups : a cohort study of a Mediterranean and a Northern Europe city

Background: Climate change is projected to increase the number and intensity of extreme weather events, for example heat waves. Heat waves have adverse health effects, especially for the elderly, since chronic diseases are more frequent in that group than in the population overall. The aim of the study was to investigate mortality during heat waves in an adult population aged 50 years or over, as well as in susceptible subgroups of that population in Rome and Stockholm during the summer periods from 2000 to 2008. Methods: We collected daily number of deaths occurring between 15th May and 15th September each year for the population above 50 as well as the susceptible subgroups. Heat wave days were defined as two or more days exceeding the city specific 95th percentile of maximum apparent temperature (MAT). The relationship between heat waves and all-cause non-accidental mortality was investigated through time series modelling, adjusting for time trends. Results: The percent increase in daily mortality during heat waves as compared to normal summer days was, in the 50+ population, 22% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 18-26%) in Rome and 8% (95% CI: 3-12%) in Stockholm. Subgroup specific increase in mortality in Rome ranged from 7% (95% CI:–17-39%) among survivors of myocardial infarction to 25% in the COPD (95% CI:9-43%) and diabetes (95% CI:14-37%) subgroups. In Stockholm the range was from 10% (95% CI: 2-19%) for congestive heart failure to 33% (95% CI: 10-61%) for the psychiatric subgroup. Conclusions: Mortality during heat waves increased in both Rome and Stockholm for the 50+ population as well as in the considered subgroups. It should be evaluated if protective measures should be directed towards susceptible groups, rather than the population as a whole.Daniel Oudin Åström was funded by a grant from The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS:2009–0454) awarded to Professor Bertil Forsberg. This work was carried out within the EU project “Public Health Adaptation Strategies to Extreme weather events–PHASE” (contract number EAHC 20101103).the EU project “Public Health Adaptation Strategies to Extreme weather events–PHASE” (contract number EAHC 20101103

Developing and validating a novel multisource comorbidity score from administrative data: a large population-based cohort study from Italy

To develop and validate a novel comorbidity score (multisource comorbidity score (MCS)) predictive of mortality, hospital admissions and healthcare costs using multiple source information from the administrative Italian National Health System (NHS) databases

Effectiveness of adherence to recommended clinical examinations of diabetic patients in preventing diabetes-related hospitalizations

Objective: To validate a set of indicators for quality of diabetes care through their relationship with measurable clinical outcomes. Design: A retrospective cohort study was carried out from 2010 to 2015. Setting: Population-based study. Data were retrieved from healthcare utilization databases of three Italian regions (Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Lazio) on the whole covering 20 million citizens. Participants: The 77 285 individuals who were newly taken in care for diabetes during 2010 entered into the cohort. Interventions: Exposure to selected clinical recommendations (i.e. periodic controls for glycated hemoglobin, lipid profile, urine albumin excretion, serum creatinine and dilated eye exams) was recorded. Main outcomes measures: A composite outcome was employed taking into account hospitalizations for brief-term diabetes complications, uncontrolled diabetes, long-term vascular outcomes and no traumatic lower limb amputation. A multivariable proportional hazards model was fitted to estimate hazard ratio, and 95% confidence intervals (CI), for the exposure-outcome association. Results: Among the newly taken in care patients with diabetes, those who adhered to almost none (0 or 1), just some (2 or 3) or almost all (4 or 5) recommendations during the first year after diagnosis were 44%, 36% and 20%, respectively. Compared patients who adhered to almost none recommendation, significant risk reductions of 16% (95% CI, 6-24%) and 20% (7-28%) were observed for those who adhered to just some and almost all recommendations, respectively. Conclusions: Tight control of patients with diabetes through regular clinical examinations must to be considered the cornerstone of national guidance, national audits and quality improvement incentives schemes

Developing and validating a novel multisource comorbidity score from administrative data: a large population-based cohort study from Italy

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a novel comorbidity score (multisource comorbidity score (MCS)) predictive of mortality, hospital admissions and healthcare costs using multiple source information from the administrative Italian National Health System (NHS) databases. METHODS: An index of 34 variables (measured from inpatient diagnoses and outpatient drug prescriptions within 2 years before baseline) independently predicting 1-year mortality in a sample of 500 000 individuals aged 50 years or older randomly selected from the NHS beneficiaries of the Italian region of Lombardy (training set) was developed. The corresponding weights were assigned from the regression coefficients of a Weibull survival model. MCS performance was evaluated by using an internal (ie, another sample of 500 000 NHS beneficiaries from Lombardy) and three external (each consisting of 500 000 NHS beneficiaries from Emilia-Romagna, Lazio and Sicily) validation sets. Discriminant power and net reclassification improvement were used to compare MCS performance with that of other comorbidity scores. MCS ability to predict secondary health outcomes (ie, hospital admissions and costs) was also investigated. RESULTS: Primary and secondary outcomes progressively increased with increasing MCS value. MCS improved the net 1-year mortality reclassification from 27% (with respect to the Chronic Disease Score) to 69% (with respect to the Elixhauser Index). MCS discrimination performance was similar in the four regions of Italy we tested, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (95% CI) being 0.78 (0.77 to 0.79) in Lombardy, 0.78 (0.77 to 0.79) in Emilia-Romagna, 0.77 (0.76 to 0.78) in Lazio and 0.78 (0.77 to 0.79) in Sicily. CONCLUSION: MCS seems better than conventional scores for predicting health outcomes, at least in the general population from Italy. This may offer an improved tool for risk adjustment, policy planning and identifying patients in need of a focused treatment approach in the everyday medical practice

Inverse correlation between plasma 2‐arachidonoylglycerol levels and subjective severity of depression

Objective: Endocannabinoids have been implicated in the pathophysiology of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and might represent potential targets for therapeutic intervention. Objectives of the study were: (1) to measure plasma levels of endocannabinoids in a group of antidepressant-free depressed outpatients; (2) to explore their relationship with the severity of depressive symptoms as subjectively perceived by the patients; and (3) to investigate the effect of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor escitalopram on endocannabinoid levels. Methods: We measured plasma levels of the two major endocannabinoids, 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anadamide), in 12 drug-free outpatients diagnosed with MDD and in 12 matched healthy controls. In the patient group, endocannabinoids plasma levels were assessed at baseline and after 2 months of treatment with escitalopram. Results: Baseline plasma levels of the two endocannabinoids did not differ between depressed patients and healthy controls. However, there was a significant inverse correlation between 2-arachidonoylglycerol levels and the severity of subjectively perceived depressive symptoms. Treatment with escitalopram did not change endocannabinoid levels in depressed patients, although it caused the expected improvement of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Our results suggest that 2-arachidonylglycerol, the most abundant endocannabinoid in the central nervous system, might act to mitigate depressive symptoms, and raise the interesting possibility that 2-arachidonylglycerol and anandamide are differentially regulated in patients affected by MDD. Also, our data suggest but do not prove that the endocannabino