Real world heart failure epidemiology and outcome: A population-based analysis of 88,195 patients.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is frequent and its prevalence is increasing. We aimed to evaluate the epidemiologic features of HF patients, the 1-year follow-up outcomes and the independent predictors of those outcomes at a population level. METHODS AND RESULTS: Population-based longitudinal study including all prevalent HF cases in Catalonia (Spain) on December 31st, 2012. Patients were divided in 3 groups: patients without a previous HF hospitalization, patients with a remote (>1 year) HF hospitalization and patients with a recent (<1 year) HF admission. We analyzed 1year all-cause and HF hospitalizations, and all-cause mortality. Logistic regression was used to identify the independent predictors of each of those outcomes. A total of 88,195 patients were included. Mean age was 77 years, 55% were women. Comorbidities were frequent. Fourteen percent of patients had never been hospitalized, 71% had a remote HF hospitalization and 15% a recent hospitalization. At 1-year follow-up, all-cause and HF hospitalization were 53% and 8.8%, respectively. One-year all-cause mortality rate was 14%, and was higher in patients with a recent HF hospitalization (24%). The presence of diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation or chronic kidney disease was independently associated with all-cause and HF hospitalization and all-cause mortality. Hospital admissions and emergency department visits the previous year were also found to be independently associated with the three study outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Outcomes are different depending on the HF population studied. Some comorbidity, an all-cause hospitalization or emergency department visit the previous year were associated with a worse outcome.

Medical resource use and expenditure in patients with chronic heart failure: a population-based analysis of 88 195 patients.

AIMS: Heart failure (HF) is one of the diseases with greater healthcare expenditure. However, little is known about the cost of HF at a population level. Hence, our aim was to study the population-level distribution and predictors of healthcare expenditure in patients with HF. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was a population-based longitudinal study including all prevalent HF cases in Catalonia (Spain) on 31 December 2012 (n = 88 195). We evaluated 1-year healthcare resource use and expenditure using the Health Department (CatSalut) surveillance system that collects detailed information on healthcare usage for the entire population. Mean age was 77.4 (12) years; 55% were women. One-year mortality rate was 14%. All-cause emergency department visits and unplanned hospitalizations were required at least once in 53.4% and 30.8% of patients, respectively. During 2013, a total of €536.2 million were spent in the care of HF patients (7.1% of the total healthcare budget). The main source of expenditure was hospitalization (39% of the total) whereas outpatient care represented 20% of the total expenditure. In the general population, outpatient care and hospitalization were the main expenses. In multivariate analysis, younger age, higher presence of co-morbidities, and a recent HF or all-cause hospitalization were independently associated with higher healthcare expenditure. CONCLUSIONS: In Catalonia, a large portion of the annual healthcare budget is devoted to HF patients. Unplanned hospitalization represents the main source of healthcare-related expenditure. The knowledge of how expenditure is distributed in a non-selected HF population might allow health providers to plan the distribution of resources in patients with HF.

[Road traffic injuries in Catalonia (Spain): an approach using the minimum data set for acute-care hospitals and emergency resources]. / Lesiones por accidente de tráfico: aproximación desde el conjunto mínimo básico de datos de urgencias y hospitalización de agudos de Cataluña.

OBJECTIVE: To verify the usefulness of the minimum data set (MDS) for acute-care hospitals and emergency resources for the study of road traffic injuries and to describe the use of health resources in Catalonia (Spain). METHODS: The study population consisted of patients treated in any kind of emergency service and patients admitted for acute hospitalization in Catalonia in 2013. A descriptive analysis was performed by age, gender, time and clinical variables. RESULTS: A total of 48,150 patients were treated in hospital emergency departments, 6,210 were attended in primary care, and 4,912 were admitted to hospital. There was a higher proportion of men (56.2%), mainly aged between 20 and 40 years. Men accounted for 54.9% of patients with minor injuries and 75.1% of those with severe injuries. Contusions are the most common injury (30.2%), followed by sprains (28.7%). Fractures mostly affected persons older than 64 years, internal injuries particularly affected men older than 64 years, and wounds mainly affected persons younger than 18 years and older than 64 years. In the adult population, the severity of the injuries increased with age, leading to longer length of stay and greater complexity. Hospital mortality was 0.2%. Fractures, internal injuries and wounds were more frequent in the group of very serious injuries, and sprains and contusions in the group of minor injuries. CONCLUSIONS: MDS records (acute hospitals and emergency resources) provide information that is complementary to other sources of information on traffic accidents, increasing the completeness of the data.

