Routinely-collected Health Data Research Articles

Understanding Pathways into Care-homes using Data (UnPiCD study): a two-part model to estimate inpatient and care-home costs using national linked health and social care data

BackgroundPathways into care-homes have been under-researched. Individuals who move-in to a care-home from hospital are clinically distinct from those moving-in from the community. However, it remains unclear whether the source of care-home admission has any implications in term of costs. Our aim was to quantify hospital and care-home costs for individuals newly moving-in to care homes to compare those moving-in from hospital to those moving-in from the community.MethodsUsing routinely-collected national social care and health data we constructed a cohort including people moving into care-homes from hospital and community settings between 01/04/2013-31/03/2015 based on records from the Scottish Care-Home Census (SCHC). Individual-level data were obtained from Scottish Morbidity Records (SMR01/04/50) and death records from National Records of Scotland (NRS). Unit costs were identified from NHS Scotland costs data and care-home costs from the SCHC. We used a two-part model to estimate costs conditional on having incurred positive costs. Additional analyses estimated differences in costs for the one-year period preceding and following care-home admission.ResultsWe included 14,877 individuals moving-in to a care-home, 8,472 (57%) from hospital, and 6,405 (43%) from the community. Individuals moving-in to care-homes from the community incurred higher costs at £27,117 (95% CI £ 26,641 to £ 27,594) than those moving-in from hospital with £24,426 (95% CI £ 24,037 to £ 24,814). Hospital costs incurred during the year preceding care-home admission were substantially higher (£8,323 (95% CI£8,168 to £8,477) compared to those incurred after moving-in to care-home (£1,670 (95% CI£1,591 to £1,750).ConclusionIndividuals moving-in from hospital and community have different needs, and this is reflected in the difference in costs incurred. The reduction in hospital costs in the year after moving-in to a care-home indicates the positive contribution of care-home residency in supporting those with complex needs. These data provide an important contribution to inform capacity planning on care provision for adults with complex needs and the costs of care provision.

Unlicensed/Off-Label Drug Prescriptions at Hospital Discharge in Children: An Observational Study Using Routinely Collected Health Data.

Unlicensed and off-label (UL/OL) prescriptions have been associated with an increased risk of drug-related problems. Data of their prevalence at hospital discharge remain insufficient. We aimed to describe the prevalence of UL/OL drugs in outpatient prescriptions at discharge in children. We conducted a retrospective study using the routinely collected health data of children at discharge from 2014 to 2016. The primary reference source for determining licensed labelling was the summaries of product characteristics (SPCs) in a French industry-independent formulary named Thériaque. We described the characteristics of UL/OL prescriptions at discharge and looked for predictors of UL/OL prescriptions. We included 2536 prescriptions of 479 children. Licensed, OL, and UL prescriptions accounted for 58.6% (95% CI: 56.7-60.5), 39.2% (95% CI: 37.3-41.1), and 2.3% (95% CI: 1.7-2.9), respectively. A total of 323 (74%) children received at least one UL/OL drug. Among the licensed drugs, bronchodilators (8.8%) and analgesics (8.6%), and among the OL drugs, antibiotics (2.8%), were the most prescribed. The younger age of the children and higher number of drugs they received increased the probability of UL/OL prescriptions (unadjusted p-value of ≤0.05). The prevalence of UL/OL prescriptions is about 40% at discharge from a pediatric university hospital in France.

Reporting, handling, and interpretation of time-varying drug treatments in observational studies using routinely collected healthcare data.

