Epidemiological studies in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: pitfalls in methodologies and data interpretation

Data on incidence, prevalence and mortality of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are sparse and vary across studies. The true incidence and prevalence of the disease are unknown. In general, the overall prevalence and incidence reported in European and Asian countries are lower than those reported in American studies. In recent years, the epidemiological approach to IPF has been difficult for many reasons. First, the diagnostic criteria of the disease have changed over time. Secondly, the coding system used for IPF in administrative databases, the most common data source used to study this aspect of the disease, has been modified in the past few years. Finally, the study design, the methodology and the population selected in each of the studies are very different. All these aspects make comparisons among studies very difficult or impossible. In this review, we list the main issues that might arise when comparing different studies and that should be taken into consideration when describing the state of epidemiological knowledge concerning this pathology

Using DRG to analyze hospital production: a re-classification model based on a linear tree-network topology

Background: Hospital discharge records are widely classified through the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) system; the version currently used in Italy counts 538 different codes, including thousands of diagnosis and procedures. These numbers reflect the considerable effort of simplification, yet the current classification system is of little use to evaluate hospital production and performance. Methods: As the case-mix of a given Hospital Unit (HU) is driven by its physicians’ specializations, a grouping of DRGs into a specialization-driven classification system has been conceived through the analysis of HUs discharging and the ICD-9-CM codes. We propose a three-folded classification, based on the analysis of 1,670,755 Hospital Discharge Cards (HDCs) produced by Lombardy Hospitals in 2010; it consists of 32 specializations (e.g. Neurosurgery), 124 sub-specialization (e.g. skull surgery) and 337 sub-sub-specialization (e.g. craniotomy). Results: We give a practical application of the three-layered approach, based on the production of a Neurosurgical HU; we observe synthetically the profile of production (1,305 hospital discharges for 79 different DRG codes of 16 different MDC are grouped in few groups of homogeneous DRG codes), a more informative production comparison (through process-specific comparisons, rather than crude or case-mix standardized comparisons) and a potentially more adequate production planning (considering the Neurosurgical HUs of the same city, those produce a limited quote of the whole neurosurgical production, because the same activity can be realized by non-Neurosugical HUs). Conclusion: Our work may help to evaluate the hospital production for a rational planning of available resources, blunting information asymmetries between physicians and managers.&nbsp

Prolonged job strain reduces time-domain heart rate variability on both working and resting days among cardiovascular-susceptible nurses

Introduction Modifications of hearth rate variability (HRV) constitute a marker of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) deregulation, a promising pathway linking job strain (JS) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The study objective is to assess whether exposures to recent and prolonged JS reduce time-domain HRV parameters on working days (WD) among CVD-susceptible nurses and whether the association also persists on resting days (RD). Material and methods 313 healthy nurses were investigated twice with one year interval to assess JS based on the demand-control and the effort-reward models. 36, 9 and 16 CVD-susceptible nurses were classified as low JS in both surveys (stable low strain – SLS), recent high JS (high JS at the second screening only-RHS) and prolonged high JS (high strain in both surveys-PHS), respectively. In 9, 7 and 10 of them, free from comorbidities/treatments interfering with HRV, two 24-h ECG recordings were performed on WD and RD. Differences in the time domain HRV metrics among JS categories were assessed using ANCOVA, adjusted for age and smoking. Results In the entire sample (mean age: 39 years, 83% females) the prevalence of high job strain was 38.7% in the second survey. SDNN (standard deviation of all normal RR intervals) on WD significantly declined among JS categories (p = 0.02), with geometric mean values of 169.1, 145.3 and 128.9 ms in SLS, RHS, PHS, respectively. In the PHS group, SDNN remained lower on RD as compared to the low strain subjects (142.4 vs. 171.1 ms, p = 0.02). Similar findings were found for the SDNN_Index, while SDANN (standard deviation of average RR intervals in all 5 min segments of registration) mean values reduced in the PHS group during WD only. Conclusions Our findings suggest that persistent JS lowers HRV time-domain parameters, supporting the hypothesis that the ANS disorders may play an intermediate role in the relationship between work stress and CVD

Spinal Fusion Surgery: Epidemiologic and Economic Burden Attributable to First Intervention

IntroductionLow back pain (LBP) is the single most common cause for disability in individuals aged 50 years or younger with a high socioeconomic impact. In USA, LBP costs are estimated to exceed $1..

