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Dimitriadis VK, Alexopoulou C, Amfilochiou A, Steiropoulos P, Trakada G, Siopi D, Pataka A, Hatziagorou E, Konstandinidis A, Tsanakas J, Tsara V, Natsiavas P. Hellenic registry of patients with home mechanical ventilation (HR-HMV): profiling sleep Apnea-Hypopnea syndrome patients across Greece. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2022; 22:257. [PMID: 36182922 PMCID: PMC9526340 DOI: 10.1186/s12911-022-01989-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Chronic respiratory conditions are a prominent public health issue and thus, building a patient registry might facilitate both policy decision making and improvement of clinical management processes. Hellenic Registry of patients with Home Mechanical Ventilation (HR-HMV) was initiated in 2017 and a web-based platform is used to support patient data collection. Eighteen hospital departments (including sleep labs) across Greece participate in this initiative, focusing on recording data for both children and adult patients supported by mechanical ventilation at home, including patients with Sleep Apnea–Hypopnea Syndrome (SAHS) under Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) therapy. Methods The HR-HMV initiative ultimately aims to provide a database for evidence-based care and policy making in this specific domain. To this end, a web information system was developed and data were manually collected by clinics and hospital departments. Legal and privacy issues (such as General Data Protection Rule compliance and technical information security measures) have been considered while designing the web application. Based on the collected data, an exploratory statistical report of SAHS patients in Greece is presented. Results Eleven out of the eighteen participating clinics and hospital departments have contributed with data by the time of the current study. More than 5000 adult and children patient records have been collected so far, the vast majority of which (i.e., 4900 patients) diagnosed with SAHS. Conclusion The development and maintenance of patient registries is a valuable tool for policy decision making, observational/epidemiological research and beyond (e.g., health technology assessment procedures). However, as all data collection and processing approaches, registries are also related with potential biases. Along these lines, strengths and limitations must be considered when interpreting the collected data, and continuous validation of the collected clinical data per se should be emphasized. Especially for Greece, where the lack of national registries is eminent, we argue that HR-HMV could be a useful tool for the development and the update of related policies regarding the healthcare services for patients with home mechanical ventilation support and SAHS patients, which could be useful for related initiatives at a European level as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vlasios K Dimitriadis
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, 6th Km. Charilaou - Thermi Road, Thermi, P.O. BOX 60361, 57001, Thessaloniki, Hellas, Greece
| | - Christina Alexopoulou
- Intensive Care Unit and Sleep Lab, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Anastasia Amfilochiou
- Respiratory Function and Sleep Study Unit, Sismanoglio General Hospital of Attica, Athens, Greece
| | - Paschalis Steiropoulos
- Sleep Unit, Department of Pulmonology, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - Georgia Trakada
- Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Division of Pulmonology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Alexandra Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Dimitra Siopi
- Pneumonology Clinic, G. Papanikolaou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Athanasia Pataka
- Respiratory Failure Unit, G. Papanikolaou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Elpis Hatziagorou
- Pediatric Pulmonology and Cystic Fibrosis Unit, Hippokration Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Athanasios Konstandinidis
- Division of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital of Ioannina, University of Ioannina Medical School, Ioannina, Greece
| | | | - John Tsanakas
- Pediatric Pulmonology and Cystic Fibrosis Unit, Hippokration Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Venetia Tsara
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, 6th Km. Charilaou - Thermi Road, Thermi, P.O. BOX 60361, 57001, Thessaloniki, Hellas, Greece
| | - Pantelis Natsiavas
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, 6th Km. Charilaou - Thermi Road, Thermi, P.O. BOX 60361, 57001, Thessaloniki, Hellas, Greece.
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