Identification of patients undergoing chronic kidney replacement therapy in primary and secondary care data: validation study based on OpenSAFELY and UK Renal Registry.

Objective: To validate primary and secondary care codes in electronic health records to identify people receiving chronic kidney replacement therapy based on gold standard registry data. Design: Validation study using data from OpenSAFELY and the UK Renal Registry, with the approval of NHS England. Setting: Primary and secondary care electronic health records from people registered at 45% of general practices in England on 1 January 2020, linked to data from the UK Renal Registry (UKRR) within the OpenSAFELY-TPP platform, part of the NHS England OpenSAFELY covid-19 service. Participants: 38 745 prevalent patients (recorded as receiving kidney replacement therapy on 1 January 2020 in UKRR data, or primary or secondary care data) and 10 730 incident patients (starting kidney replacement therapy during 2020), from a population of 19 million people alive and registered with a general practice in England on 1 January 2020. Main outcome measures: Sensitivity and positive predictive values of primary and secondary care code lists for identifying prevalent and incident kidney replacement therapy cohorts compared with the gold standard UKRR data on chronic kidney replacement therapy. Agreement across the data sources overall, and by treatment modality (transplantation or dialysis) and personal characteristics. Results: Primary and secondary care code lists were sensitive for identifying the UKRR prevalent cohort (91.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) 90.8% to 91.6%) and 92.0% (91.6% to 92.4%), respectively), but not the incident cohort (52.3% (50.3% to 54.3%) and 67.9% (66.1% to 69.7%)). Positive predictive values were low (77.7% (77.2% to 78.2%) for primary care data and 64.7% (64.1% to 65.3%) for secondary care data), particularly for chronic dialysis (53.7% (52.9% to 54.5%) for primary care data and 49.1% (48.0% to 50.2%) for secondary care data). Sensitivity decreased with age and index of multiple deprivation in primary care data, but the opposite was true in secondary care data. Agreement was lower in children, with 30% (295/980) featuring in all three datasets. Half (1165/2315) of the incident patients receiving dialysis in UKRR data had a kidney replacement therapy code in the primary care data within three months of the start date of the kidney replacement therapy. No codes existed whose exclusion would substantially improve the positive predictive value without a decrease in sensitivity. Conclusions: Codes used in primary and secondary care data failed to identify a small proportion of prevalent patients receiving kidney replacement therapy. Codes also identified many patients who were not recipients of chronic kidney replacement therapy in UKRR data, particularly dialysis codes. Linkage with UKRR kidney replacement therapy data facilitated more accurate identification of incident and prevalent kidney replacement therapy cohorts for research into this vulnerable population. Poor coding has implications for any patient care (including eligibility for vaccination, resourcing, and health policy responses in future pandemics) that relies on accurate reporting of kidney replacement therapy in primary and secondary care data.

Kidney transplantation and patients who decline SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: an ethical framework.

As SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have started to be rolled out, a key question facing transplant units has been whether listing for transplantation should be contingent on recipients having received a vaccine. We aimed to provide an ethical framework when considering potential transplant candidates who decline vaccination. We convened a working group comprising transplant professionals, lay members and patients and undertook a literature review and consensus process. This group's work was also informed by discussions in two hospital clinical ethics committees. We have reviewed arguments for and against mandating vaccination prior to listing for kidney transplantation and considered some practical difficulties which may be associated with a policy of mandated vaccination. Rather than requiring that all patients must receive the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine prior to transplant listing, we recommend considering vaccination status as one of a number of SARS-CoV-2-related risk factors in relation to transplant listing. Transplant units should engage in individualised risk-benefit discussions with patients, avoid the language of mandated treatments and strongly encourage uptake of the vaccine in all patient groups, using tailor-made educational initiatives.

Gram-negative infections: evolving treatments with expanding options.

Antibiotic resistance was a major topic of interest for the nearly 13,000 physicians, microbiologists and scientists who attended European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) 2018. Much discussion centered round the potential benefits of novel antibiotics that are either already approved or under investigation in the treatment of infections caused by resistant Gram-negative pathogens. There was also general acceptance of the importance of ensuring that antibiotic stewardship is implemented in every ward throughout every hospital to ensure that these novel drugs are used appropriately and to combat the development of resistance.

Know your enemy: managing resistant Gram-negative infections.

Report from the 28th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2018), Madrid, Spain, 21-24 April 2018 Gram-negative bacteria such as Klebsiella, Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas cause some of the most serious infections and are increasingly resistant to multiple drugs and in some cases, to all available antibiotics. Management of infections caused by these organisms is a global challenge that has serious implications for every hospital and department and therefore every delegate attending ECCMID 2018.

Current and future options for cytomegalovirus reactivation in hematopoietic cell transplantation patients.

