[Quality assurance with administrative data (QSR): follow-up in quality measurement - an analysis of patient records]

A high hospital frailty risk score indicates an increased risk for complications following surgical treatment of proximal humerus fractures

BACKGROUND

Approximately 70 % of proximal humerus fractures (PHF) occur after the age of 60. High complication rates have been described in correlation with the treatment of PHF. Major risk factors for the outcome might be frailty, mobility and comorbidities of patients at the time of hospital admission. The aim of this study was to create risk adjusted quality indicators for surgical treatment of proximal humerus fractures based on German claims data and to evaluate the impact of the Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS) on risk adjustment.

METHODS

Retrospective claims data (2015-2021) were used to create risk adjusted quality indicators for eight outcomes by clustered multivariable logistic regression. The comparison of different risk adjustment model performances was done by ROC-AUC and Standardized Mortality/Morbidity Ratios.

RESULTS

In total, N = 34,912 patients (median age 75 years, 80.3 % female) were included. The most common surgical procedure was open reduction and internal fixation with plate osteosynthesis with 39.7 %, followed by reverse shoulder arthroplasty with 25.3 %. The most influential risk factor for all outcomes was a high HFRS with an Odds Ratio of 2.0 (95 %-Confidence Interval 1.8-2.3) for any secondary surgery (365 days) up to an Odds Ratio of 17.6 (95 %-Confidence Interval 14.9-20.8) for general complications during the index stay.

CONCLUSION

Comparative quality reporting for the surgical treatment of PHF appears feasible with the developed models for risk adjustment using claims data. Preoperative evaluation of HFRS in PHF can contribute to risk assessment, and individual patient management. It therefore enables personalized treatment decisions.

Association between hospital onset of infection and outcomes in sepsis patients - A propensity score matched cohort study based on health claims data in Germany

BACKGROUND

Hospital-acquired infections are a common source of sepsis. Hospital onset of sepsis was found to be associated with higher acute mortality and hospital costs, yet its impact on long-term patient-relevant outcomes and costs is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to assess the association between sepsis origin and acute and long-term outcomes based on a nationwide population-based cohort of sepsis patients in Germany.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study used nationwide health claims data from 23 million health insurance beneficiaries. Sepsis patients with hospital-acquired infections (HAI) were identified by ICD-10-codes in a cohort of adult patients with hospital-treated sepsis between 2013 and 2014. Cases without these ICD-10-codes were considered as sepsis cases with community-acquired infection (CAI) and were matched with HAI sepsis patients by propensity score matching. Outcomes included in-hospital/12-month mortality and costs, as well as readmissions and nursing care dependency until 12 months postsepsis.

RESULTS

We matched 33,110 HAI sepsis patients with 28,614 CAI sepsis patients and 22,234 HAI sepsis hospital survivors with 19,364 CAI sepsis hospital survivors. HAI sepsis patients had a higher hospital mortality than CAI sepsis patients (32.8% vs. 25.4%, RR 1.3, p < .001). Similarly, 12-months postacute mortality was higher (37.2% vs. 30.1%, RR=1.2, p < .001). Hospital and 12-month health care costs were 178% and 22% higher in HAI patients than in CAI patients, respectively. Twelve months postsepsis, HAI sepsis survivors were more often newly dependent on nursing care (33.4% vs. 24.0%, RR=1.4, p < .001) and experienced 5% more hospital readmissions (mean number of readmissions: 2.1 vs. 2.0, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

HAI sepsis patients face an increased risk of adverse outcomes both during the acute sepsis episode and in the long-term. Measures to prevent HAI and its progression into sepsis may be an opportunity to mitigate the burden of long-term impairments and costs of sepsis, e.g., by early detection of HAI progressing into sepsis, particularly in normal wards; adequate sepsis management and adherence to sepsis bundles in hospital-acquired sepsis; and an improved infection prevention and control.

Quality assurance in primary total hip arthroplasty

OBJECTIVE

To compare two different methods of clinical outcomes documentation and investigate the potential impact of a quality assurance program.

METHODS

Data on primary hip arthroplasties conducted between 2004 and 2014 were prospectively collected and analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 262/3395 patients suffered a postoperative complication. A reduction of complication rate was observed between 2010 and 2014. A significant difference between the two documentation methods was found in: "cardiovascular complications", "hematoma and postoperative hemorrhage" and "reintervention". Finally, the "normalized length of hospital stay" predicted the occurrence of complications.

CONCLUSION

Reduction of the incidence of complications through time may be attributed to accumulated surgical experience.

[Severity assessment strategies based on administrative data using stroke as an example]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Information on disease severity is relevant for many studies with claims data in health service research, but only limited information is available in routine data. Stroke serves as an example to analyse whether the combination of different information in claims data can provide insight into the severity of a disease.

METHOD

As a first step, a literature search was conducted. Strategies to assess the severity of a disease by means of routine data were examined with regard to approval and applicability to German sickness fund data. In order to apply and extend the identified procedures, the statutory health insurance sample AOK Hessen/KV Hessen (VSH) served as data source. It is an 18.75 % random sample of persons insured by the AOK Hessen, with 2013 being the most recent year. Stroke patients were identified by the ICD-10 GM code I63 and I64. Patients with said diagnoses being coded as a hospital discharge diagnosis in 2012 were included due to an acute event in 2012 (n=944). The follow-up time was one year.

RESULTS

Ten studies covering seven different methods to assess stroke severity were identified. Codes for coma (4.2 % of stroke patients in the SHI sample) as well as coma and/or the application of a PEG tube (9.8 % of the stroke patients) were applied as a proxy for disease severity of acute cases. Taking age, sex and comorbidity into consideration, patients in a coma show a significantly increased risk of mortality compared to those without coma. Three operationalisations were chosen as possible proxies for disease severity of stroke in the further course of disease: i) sequelae (hemiplegia, neurological neglect), ii) duration of the index inpatient stay, and iii) nursing care/ care level 3 for the first time after stroke. The latter proxy has the highest explanatory value for SHI costs.

CONCLUSION

The studies identified use many variables mainly based on hospital information in order to describe disease severity. With the exception of coma, these proxies were neither validated nor did the authors provide more detailed grounds for their use. An identified score for stroke severity could not be applied to SHI data. To develop a comparable score requires a linkage of clinical and administrative data. Since routine data include information from all sectors of care, it should be explored whether these data (for example, the patients' care needs) are suitable to assess disease severity. For validation, separate databases and, optimally, primary patient data are necessary.