Time-varying drug treatments are common in studies using routinely collected health data (RCD) for assessing treatment effects. This study aimed to examine how these studies reported, handled, and interpreted time-varying drug treatments. A systematic search was conducted on PubMed from 2018 to 2020. Eligible studies were those used RCD to explore drug treatment effects. We summarized the reporting characteristics and methods employed for handling time-varying treatments. Logistic regressions were performed to investigate the association between study characteristics and the reporting of time-varying treatments. Two hundred and fifty-six studies were included, and 225 (87.9%) studies involved time-varying treatments. Of these, 24 (10.7%) reported the proportion of time-varying treatments and 105 (46.7%) reported methods used to handle time-varying treatments. Multivariable logistic regression showed that medical studies, prespecified protocol, and involvement of methodologists were associated with a higher likelihood of reporting the methods applied to handle time-varying treatments. Among the 105 studies that reported methods, as-treated analyses were the most commonly used analysis sets, which were employed in 73.9%, 75.3% and 88.2% of studies that reported approaches for treatment discontinuation, treatment switching and treatment add-on. Among the 225 studies involved time-varying treatments, 27 (12.0%) acknowledged the potential bias introduced by treatment change, of which 14 (51.9%) suggested that potential biases may impact acceptance or rejection of the null hypothesis. Among observational studies using RCD, the underreporting about the presence and methods for handling time-varying treatments was largely common. The potential biases due to time-varying treatments have frequently been disregarded. Collaborative endeavors are strongly needed to enhance the prevailing practices.

Views on sharing mental health data for research purposes: qualitative analysis of interviews with people with mental illness

BackgroundImproving the ways in which routinely-collected mental health data are shared could facilitate substantial advances in research and treatment. However, this process should only be undertaken in partnership with those who provide such data. Despite relatively widespread investigation of public perspectives on health data sharing more generally, there is a lack of research on the views of people with mental illness.MethodsTwelve people with lived experience of mental illness took part in semi-structured interviews via online video software. Participants had experience of a broad range of mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addiction. Interview questions sought to establish how participants felt about the use of routinely-collected health data for research purposes, covering different types of health data, what health data should be used for, and any concerns around its use.ResultsThematic analysis identified four overarching themes: benefits of sharing mental health data, concerns about sharing mental health data, safeguards, and data types. Participants were clear that health data sharing should facilitate improved scientific knowledge and better treatments for mental illness. There were concerns that data misuse could become another way in which individuals and society discriminate against people with mental illness, for example through insurance premiums or employment decisions. Despite this there was a generally positive attitude to sharing mental health data as long as appropriate safeguards were in place.ConclusionsThere was notable strength of feeling across participants that more should be done to reduce the suffering caused by mental illness, and that this could be partly facilitated by well-managed sharing of health data. The mental health research community could build on this generally positive attitude to mental health data sharing by following rigorous best practice tailored to the specific concerns of people with mental illness.

Supporting Pharmacovigilance Signal Validation and Prioritization with Analyses of Routinely Collected Health Data: Lessons Learned from an EHDEN Network Study.

Individual case reports are the main asset in pharmacovigilance signal management. Signal validation is the first stage after signal detection and aims to determine if there is sufficient evidence to justify further assessment. Throughout signal management, a prioritization of signals is continually made. Routinely collected health data can provide relevant contextual information but are primarily used at a later stage in pharmacoepidemiological studies to assess communicated signals. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and utility of analysing routine health data from a multinational distributed network to support signal validation and prioritization and to reflect on key user requirements for these analyses to become an integral part of this process. Statistical signal detection was performed in VigiBase, the WHO global database of individual case safety reports, targeting generic manufacturer drugs and 16 prespecified adverse events. During a 5-day study-a-thon, signal validation and prioritization were performed using information from VigiBase, regulatory documents and the scientific literature alongside descriptive analyses of routine health data from 10 partners of the European Health Data and Evidence Network (EHDEN). Databases included in the study were from the UK, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands and Serbia, capturing records from primary care and/or hospitals. Ninety-five statistical signals were subjected to signal validation, of which eight were considered for descriptive analyses in the routine health data. Design, execution and interpretation of results from these analyses took up to a few hours for each signal (of which 15-60 minutes were for execution) and informed decisions for five out of eight signals. The impact of insights from the routine health data varied and included possible alternative explanations, potential public health and clinical impact and feasibility of follow-up pharmacoepidemiological studies. Three signals were selected for signal assessment, two of these decisions were supported by insights from the routine healthdata. Standardization of analytical code, availability of adverse event phenotypes including bridges between different source vocabularies, and governance around the access and use of routine health data were identified as important aspects for future development. Analyses of routine health data from a distributed network to support signal validation and prioritization are feasible in the given time limits and can inform decision making. The cost-benefit of integrating these analyses at this stage of signal management requires further research.

