Validation of operational definitions of mortality in a nationwide hemodialysis population using the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service databases of Korea

A Novel Approach to Gastrointestinal Bleeding Risk Stratification and Proton Pump Inhibitor Effectiveness in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome on Dual Antiplatelet Therapy: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study

PURPOSE

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are effective in preventing gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in high-risk patients on dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). Existing criteria for high GI bleeding risk, such as those from the American Heart Association (AHA), may not fully reflect East Asian patient profiles. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of PPIs in preventing GI bleeding across DAPT combinations, stratified by GI bleeding risk using the Academic Research Consortium High Bleeding Risk (ARC-HBR) criteria in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

METHODS

A retrospective cohort of 93,153 patients with ACS initiating DAPT (2018-2020) was analyzed using the Korean National Health Insurance database. Modified ARC-HBR (mARC-HBR) criteria tailored to claims data were compared with AHA criteria in terms of concordance and performance. PPI effects on GI bleeding were analyzed by mARC-HBR risk groups over a 3-year observation period.

RESULTS

The mARC-HBR criteria identified three times more high-risk patients than the AHA criteria, demonstrating higher sensitivity (38.9% vs. 11.1%, p < 0.001) while maintaining a relatively high specificity (both > 70%). While PPI use offered no benefit for low-risk patients, it was associated with a 25.8% lower GI bleeding risk in high-risk patients, with the most pronounced effect observed in those on the aspirin/ticagrelor combination.

CONCLUSION

The mARC-HBR criteria enhance the identification of high GI bleeding risk patients with ACS and may inform targeted PPI use, given the observed associations suggesting potential benefit in high-risk ticagrelor users and limited effect in low-risk groups.

Finding the new potential research on diabetic kidney disease and hemodialysis in healthcare insurance databases: A bibliometric analysis

To the best of our knowledge, bibliometric analysis has not been performed for studies related to diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and hemodialysis using healthcare big data. Herein, the aim of this bibliometric analysis was to identify emerging research trends in DKD and hemodialysis within healthcare insurance databases by exploring authors, co-author networks, and countries to discover new potential research areas. A bibliometric study was conducted, utilizing data obtained from the Scopus database. Keywords such as diabetic kidney disease, hemodialysis, insurance or big data, and prediction were employed. Inclusion criteria were original articles and review articles written in English published between 2010 and 2022. VOSviewer and the Bibliometrix package in R were used for comprehensive bibliometric analysis. VOSviewer facilitated keyword co-occurrence analysis to identify clusters and visualize relationships among keywords, emphasizing distinct research themes, keyword density, and network visualization. Meanwhile, Bibliometrix allowed exploration of key metrics such as prolific authors and institutions, publication trends, co-authorship networks, citations, document types, emerging trends through keyword analysis, and network visualizations, including co-authorship and keyword co-occurrence. Results from both tools were integrated for a thorough analysis. The present study yielded 2,199 articles, which was reduced to 1,828 after removing duplicates and applying inclusion criteria. This bibliometric analysis found that machine learning and artificial intelligence are emerging yet remain relatively under-researched in the context of hemodialysis and DKD. The prominence of topics such as diabetic nephropathy, non-insulin treatments, and lifestyle modifications highlighted ongoing research priorities in DKD and hemodialysis. Taiwan's dominance in publications suggested robust research activity in this field, while international collaboration underscored global interest and the potential for diverse research perspectives. The need for similar research development in Indonesia, leveraging big data and machine learning, indicates opportunities for advancing the understanding and management of DKD and hemodialysis within the region.

Efficacy and diabetes risk of moderate-intensity statin plus ezetimibe versus high-intensity statin after percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUNDS

High-intensity statin is recommended for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and ezetimibe is recommended to be added in patients not achieving low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets. Moderate-intensity statin plus ezetimibe can reduce LDL-C levels similar to high-intensity statin. The aim of this study is to examine the long-term efficacy and safety of moderate-intensity statin plus ezetimibe as the first-line strategy compared to high-intensity statin in patients undergoing PCI.