Lesiones por accidente de tráfico: aproximación desde el conjunto mínimo básico de datos de urgencias y hospitalización de agudos de Cataluña / Road traffic injuries in Catalonia (Spain): an approach using the minimum data set for acute-care hospitals and emergency resources

Objetivo: Verificar la utilidad del conjunto mínimo básico de datos (CMBD) para el estudio de las lesiones por accidente de tráfico y describir la utilización de recursos sanitarios en Cataluña. Métodos: Análisis descriptivo por edad, sexo, variables de tiempo y morbilidad de los pacientes lesionados por colisión de tráfico, atendidos en recursos de urgencias durante el año 2013 (CMBD de urgencias y de hospitalización). Resultados: Se analizan 48.150 pacientes atendidos en urgencias hospitalarias, 6210 en dispositivos urgentes de atención primaria y 4912 ingresados. Se observa una mayor proporción de hombres (56,2%), sobre todo entre 20 y 40 años de edad. Los hombres representan el 54,9% de los casos con lesiones leves y el 75,1% de los que presentan lesiones muy graves. Las contusiones son la lesión más frecuente (30,2%), seguidas de los esguinces (28,7%). Las fracturas afectan sobre todo a las personas mayores de 64 años, las lesiones internas principalmente a los hombres mayores de 64 años y las heridas a las personas menores de 18 años y mayores de 64 años. En la población adulta, la gravedad de las lesiones aumenta con la edad y comporta un aumento en la estancia y la complejidad. La mortalidad hospitalaria es del 0,2%. Las fracturas, las lesiones internas y las heridas son más frecuentes en el grupo de personas lesionadas muy graves, y los esguinces y las contusiones en el de las personas lesionadas leves. Conclusiones: Los registros del CMBD (hospitales de agudos y recursos de urgencias) proporcionan información complementaria a otras fuentes sobre las colisiones de tráfico y aumentan la exhaustividad de los datos (AU)

Objective: To verify the usefulness of the minimum data set (MDS) for acute-care hospitals and emergency resources for the study of road traffic injuries and to describe the use of health resources in Catalonia (Spain). Methods: The study population consisted of patients treated in any kind of emergency service and patients admitted for acute hospitalization in Catalonia in 2013. A descriptive analysis was performed by age, gender, time and clinical variables. Results: A total of 48,150 patients were treated in hospital emergency departments, 6,210 were attended in primary care, and 4,912 were admitted to hospital. There was a higher proportion of men (56.2%), mainly aged between 20 and 40 years. Men accounted for 54.9% of patients with minor injuries and 75.1% of those with severe injuries. Contusions are the most common injury (30.2%), followed by sprains (28.7%). Fractures mostly affected persons older than 64 years, internal injuries particularly affected men older than 64 years, and wounds mainly affected persons younger than 18 years and older than 64 years. In the adult population, the severity of the injuries increased with age, leading to longer length of stay and greater complexity. Hospital mortality was 0.2%. Fractures, internal injuries and wounds were more frequent in the group of very serious injuries, and sprains and contusions in the group of minor injuries. Conclusions: MDS records (acute hospitals and emergency resources) provide information that is complementary to other sources of information on traffic accidents, increasing the completeness of the data (AU)

Trends in the surgical procedures of women with incident breast cancer in Catalonia, Spain, over a 7-year period (2005-2011).

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cancer in women, accounting for 28% of all tumors among women in Catalonia (Spain). Mastectomy has been replaced over time by breast-conserving surgery (BCS) although not as rapidly as might be expected. The aim of this study was to assess the evolution of surgical procedures in incident BC cases in Catalonia between 2005 and 2011, and to analyze variations based on patient and hospital characteristics. METHODS: We processed data from the Catalonian Health Service's Acute Hospital Discharge database (HDD) using ASEDAT software (Analysis, Selection and Extraction of Tumor Data) to identify all invasive BC incident cases according to the codes 174.0-174.9 of the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) that were attended for the one-year periods in 2005, 2008 and 2011. Patients were classified according to surgical procedures (BCS vs mastectomy, and immediate vs delayed reconstruction), and results were compared among periods according to age, stage, comorbidity and hospital level. RESULTS: BC surgical procedures were performed in more than 80% of patients. Surgical cases showed a significant increasing trend in the proportion of women aged 50-69 years, more advanced disease stages, higher comorbidity and they were attended in hospitals of less complexity level throughout the study period. Similar pattern was found for patients treated with BCS, which increased significantly from 67.9% in 2005 to 74.0% in 2011.Simple lymph node removal increased significantly (from 48.8% to 71.4% and from 63.6% to 67.8% for 2005 and 2011 in conservative and radical surgery, respectively). A slightly increase in the proportion of mastectomized young women (from 28% in 2005 to 34% in 2011) was detected, due to multiple factors. About 22% of women underwent post-mastectomy breast reconstruction, this being mostly immediate. CONCLUSIONS: The use of HDD linked to the ASEDAT allowed us to evaluate BC surgical treatment in Catalonia. A consolidating increasing trend of BCS was observed in women aged 50-69 years, which corresponds with the pattern in most European countries. Among the mastectomized patients, immediate breast reconstructions have risen significantly over the period 2005-2011.