Appraising the Quality of Reporting of Vascular Surgery Studies That Use the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Database.

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) is an important data source for observational studies. While there are guides to ensure appropriate study reporting, there has been no evaluation of NSQIP studies in vascular surgery. We sought to evaluate the adherence of vascular-surgery related NSQIP studies to best reporting practices. In January 2022, we queried PubMed for all vascular surgery NSQIP studies. We used the REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected Health Data (RECORD) statement and the JAMA Surgery (JAMA-Surgery) checklist to assess reporting methodology. We also extracted the Journal Impact Factor (IF) of each article. One hundred and fifty-nine studies published between 2002 and 2022 were identified and analyzed. The median score on the RECORD statement was 6 out of 8. The most commonly missed RECORD statement items were describing any validation of codes and providing data cleaning information. The median score on the JAMA-Surgery checklist was 2 out of 7. The most commonly missed JAMA-Surgery checklist items were identifying competing risks, using flow charts to help visualize study populations, having a solid research question and hypothesis, identifying confounders, and discussing the implications of missing data. We found no difference in the reporting methodology of studies published in high vs low IF journals. Vascular surgery studies using NSQIP data demonstrate poor adherence to research reporting standards. Critical areas for improvement include identifying competing risks, including a solid research question and hypothesis, and describing any validation of codes. Journals should consider requiring authors use reporting guides to ensure their articles have stringent reporting methodology.

Evaluation of reporting quality of cohort studies using real-world data based on RECORD: systematic review

ObjectiveReal-world data (RWD) and real-world evidence (RWE) have been paid more and more attention in recent years. We aimed to evaluate the reporting quality of cohort studies using real-world data (RWD) published between 2013 and 2021 and analyze the possible factors.MethodsWe conducted a comprehensive search in Medline and Embase through the OVID interface for cohort studies published from 2013 to 2021 on April 29, 2022. Studies aimed at comparing the effectiveness or safety of exposure factors in the real-world setting were included. The evaluation was based on the REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected health Data (RECORD) statement. Agreement for inclusion and evaluation was calculated using Cohen’s kappa. Pearson chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the possible factors, including the release of RECORD, journal IFs, and article citations. Bonferroni’s correction was conducted for multiple comparisons. Interrupted time series analysis was performed to display the changes in report quality over time.Results187 articles were finally included. The mean ± SD of the percentage of adequately reported items in the 187 articles was 44.7 ± 14.3 with a range of 11.1–87%. Of 23 items, the adequate reporting rate of 10 items reached 50%, and the reporting rate of some vital items was inadequate. After Bonferroni’s correction, the reporting of only one item significantly improved after the release of RECORD and there was no significant improvement in the overall report quality. For interrupted time series analysis, there were no significant changes in the slope (p = 0.42) and level (p = 0.12) of adequate reporting rate. The journal IFs and citations were respectively related to 2 areas and the former significantly higher in high-reporting quality articles.ConclusionThe endorsement of the RECORD cheklist was generally inadequate in cohort studies using RWD and has not improved in recent years. We encourage researchers to endorse relevant guidelines when utilizing RWD for research.

Record linkage for Routinely Collected Health Data in an African Health Information Exchange

IntroductionThe Patient Master Index (PMI) plays an important role in management of patient information and epidemiological research, and the availability of unique patient identifiers improves the accuracy when linking patient records across disparate datasets. In our environment, however, a unique identifier is seldom present in all datasets containing patient information. Quasi identifiers are used to attempt to link patient records but sometimes present higher risk of over-linking. Data quality and completeness thus affect the ability to make correct linkages. AimThis paper describes the record linkage system that is currently implemented at the Provincial Health Data Centre (PHDC) in the Western Cape, South Africa, and assesses its output to date. MethodsWe apply a stepwise deterministic record linkage approach to link patient data that are routinely collected from health information systems in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Variables used in the linkage process include South African National Identity number (RSA ID), date of birth, year of birth, month of birth, day of birth, residential address and contact information. Descriptive analyses are used to estimate the level and extent of duplication in the provincial PMI. ResultsThe percentage of duplicates in the provincial PMI lies between 10% and 20%. Duplicates mainly arise from spelling errors, and surname and first names carry most of the errors, with the first names and surname being different for the same individual in approximately 22% of duplicates. The RSA ID is the variable mostly affected by poor completeness with less than 30% of the records having an RSA ID. The current linkage algorithm requires refinement as it makes use of algorithms that have been developed and validated on anglicised names which might not work well for local names. Linkage is also affected by data quality-related issues that are associated with the routine nature of the data which often make it difficult to validate and enforce integrity at the point of data capture.

