Association between topical β-blocker use and asthma attacks in glaucoma patients with asthma: a cohort study using a claims database

Features and prognosis of patients with lupus nephritis receiving glucocorticoid treatment: a descriptive study using a Japanese claims database

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the status of lupus nephritis treatment particularly regarding the need for intensification of treatment in Japan from 2010 to 2019 using a large-scale claims database.

METHODS

This descriptive study included adult lupus nephritis patients who were administered glucocorticoid equivalent to ≥15 mg prednisolone as the initial dose. After summarizing patient characteristics, we assessed the rate of treatment intensification using the Kaplan-Meier method among six groups based on initial dose of glucocorticoid.

RESULTS

We identified 403 patients (mean age, 42.7 years; 68.5% women) with the median initial glucocorticoid dose of 30 mg/day prednisolone equivalent. We observed 56 treatment intensifications; the incidence rate was 71.3 per 1,000 person-years (95% confidence interval: 52.6-90.0). The rate in higher glucocorticoid dose groups was higher than that in lower glucocorticoid dose groups.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that the rate of treatment intensification was higher in the high-dose glucocorticoid groups than in the low-dose glucocorticoid groups. Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between the initial dose of glucocorticoids and the prognosis of lupus nephritis patients.

Persistence of the carteolol hydrochloride/latanoprost fixed-combination ophthalmic solution, compared with the other β-blocker/prostanoid FP receptor agonist fixed-combination ophthalmic solutions

PURPOSE

To investigate the treatment persistence of carteolol hydrochloride/latanoprost fixed-combination ophthalmic solution (CAR/LAT) and other β-blocker/prostanoid FP receptor agonist fixed-combination ophthalmic solutions (BB/FP) in the treatment of glaucoma.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective observational cohort study.

METHODS

A retrospective observational cohort study using JMDC Claims Database. Patients aged 20 years or older diagnosed with glaucoma between February 1, 2017, and March 31, 2020, and prescribed CAR/LAT or another BB/FP were included.

RESULTS

A total of 16,612 patients (7423 in the CAR/LAT group and 9189 in the other BB/FP group) were included. The cumulative treatment persistence rate at the end of follow-up was 42.0% (64.9% at 1 year, 53.4% at 2 years, 45.0% at 3 years, and 42.0% at 4 years) in the CAR/LAT group and 34.7% (54.8% at 1 year, 43.6% at 2 years, 37.1% at 3 years, and 34.7% at 4 years) in the other BB/FP group. Treatment persistence was significantly longer in the CAR/LAT group compared to that in the other BB/FP group (hazard ratio 0.747, p < 0.0001). Over the treatment period, the number of patients who discontinued treatment was 3281 (44.2%) in the CAR/LAT group and 4926 (53.6%) in the other BB/FP group; the median duration of treatment was 135 days and 97 days, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The study results suggest that persistence rates vary depending on the BB/FP and CAR/LAT appears to be more persistent than other BB/FP.

Validity of Algorithms to Identify Patients With Glaucoma Using the Japanese Claims Data

PRCIS

Diagnostic or antiglaucoma drug records in the Japanese claims data showed a high validity in identifying glaucoma patients. Specific subtypes were identified with high specificity and negative predictive values but low sensitivity and positive predictive values.

PURPOSE

Despite the widespread use of administrative claims data in epidemiological research on glaucoma, only a few studies have investigated the validity of the methods in defining patients with glaucoma using diagnoses and drug records. We aimed to evaluate the validity of these algorithms in identifying patients with glaucoma using the Japanese claims data.

METHODS

Two ophthalmologists independently reviewed the medical charts and administrative claims data of 500 randomly selected patients who visited the Department of Ophthalmology of an academic hospital in 2019. We constructed 12 algorithms to identify patients with any type and specific subtypes of glaucoma using the claims records of diagnosis, antiglaucoma drugs, and visual field tests. We regarded the diagnosis of glaucoma based on the medical charts as the reference standard and calculated the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of each algorithm based on the claims data.

RESULTS

The algorithms of ≥1 diagnostic record per year and ≥1 antiglaucoma drug record per year exhibited sensitivities of 94.6% and 89.2%, respectively, and specificities of 88.9% and 98.3%, respectively. An increase in the frequency of records resulted in a decreased sensitivity and slightly increased specificity. The addition of visual field tests did not improve the validity. The algorithms for specific subtypes of glaucoma exhibited high specificity and relatively low sensitivity.

CONCLUSION

Diagnostic or antiglaucoma drug records in the Japanese claims data were useful for identifying patients with glaucoma. Researchers should select identification algorithms based on the study design.

Clinical epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology studies with real-world databases

Hospital-based registry data, including patients' information collected by academic societies or government based research groups, were previously used for clinical research in Japan. Now, real-world data routinely obtained in healthcare settings are being used in clinical epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology. Real-world data include a database of claims originating from health insurance associations for reimbursement of medical fees, diagnosis procedure combinations databases for acute inpatient care in hospitals, a drug prescription database, and electronic medical records, including patients' medical information obtained by doctors, derived from electronic records of hospitals. In the past ten years, much evidence of clinical epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology studies using real-world data has been accumulated. The purpose of this review was to introduce clinical epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology approaches and studies using real-world data in Japan.