METHOD

Data was obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database of South Korea. Patients who underwent PCI from 2012 to 2017 were included. The primary efficacy endpoint was major adverse cardiac cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), a composite of all-cause death, revascularization, or ischemic stroke. The safety endpoint was new-onset diabetes mellitus (DM).

RESULTS

A total of 45,501 patients received high-intensity statin (n = 38,340) or moderate-intensity statin plus ezetimibe (n = 7,161). Among propensity-score-matched 7,161 pairs, MACCEs occurred in 1,460 patients with high-intensity statin and 1,406 patients with moderate-intensity statin plus ezetimibe (33.8% vs. 31.9%, hazard ratio 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.89-1.03, P = 0.27) at a median follow-up of 2.7 years. DM was newly diagnosed in 398 patients with high-intensity statin and 342 patients with moderate-intensity statin plus ezetimibe (12.5% vs. 10.7%; hazard ratio 0.84, 95% confidence interval 0.73-0.97, P = 0.02).

CONCLUSION

In patients undergoing PCI, moderate-intensity statin plus ezetimibe demonstrated a similar risk of MACCEs but a lower risk of new-onset DM than high-intensity statin. Early combination treatment of moderate-intensity statin and ezetimibe may be a useful and safe lipid-lowering strategy after PCI.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Is Associated With Decreased Exacerbation and Mortality in Patients With COPD: A Nationwide Korean Study

BACKGROUND

Poor uptake to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is still challenging around the world. There have been few nationwide studies investigating whether PR impacts patient outcomes in COPD. We investigated the change of annual PR implementation rate, medical costs, and COPD outcomes including exacerbation rates and mortality between 2015 and 2019.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Does PR implementation improve outcomes in patients with COPD in terms of direct cost, exacerbation, and mortality?

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Data of patients with COPD extracted from a large Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment service database (2015-2019) were analyzed to determine the trends of annual PR implementation rate and direct medical costs of PR. Comparison of COPD exacerbation rates between pre-PR and post-PR, and the time to first exacerbation and mortality rate according to PR implementation, were also assessed.

RESULTS

Among all patients with COPD in South Korea, only 1.43% received PR. However, the annual PR implementation rate gradually increased from 0.03% to 1.4% during 4 years, especially after health insurance coverage commencement. The direct medical cost was significantly higher in the PR group than the non-PR group, but the costs in these groups showed decreasing and increasing trends, respectively. Both the incidence rate and frequency of moderate-to-severe and severe exacerbations were lower during the post-PR period compared with the pre-PR period. The time to the first moderate-to-severe and severe exacerbations was longer in the PR group than the non-PR group. Finally, PR implementation was associated with a significant decrease in mortality.

INTERPRETATION

We concluded that health insurance coverage increases PR implementation rates. Moreover, PR contributes toward improving outcomes including reducing exacerbation and mortality in patients with COPD. However, despite the well-established benefits of PR, its implementation rate remains suboptimal.

Real-world data analysis on effectiveness of integrative therapies: A practical guide to study design and data analysis using healthcare databases

Real world data (RWD) is increasingly used to investigate health outcomes and treatment efficacy in the field of integrative medicine. Due to the fact that the majority of RWDs are not intended for research, their secondary use in research necessitates complex study designs to account for bias and confounding. To conduct a robust analysis of RWD in integrative medicine, a comprehensive study design process that reflects the characteristics of integrative therapies is necessary. In this paper, we present a guide for designing comparative effectiveness RWE research in integrative medicine. We discuss key factors to consider when selecting RWDs for research on integrative medicine. We provide practical steps for developing a research question, formulating the PICOT objectives (population, intervention, comparator, outcome, and time horizon), and selecting and defining covariates with a summary table. Specific study designs are depicted with corresponding diagrams. Finally, data analysis procedures are introduced. We hope this article clarifies the importance of RWE research design and related processes in order to improve the rigor of RWD studies in the field of integrative medicine research.