Assessing the quality of reporting of studies using Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) data.

The Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) has become an increasingly popular data source for retrospective observational vascular surgery studies. There are published guidelines on the reporting of data in such studies to promote transparency and rigor, but these have not been used to evaluate studies using VQI data. Our objective was to appraise the methodological reporting quality of studies using VQI data by evaluating their adherence to these guidelines. The Society for Vascular Surgery VQI publication repository was queried for all articles published in 2020. The REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected Health Data (RECORD) statement and the Journal of American Medical Association-Surgical Section (JAMA-Surgery) checklist were utilized to assess the quality of each article's reporting. Five and three items from the RECORD statement and JAMA-Surgery checklist were excluded, respectively, because they were either inapplicable or nonassessable. Journal impact factor (IF) was queried for each article to elucidate any difference in reporting standards between high and low IF journals. Ninety studies were identified and analyzed. The median score on the RECORD checklist was 6 (of 8). The most commonly missed item was discussing data cleaning methods (93% missed). The median score on the JAMA-Surgery checklist was 3 (of 7). The most commonly missed items were the identification of competing risks (98% missed), the use of a flow chart to clearly define sample exclusion and inclusion criteria (84% missed), and the inclusion of a solid research question and hypothesis (81% missed). There were no differences in JAMA-Surgery checklist or RECORD statement median scores among studies published in low vs high IF journals. Studies using VQI data demonstrate a poor to moderate adherence to reporting standards. Key areas for improvement in research reporting include articulating a clear hypothesis, using flow charts to clearly define inclusion and exclusion criteria, identifying competing risks, and discussing data cleaning methods. Additionally, future efforts should center on creating tailored instruments to better guide reporting in studies using VQI data.

The impact of social capital on successful ageing of empty nesters: A cross-sectional study.

To explore the impact of social capital on successful ageing among empty nesters in China. A cross-sectional study. The data for this study came from the survey of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2018. Overall, 6098 empty nesters aged 60 years and over were included. Successful ageing was defined according to Rowe and Kahn's model. Social capital includes social trust, social support, reciprocity and social networks. Multivariable logistic regression and a classification and regression tree model were applied to estimate the impact of social capital on successful ageing. For this study, we followed the Reporting of Studies Conducted Using Observational Routinely Collected Health Data (RECORD) reporting guidelines, an extension of Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. The successful ageing rate of empty nesters in China was 9.2%. Empty nesters who had a higher level of reciprocal behaviour and caregiving support in several dimensions of social capital and who were members of organizations in their social networks have had higher odds of achieving successful ageing. We also observed interactions with social capital associated with successful ageing, suggesting that special attention should be given to empty nesters who are less educated, have no caregiving support, live in rural areas, have worse self-rated health, are older, do not have reciprocal behaviours and are unmarried. The results of this study show that social capital, especially in terms of reciprocity, caregiving support and organizational membership in a social network, can contribute to the achievement of successful ageing among empty nesters. This study confirms the impact of social capital on the successful ageing of empty nesters for the first time and provides new ideas for state, community and health care workers to address ageing issues. Because of the public database data used in this study, all data were collected by survey agency personnel, so this section is not applicable to this study.

Critical Appraisal of the Quality of Publications in Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery Research Using the American College of Surgeons NSQIP Database.

