Ambulatory surgery centers: possible solution to improve cataract healthcare in medical deserts.

PURPOSE: To investigate the epidemiological impact of an ambulatory cataract surgery center providing a fast-track procedure without anesthetic evaluation on the access to cataract healthcare. SETTING: French nationwide study. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. METHODS: The study included individuals undergoing cataract surgery from the French national administrative database of medical information. Data analyses focused on patients living in the Cher and neighboring areas. Epidemiological indicators of patient flow and healthcare efficiency were calculated. A medicoeconomic analysis was performed. RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2018, activity increased by +50.2% (3665 to 5506) interventions in the Cher area compared with a national increase of +22.7% (720 351/884 254), while maintaining a constant ophthalmologist workforce. The leakage ratio decreased by 5.9 points (26.3% to 20.4%), whereas the attractiveness and self-sufficiency ratios increased by 2.3 (8.6% to 10.9%) and 8.6 (80.6% to 89.2%) points, respectively. The age- and sex-standardized rate of healthcare utilization for cataract surgery increased by 4.3 points (11.6 to 15.9 cataract surgeries per 1000 inhabitants), making the Cher the second best French area in 2018 for the rate of cataract surgery despite ranking 96th of 109 French areas for ophthalmologist density. The cost of the cataract removal procedure was 523.99€ (666.22€ in the conventional operating room). CONCLUSIONS: An ambulatory cataract surgery center with a fast-track procedure could represent a solution in medical deserts to improve cataract healthcare without supplementary funding. Nonetheless, consulting activity should be optimized to detect eye disorders and schedule interventions.

Clinical and economic outcomes of infective endocarditis.

BACKGROUND: In France, the estimated annual incidence of infective endocarditis (IE) is 33.8 cases per million residents. Valvular surgery is frequently undergone. We report an epidemiological and economic study of IE for 2007-2009 in a French region, using the hospital discharge database (HDD). METHODS: The population studied concerned all the patients living in Centre region, France, hospitalized for IE. We extracted hospital stay data for IE from the regional HDD, with a definition based on IE-related diagnosis codes. The predictive positive value (PPV) and sensitivity (Se) of the definition were 87.4% and 90%, respectively, according to the Duke criteria (definite IE frequency 74.4%). Hospitalization costs were estimated, taking into account the fixed hospital charges of the diagnosis-related group (DRG) and supplementary charges due to intensive care unit (ICU) stay. RESULTS: The analysis included 578 patients. The annual average incidence was 45.4 cases per million residents. Valvular surgery was performed in 19.4% of cases. The hospital mortality was 17.6%. Multivariate analysis identified as risk factors for mortality an age ≥ 70 years (odds ratio (OR) = 3.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.78-5.18), staphylococcal IE (OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.9-5.7), chronic renal insufficiency (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.00-4.15), ischemic stroke (OR = 2.55, 95% CI = 1.19-5.47), and hemorrhagic stroke (OR = 5.7, 95% CI = 1.9-17.3). The average cost per episode was $20 103 (€15 281). CONCLUSIONS: We report a higher incidence of IE than described by the French national study of 2008. Valvular surgery was considerably less frequent than in the published data, whereas mortality was similar. IE generates substantial costs.