Descripción del perfil de complejidad de los pacientes admitidos en unidades sociosanitarias de larga estancia entre los años 2003 y 2009 / Description of the clinical complexity of patients admitted to long term care hospitals in Catalonia during 2003-2009

Introducción: Describir la complejidad clínica de los pacientes al ingreso en unidades de larga estancia sociosanitaria en Cataluña entre los años 2003 y 2009. Material y métodos: Análisis transversal de 47.855 ingresos registrados en el sistema de información Conjunt Mínim Bàsic de Dades dels Recursos Sociosanitaris. Las variables analizadas fueron agrupaciones diagnósticas, las comorbilidades y los procedimientos médicos, estado funcional y cognitivo, categorías de uso de recursos del Resource Utilization Groups III (RUG-III), la cobertura y la intensidad de las terapias rehabilitadoras. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de la información. Resultados: Las agrupaciones diagnósticas más frecuentes en el periodo de estudio fueron demencia y enfermedad cerebrovascular aguda, que mostraron un descenso continuado (descenso del 8,8 y el 2,3%). El mayor aumento correspondió a ingresos por descanso familiar y fractura (7,7% y 1,9%). El estado funcional y cognitivo promedio se mantuvo estable, aunque aumentó el porcentaje de individuos con dependencia en todas las actividades de la vida diaria. Las categorías RUG-III más frecuentes fueron rehabilitación, funciones físicas reducidas, complejidad clínica y cuidados especiales. Durante el periodo estudiado, la categoría «rehabilitación» se incrementó marcadamente (20,3%), mientras las otras categorías disminuyeron. Las terapias rehabilitadoras incrementaron su cobertura durante el periodo (20,8%), especialmente la fisioterapia (25,4%) y la terapia ocupacional (17,4%). Conclusiones: La complejidad clínica de la población atendida en unidades de larga estancia aumentó en el periodo 2003-2009. El uso de recursos y terapias indican un creciente esfuerzo rehabilitador, como posible respuesta a cambios en la complejidad clínica atendida, los estándares de práctica clínica o las prácticas establecidas en el registro y notificación de la información (AU)

Introduction: This work describes the clinical complexity of patients admitted to long term care hospitals between 2003 and 2009. Material and methods: Cross-sectional analysis of Minimum Basic Dataset for Social and Healthcare Units information system data for 47,855 admissions. Outcomes assessed were functional and cognitive status, Resource Utilization Groups III (RUG-III), resource use categories, coverage and intensity of therapies, diagnosis, comorbidities, and medical procedures. Descriptive analyses were performed by year of admission. Results: Dementia and acute cerebrovascular disease were the most frequent primary diagnoses, and showed a steady decline over time (8.8% and 2.3% decline), while family respite admissions and fractures increased (7.7% and 1.9%, respectively). The average functional and cognitive status of the treated population was similar across all years, although individuals with dependence in each Activity of Daily Living increased. The most frequent resource use categories were rehabilitation, reduced physical function, clinically complex care, and special care. A sharp increase in rehabilitation was observed during the study period (20.3%), while the other categories decreased. Increasingly more patients received rehabilitation therapy during their hospital stay (20.8%). Coverage increased particularly for physiotherapy (25.4%) and occupational therapy (17.4%). Conclusion: The clinical complexity faced by long term care hospitals increased during 2003- 2009. The use of resources and provision of therapies show an increasing rehabilitation effort, possibly as a response to changes in the clinical complexity of the treated population, the standards of care, or the established information reporting practices (AU)

[Description of the clinical complexity of patients admitted to long term care hospitals in Catalonia during 2003-2009]. / Descripción del perfil de complejidad de los pacientes admitidos en unidades sociosanitarias de larga estancia entre los años 2003 y 2009.