The use of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) NSQIP has increased in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery (HPB) research as it provides access to high-quality surgical outcome data on a national scale. Using the ACS NSQIP database, this study examined the methodologic reporting of HPB publications. Web of Science core collection (all editions) was queried for all HPB studies using the ACS NSQIP database published between 2004 and 2022. In addition, a critical appraisal was performed using the JAMA Surgery checklist, Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement, and Reporting of Studies Conducted Using Observational Routinely-Collected Health Data (RECORD) statement. In total, 276 studies were included in the analysis. The median scores for the JAMA Surgery checklist, RECORD statement, and STROBE statement were 4 of 7 (interquartile range [IQR] 3 to 5), 3 of 10 (IQR 2 to 4), and 15 of 21 (IQR 13 to 17), respectively. The criteria with the highest rates of nonadherence were discussing competing risks, clear definitions of inclusion and exclusion criteria, unadjusted and adjusted outcomes, provision of supplementary data, and performing subgroup analyses. Additionally, when examining checklist fulfillment of hepatobiliary studies and pancreatic studies separately, pancreatic studies demonstrated significantly greater fulfillment of the STROBE statement checklist items. Satisfactory reporting of methodology is present among HPB studies utilizing the ACS NSQIP database, with multiple opportunities for improvement. Areas for improved adherence include discussing competing risks, providing supplementary information, and performing appropriate subgroup analysis. Given the increasing role of large-scale databases in surgical research, enhanced commitment to reporting guidelines may advance HPB research and ensure quality reporting.

Creating a new mental health e-cohort using the SHARE research register: Linking questionnaire, genetic and routine health data.

ObjectivesAdvancements in mental health research depend upon continuing development of the data landscape, including the creation of population cohorts that combine different types of data from a variety of sources. The present project aimed to produce a new, multi-faceted mental health e-cohort to benefit further research.
 ApproachTaking advantage of a standing research resource – the SHARE Scotland research register (N ~ 285,000) – we administered an online survey of mental health, treatment use and wellbeing. Over 10,000 individuals (Mean age = 57.16 years; 63% female) took part in the survey; all participants consented to secure linkage of their routinely-collected health records with questionnaire data and over 90% also consented to the research use of genetic data gained from diverted blood samples. We linked questionnaire responses with routinely-collected health data and genetic data within a Trusted Research Environment to create a large cohort enhanced for mental health research.
 ResultsIn this presentation we describe the cohort, summarise responses to the mental health questionnaire and give some example research uses of the linked data. Focussing on depression, we contrast the prevalence of self-reported diagnoses of depression (27% of the sample) with diagnostic codes from routinely-collected hospital admission and national prescribing data and examine predictors of each.
 ConclusionsCombining mental health questionnaire data, longitudinal health records, and genetic data creates new opportunities for mental health research and allows researchers to compare the utility of each data source. By making this new e-cohort available to other researchers we hope to drive advancements in mental health research.

Record linkage for Routinely Collected Health Data in an African Health Information Exchange.

Objectives
 
 To describe the record linkage system that is currently implemented at the Provincial Health Data Centre (PHDC) in the Western Cape, South Africa
 To assess its output to date with respect to types of matches and duplicates trends
 To describe the errors affecting patient matching
 
 ApproachWe apply a stepwise deterministic record linkage approach to link patient data that are routinely collected from health information systems in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Variables used in the linkage process include South African National Identity number (RSA ID), date of birth, year of birth, month of birth, day of birth, residential address and contact information. Matching records are established from sequentially running the data through multiple passes formed by various combinations of linkage variables. Descriptive analyses are used to estimate the extent of mismatches and duplication in the provincial patient master index (PMI).
 Results
 
 The proportion of duplicates dropped from approximately 16.8% in December 2015 to 9.6% in October 2020, indicating improved data linkage over time.
 Duplicates mainly arise from spelling errors, and surname and first names carry most of the errors, with different first names and surname for the same individual in approximately 22% of duplicates.
 Linkage is also affected by completeness, with less than 30 % completeness for the South African national identity (RSA ID) number which is mainly because RSA ID is not mandatory when seeking healthcare.
 
 ConclusionLinkage improvement could be due to improved registration practices. Further improvements are possible by repeating data linkage where patients register before creating a new patient record following a failed search. This could use the PHDC linkage approach whilst leveraging all data in addition to search terms used by the clerk.