DENALI: il Data Warehouse di Sanità Pubblica della Regione Lombardia

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Costs and effectiveness of influenza vaccination: a systematic review

Background: Seasonal influenza can cause a significant public health burden. Vaccination is proposed as the most effective measure to prevent influenza and related undesired outcomes. Objective: To estimate the efficiency of influenza vaccination. Methods: A literature review of economic evaluations of influenza vaccinations, published over the last 5 years, was performed using MEDLINE (through PubMed), Web of Science and Scopus. Results: 935 papers were identified and 30 were selected, including studies performed in different population subgroups: general population, children, adults, elderly, pregnant women and high risk patients. Twenty-one studies were performed in Europe and in US. The majority of the studies were carried out on elderly patients and children. All except one were cost-effectiveness analyses and reported influenza vaccination as a cost-saving or cost-effective intervention. Conclusions: Vaccination strategies are economically favourable in a range of countries and sub-groups of patients.

The CRACK programme: a scientific alliance for bridging healthcare research and public health policies in Italy

Healthcare utilisation databases, and other secondary data sources, have been used with growing frequency to assess health outcomes and healthcare interventions worldwide. Their increased popularity as a research tool is due to their timely availability, the large patient populations covered, low cost, and applicability for studying real-world clinical practice. Despite the need to measure Italian National Health Service performance both at regional and national levels, the wealth of good quality electronic data and the high standards of scientific research in this field, healthcare research and public health policies seem to progress along orthogonal dimensions in Italy. The main barriers to the development of evidence-based public health include the lack of understanding of evidence-based methodologies by policy makers, and of involvement of researchers in the policy process. The CRACK programme was launched by some academics from the Lombardy Region. By extensively using electronically stored data, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, pharmacologists and clinicians applied methods and evidence to several issues of healthcare research. The CRACK programme was based on their intention to remove barriers that thwart the process of bridging methods and findings from scientific journals to public health practice. This paper briefly describes aim, articulation and management of the CRACK programme, and discusses why it might find articulated application in Italy

Procedure di record linkage in epidemiologia: uno studio multicentrico italiano, Record-linkage procedures in epidemiology: an italian multicentre study

Abstract Objective: to compare record linkage (RL) procedures adopted in several Italian settings and a standard probabilistic RL procedure for matching data from electronic health care databases. Design: two health care archives are matched: the hospital discharges (HD) archive and the population registry of four Italian areas. Exact deterministic, stepwise deterministic techniques and a standard probabilistic RL procedure are applied to match HD for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and diabetes mellitus. Sensitivity and specificity for RL procedures are estimated after manual review. Age and gender standardized annual hospitalization rates for AMI and diabetes are computed using different RL procedures and compared

Valutazione dei processi assistenziali e del carico economico dei soggetti con ospedalizzazione incidente di infarto acuto del miocardio mediante il Data Warehouse DENALI

Aims: this study wants to estimate the economic burden of incident Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) registered in Lombardy (about 9.2 million residents). Method and results: a longitudinal study was conducted using a Data Warehouse (DENALI) that organised Healthcare Administrative databases of Lombardy related to eligibility criteria, hospital discharges (HDs), pharmaceutical and outpatient claims of citizens. All individuals with a HD for a first event of AMI during 2003 were identified and followed for 12 months. During 2003 12,049 individuals (64% males, mean age 70 +/-13 y.o.) had a HD for incident AMI. The total cost during the first year was € 163 million, corresponding to the 1% of the healthca re budget of Lombardy. The monthly cost in the first year was € 1,249 per person (77% attributable to HDs, 15% to pharmaceuticals and 8% to outpatient care). While most of the uptake of drugs used in secondary prevention was quick and happened in the first 3 months after the index event, the phenomenon of non persistence at 12 months was relevant. Conclusion: this large study on the burden of AMI shows the epidemiologic, economic and clinical impact of the disease. DENALI, with its large population followed over time, is a powerful and dynamic tool for epidemiologic and health economic research