INTRODUCTION: This work describes the clinical complexity of patients admitted to long term care hospitals between 2003 and 2009. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of Minimum Basic Dataset for Social and Healthcare Units information system data for 47,855 admissions. Outcomes assessed were functional and cognitive status, Resource Utilization Groups III (RUG-III), resource use categories, coverage and intensity of therapies, diagnosis, comorbidities, and medical procedures. Descriptive analyses were performed by year of admission. RESULTS: Dementia and acute cerebrovascular disease were the most frequent primary diagnoses, and showed a steady decline over time (8.8% and 2.3% decline), while family respite admissions and fractures increased (7.7% and 1.9%, respectively). The average functional and cognitive status of the treated population was similar across all years, although individuals with dependence in each Activity of Daily Living increased. The most frequent resource use categories were rehabilitation, reduced physical function, clinically complex care, and special care. A sharp increase in rehabilitation was observed during the study period (20.3%), while the other categories decreased. Increasingly more patients received rehabilitation therapy during their hospital stay (20.8%). Coverage increased particularly for physiotherapy (25.4%) and occupational therapy (17.4%). CONCLUSION: The clinical complexity faced by long term care hospitals increased during 2003- 2009. The use of resources and provision of therapies show an increasing rehabilitation effort, possibly as a response to changes in the clinical complexity of the treated population, the standards of care, or the established information reporting practices.

[Perinatal mortality according to 2 information sources]. / La mortalidad perinatal según 2 fuentes de información.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate differences in the number of cases of perinatal mortality in Catalonia (Spain) recorded in 2 health information systems, as well as trends in this phenomenon. METHODS: Data were obtained from the mortality statistics (Health Department and the Catalan Institute of Statistics) and the minimum data set (MDS) for hospital discharges of the Catalan Health Service from 2000-2003. The frequencies are given for the cases reported and for cases following the legal criteria for reporting. RESULTS: The mortality statistics registered 27.2% fewer perinatal deaths, 44.77% fewer fetal deaths and 13.5% more early neonatal deaths than the MDS. These percentages were lower when only the cases following the legal criteria for reporting were considered. CONCLUSION: The differences between the two sources were related to low birth weight, prematurity, and the place of occurrence. Use of hospital data might improve the quality of perinatal mortality statistics.

La mortalidad perinatal según 2 fuentes de información / Perinatal mortality according to 2 information sources

Objetivo: Evaluar la diferencia en muertes perinatales (MP) ocurridas en Cataluña y su evolución según 2 fuentes de información sanitaria.Métodos: Los datos proceden de la estadística de mortalidad (Departament de Salut e Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya) y del Conjunto Mínimo Básico de Datos de Altas Hospitalarias (CMBDAH) del Servei Català de la Salut del período 2000-2003. Se describen las frecuencias totales de MP según si cumplen o no criterio legal de declaración.Resultados: La estadística de mortalidad registró un 27,2% menos de MP, un 44,77% menos de muertes fetales y un 13,5% más de muertes neonatales precoces que el CMBDAH. Estos porcentajes son menores considerando sólo los casos con criterios legales de declaración.Conclusión: Las diferencias de casos entre ambas fuentesestán relacionadas con características del recién nacido: bajo peso al nacer, prematuridad y lugar en que se produjo. Los datos hospitalarios podrían mejorar la estadística de mortalidad perinatal

Objective: To evaluate differences in the number of casesof perinatal mortality in Catalonia (Spain) recorded in 2 health information systems, as well as trends in this phenomenon.Methods: Data were obtained from the mortality statistics (Health Department and the Catalan Institute of Statistics) and the minimum data set (MDS) for hospital discharges of the Catalan Health Service from 2000-2003. The frequencies are given for the cases reported and for cases following the legal criteriafor reporting.Results: The mortality statistics registered 27.2% fewer perinatal deaths, 44.77% fewer fetal deaths and 13.5% more early neonatal deaths than the MDS. These percentages were lower when only the cases following the legal criteria for reporting were considered.Conclusion: The differences between the two sources wererelated to low birth weight, prematurity, and the place of occurrence. Use of hospital data might improve the quality of perinatal mortality statistics