Linking cohort data and Welsh routine health records to investigate children at risk of delayed primary vaccination

BackgroundDelayed primary vaccination is one of the strongest predictors of subsequent incomplete immunisation. Identifying children at risk of such delay may enable targeting of interventions, thus decreasing vaccine-preventable illness. ObjectivesTo explore socio-demographic factors associated with delayed receipt of the Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (DTP) vaccine. MethodsWe included 1,782 children, born between 2000 and 2001, participating in the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) and resident in Wales, whose parents gave consent for linkage to National Community Child Health Database records at the age seven years contact. We examined child, maternal, family and area characteristics associated with delayed receipt of the first dose of the DTP vaccine. Results98.6% received the first dose of DTP. The majority, 79.6% (n = 1,429) received it on time (between 8 and 12 weeks of age), 14.2% (n = 251) received it early (prior to 8 weeks of age) and 4.8% (n = 79) were delayed (after 12 weeks of age); 1.4% (n = 23) never received it. Delayed primary vaccination was more likely among children with older natural siblings (risk ratio 3.82, 95% confidence interval (1.97, 7.38)), children admitted to special/intensive care (3.15, (1.65, 5.99)), those whose birth weight was > 4Kg (2.02, (1.09, 3.73)) and boys (1.53, (1.01, 2.31)). There was a reduced risk of delayed vaccination with increasing maternal age (0.73, (0.53, 1.00) per 5 year increase) and for babies born to graduate mothers (0.27, (0.08, 0.90)). ConclusionsAlthough the majority of infants were vaccinated in a timely manner, identification of infants at increased risk of early or delayed vaccination will enable targeting of interventions to facilitate timely immunisation. This is to our knowledge the first study exploring individual level socio-demographic factors associated with delayed primary vaccination in the UK and demonstrates the benefits of linking cohort data to routinely-collected child health data.

Toward evaluation of disseminated effects of medications for opioid use disorder within provider-based clusters using routinely-collected health data.

Routinely-collected health data can be employed to emulate a target trial when randomized trial data are not available. Patients within provider-based clusters likely exert and share influence on each other's treatment preferences and subsequent health outcomes and this is known as dissemination or spillover. Extending a framework to replicate an idealized two-stage randomized trial using routinely-collected health data, an evaluation of disseminated effects within provider-based clusters is possible. In this article, we propose a novel application of causal inference methods for dissemination to retrospective cohort studies in administrative claims data and evaluate the impact of the normality of the random effects distribution for the cluster-level propensity score on estimation of the causal parameters. An extensive simulation study was conducted to study the robustness of the methods under different distributions of the random effects. We applied these methods to evaluate baseline prescription for medications for opioid use disorder among a cohort of patients diagnosed with opioid use disorder and adjust for baseline confounders using information obtained from an administrative claims database. We discuss future research directions in this setting to better address unmeasured confounding in the presence of disseminated effects.

Protocol for the development of a reporting guideline for causal and counterfactual prediction models in biomedicine

IntroductionWhile there are guidelines for reporting on observational studies (eg, Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology, Reporting of Studies Conducted Using Observational Routinely Collected Health Data Statement), estimation...

146 Epilepsy, deprivation and mortality in Wales 2005–2017

BackgroundPublic Health England have recently reported that deaths associated with epilepsy are increasing and are associated with increased deprivation. We investigated comparable Welsh mortality trends and associations between epilepsy mortality and deprivation.MethodWe used routinely-collected health data within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank. We recorded deaths associated with epilepsy (DAE), epilepsy recorded on death certificates, and deaths in people with epilepsy (DPWE), people with diagnoses of epilepsy and epilepsy prescriptions before death. We compared death rates in different deprivation deciles adjusting for epilepsy prevalence.ResultsDuring 2005–2017 (41million patient-years) there were 2116 DAE and 7821 DPWE. DAE and DPWE increased from 4.3/100,000/yr and 17.2/100,000/yr in 2005–2007 to 5.7/100,000/yr and 20.9/100,000/yr in 2015–2017. The age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) in 2006–2008 for DAE and DPWE were 5.3/100,000/yr and 20/100,000/yr respectively, in 2015–2017 they were 5.8/100,000/yr and 20/100,000/yr. DAE were not significantly associated with deprivation when adjusted for epilepsy prevalence.ConclusionWhen adjusting for age, deaths associated wtih epilepsy and deaths in people with epilepsy did not increase significantly in Wales between 2005–2007 and 2015–2017. The association between dep- rivation and deaths associated with epilepsy appears to be explained by higher epilepsy prevalence in areas of higher deprivation.w.o.pickrell@swansea.ac.uk

Perceived Family Functioning Profile in Adolescents at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: Rigidity as a Possible Preventive Target.