Report from the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood & Marrow Transplantation 2017, 26-29 March 2017, Marseille, France Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation is a potentially life-threatening complication in immunocompromised recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Its management was therefore a key topic for over 5000 delegates from 85 countries attending the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood & Marrow Transplantation 2017. The currently available anti-CMV armamentarium is seldom used to prevent CMV reactivation due to the associated myelosuppression and renal toxicity. Following HCT, CMV reactivation is generally managed pre-emptively using sensitive assays for early detection of viral DNA (and to a lesser extent antigenemia) and, where necessary, treatment with antiviral drugs with the aim of preventing CMV disease. However, any degree of CMV reactivation increases the risk of mortality, and novel antiviral therapies may offer the possibility of prophylaxis to prevent CMV reactivation and improve survival after HCT.

Invasive fungal infections: managing the continuum of risk in HCT patients.

43rd Annual Meeting of the EBMT, 26-29 March 2017, Marseille, France The European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) was established in 1974 to enable scientists and physicians to share their experience and develop studies in clinical bone marrow transplantation. Despite advances in treatment, invasive fungal infections (IFI), especially those caused by moulds such as Aspergillus, remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with hematological malignancies. There is a continuum of risk of IFI during induction and consolidation therapy, and after hematopoietic cell transplantation. New, evidence-based approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of IFI were, therefore, of major interest to the over 5000 delegates from 85 countries attending the 43rd EBMT Annual Meeting (EBMT 2017).

Optimizing antifungal strategies to improve patient survival.

Report from the 26th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2016), 9-12 April Amsterdam, The Netherlands Invasive fungal infections are a major threat to the lives of the increasing number of immunocompromized patients, but neutropenic hemato-oncology patients are at especially high risk. Since effective antifungal treatment and prophylaxis are critical to improve survival in these patients, the emergence of antifungal drug resistance has become an increasing cause of concern. Mortality from invasive fungal infection also remains high even when patients receive appropriate and timely antifungal therapy. These important topics were among those discussed by the over 11,600 clinical microbiologists and infectious disease physicians from more than 120 countries attending the 26th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

ECCMID 2016: addressing the burden of recurrent Clostridium difficile infections.

26th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), 9-12th April 2016, Amsterdam, The Netherlands The European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) is the annual scientific meeting of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology. ECCMID 2016, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, was attended by over 11,600 clinical microbiologists and infectious disease physicians from more than 120 countries. The Congress offered an essential opportunity to learn more about the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of healthcare-associated infections, especially those caused by Clostridium difficile. Recurrent C. difficile infections have an especially serious adverse impact on patients, their families and healthcare systems across Europe and around the world, and continue to be a cause for concern among ECCMID delegates and their colleagues responsible for managing vulnerable patients in acute hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Antifungal prophylaxis: why, what and how?

41st Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT 2015), Istanbul, Turkey, 22-25 March 2015 The European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) is the leading scientific society for professionals involved in hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) and represents 563 transplant centers from 57 countries within and outside Europe. Each year, the EBMT Annual Meeting brings together over 4,500 scientists, physicians, nurses, biologists, technicians and patients to discuss scientific data that build on past achievements in the field of HSCT. The procedure offers the chance of long-term remission of hematological and lymphoid cancers, but patients are at increased risk of serious infections, especially after allogeneic HSCT. These infections include the invasive fungal infections that were among the important topics discussed during EBMT 2015.

Celebrating 40 years of progress in bone marrow transplantation: a report from the 40th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

The European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation was established in 1974 to enable scientists and physicians involved in clinical bone marrow transplantation to share their experience and develop cooperative studies. The organization celebrated its 40th anniversary with a meeting that considered hematopoietic stem cell transplantation not as a standalone procedure, but as part of a complex therapeutic program managed by a multidisciplinary professional team. The role of antifungal prophylaxis, emerging resistance in Aspergillus, the management of mucormycosis and new guidelines on antifungal therapy were among the topics discussed by the physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and scientists attending the 40th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

Meeting the challenge of invasive fungal infections: part 1.

The European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), the annual meeting of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, is now the world's largest conference on infectious diseases. This year, the meeting attracted a global attendance of more than 10,000 scientists and clinicians to share state-of-the-art information on infectious diseases. This article, the first of a two-part report on the ECCMID 2013 conference, reviews sessions on the increasing challenges and emerging new threats from invasive fungal infections.

Meeting the challenge of invasive fungal infections: part 2.

The 23rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2013 Berlin, Germany, 27-30 April 2013. This second and final installment of the report on the 23rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases follows on from Part 1, published in the September 2013 (volume 8, issue 9) issue of Future Microbiology. Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are a well-recognized complication in immunocompromised patients, with neutropenic patients with leukemia and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients at especially high risk. Early diagnosis of IFIs is essential, since delaying the initiation of adequate antifungal therapy increases the risk of death. The rapid diagnosis, and effective treatment and prophylaxis of IFIs were among the topics discussed during the 2013 conference of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2013).