The presence of a positive family relationship has been suggested as a protective factor from parental stress and from the development of full-blown psychosis. However, to date, there is limited research on family functioning in adolescents with psychosis and at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P). This study is aimed at comparing family functioning and perceived stress in parents of adolescents with either CHR-P, early onset psychosis (EOP), or other psychiatric disorders (no CHR-P). As a secondary aim, it will correlate family functioning with parental perceived stress in order to find critical targets of intervention. We conducted a Reporting of Studies Conducted Using Observational Routinely-Collected Health Data (RECORD)—compliant, real-world, cross-sectional study. One-hundred and eleven adolescents aged 12–17 who access the institute of hospitalization and care with scientific character (IRCCS) Mondino Foundation Neuropsychiatric services (Pavia, Italy) between 2017 and 2020 and their parents (n = 222) were included. Sociodemographic characteristics of adolescents and their parents were collected. Family functioning was evaluated through the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale-IV (FACES-IV) and the level of stress through the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Twenty adolescents had EOP, 38 had CHR-P, and 59 had no CHR-P. In total, 2.6% of CHR-P adolescents were adopted, 76.3% had separated-divorced parents, and 34.2% of parents had a depressive disorder. Among the FACES-IV sub-scale, maternal rigidity was progressively increased from no-CHR-P to CHR-P to EOP group, with statistical differences between EOP and the other two groups (p = 0.01). CHR-P mothers and fathers showed a high level of PSS values, without group difference. Lastly, PSS values correlated positively with the Rigidity, Disengagement, and Chaos scale of FACES-IV and negatively with the Communication scale (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that family functioning has a central role and could represent a worthwhile target of intervention for adolescents at CHR-P, leading the way to new preventive approaches.

Comparing opioid types in the persistence of opioid use following surgical admission: a study protocol for a retrospective observational linkage study comparing tapentadol and oxycodone in Australia

IntroductionEach year, an estimated two million Australians commence opioids, with 50 000 developing longer-term (persistent) opioid use. An estimated 3%–10% of opioid-naïve patients prescribed opioids following surgery develop persistent opioid...

Critically Appraising the Quality of Reporting of American College of Surgeons TQIP Studies in the Era of Large Data Research.

The American College of Surgeons-Trauma Quality Improvement Program (ACS-TQIP) database is one of the most widely used databases for trauma research. We aimed to critically appraise the quality of the methodological reporting of ACS-TQIP studies. The ACS-TQIP bibliography was queried for all studies published between January 2018 and January 2021. The quality of data reporting was assessed using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology-Reporting of Studies Conducted Using Observational Routinely Collected Health Data (STROBE-RECORD) statement and the JAMA Surgery checklist. Three items from each tool were not applicable and thus excluded. The quality of reporting was compared between high- and low-impact factor (IF) journals (cutoff for high IF is >90th percentile of all surgical journals). A total of 118 eligible studies were included; 12 (10%) were published in high-IF journals. The median (interquartile range) number of criteria fulfilled was 5 (4-6) for the STROBE-RECORD statement (of 10 items) and 5 (5-6) for the JAMA Surgery checklist (of 7 items). Specifically, 73% of studies did not describe the patient population selection process, 61% did not address data cleaning or the implications of missing values, and 76% did not properly state inclusion/exclusion criteria and/or outcome variables. Studies published in high-IF journals had remarkably higher quality of reporting than those in low-IF journals. The methodological reporting quality of ACS-TQIP studies remains suboptimal. Future efforts should focus on improving adherence to standard reporting guidelines to mitigate potential bias and improve the reproducibility of published studies.