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de André CDS, Bierrenbach AL, Barroso LP, de André PA, Justo LT, Pereira LAA, Taniguchi MT, Minto CM, Takecian PL, Kamaura LT, Ferreira JE, Hazard RH, Mclaughlin D, Riley I, Lopez AD, Ramos AMDO, de Souza MDFM, França EB, Saldiva PHN, da Silva LFF. Validation of physician certified verbal autopsy using conventional autopsy: a large study of adult non-external causes of death in a metropolitan area in Brazil. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:748. [PMID: 35421964 PMCID: PMC9008898 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-13081-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Reliable mortality data are essential for the development of public health policies. In Brazil, although there is a well-consolidated universal system for mortality data, the quality of information on causes of death (CoD) is not even among Brazilian regions, with a high proportion of ill-defined CoD. Verbal autopsy (VA) is an alternative to improve mortality data. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of an adapted and reduced version of VA in identifying the underlying causes of non-forensic deaths, in São Paulo, Brazil. This is the first time that a version of the questionnaire has been validated considering the autopsy as the gold standard.
Methods
The performance of a physician-certified verbal autopsy (PCVA) was evaluated considering conventional autopsy (macroscopy plus microscopy) as gold standard, based on a sample of 2060 decedents that were sent to the Post-Mortem Verification Service (SVOC-USP). All CoD, from the underlying to the immediate, were listed by both parties, and ICD-10 attributed by a senior coder. For each cause, sensitivity and chance corrected concordance (CCC) were computed considering first the underlying causes attributed by the pathologist and PCVA, and then any CoD listed in the death certificate given by PCVA. Cause specific mortality fraction accuracy (CSMF-accuracy) and chance corrected CSMF-accuracy were computed to evaluate the PCVA performance at the populational level.
Results
There was substantial variability of the sensitivities and CCC across the causes. Well-known chronic diseases with accurate diagnoses that had been informed by physicians to family members, such as various cancers, had sensitivities above 40% or 50%. However, PCVA was not effective in attributing Pneumonia, Cardiomyopathy and Leukemia/Lymphoma as underlying CoD. At populational level, the PCVA estimated cause specific mortality fractions (CSMF) may be considered close to the fractions pointed by the gold standard. The CSMF-accuracy was 0.81 and the chance corrected CSMF-accuracy was 0.49.
Conclusions
The PCVA was efficient in attributing some causes individually and proved effective in estimating the CSMF, which indicates that the method is useful to establish public health priorities.
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Hart JD, Kwa V, Dakulala P, Ripa P, Frank D, Golpak V, Adair T, Mclaughlin D, Riley ID, Lopez AD. How advanced is the epidemiological transition in Papua New Guinea? New evidence from verbal autopsy. Int J Epidemiol 2022; 50:2058-2069. [PMID: 34999867 PMCID: PMC8743130 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyab088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reliable cause of death (COD) data are not available for the majority of deaths in Papua New Guinea (PNG), despite their critical policy value. Automated verbal autopsy (VA) methods, involving an interview and automated analysis to diagnose causes of community deaths, have recently been trialled in PNG. Here, we report VA results from three sites and highlight the utility of these methods to generate information about the leading CODs in the country. METHODS VA methods were introduced in one district in each of three provinces: Alotau in Milne Bay; Tambul-Nebilyer in Western Highlands; and Talasea in West New Britain. VA interviews were conducted using the Population Health Metrics Research Consortium (PHMRC) shortened questionnaire and analysed using the SmartVA automated diagnostic algorithm. RESULTS A total of 1655 VAs were collected between June 2018 and November 2019, 87.0% of which related to deaths at age 12 years and over. Our findings suggest a continuing high proportion of deaths due to infectious diseases (27.0%) and a lower proportion of deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (50.8%) than estimated by the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2017: 16.5% infectious diseases and 70.5% NCDs. The proportion of injury deaths was also high compared with GBD: 22.5% versus 13.0%. CONCLUSIONS Health policy in PNG needs to address a 'triple burden' of high infectious mortality, rising NCDs and a high fraction of deaths due to injuries. This study demonstrates the potential of automated VA methods to generate timely, reliable and policy-relevant data on COD patterns in hard-to-reach populations in PNG.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Hart
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia
| | - Viola Kwa
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia
| | - Paison Dakulala
- National Department of Health, Islander Drive, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
| | - Paulus Ripa
- Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority, Mt Hagen, Papua New Guinea
| | - Dale Frank
- Milne Bay Provincial Health Authority, Alotau, Papua New Guinea
| | - Victor Golpak
- West New Britain Provincial Health Authority, Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
| | - Timothy Adair
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia
| | - Deirdre Mclaughlin
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia
| | - Ian D Riley
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia
| | - Alan D Lopez
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia
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Hart JD, Sorchik R, Bo KS, Chowdhury HR, Gamage S, Joshi R, Kwa V, Li H, Mahesh BPK, Mclaughlin D, Mikkelsen L, Miki J, Napulan R, Rampatige R, Reeve M, Sarmiento C, War NS, Richards N, Riley ID, Lopez AD. Improving medical certification of cause of death: effective strategies and approaches based on experiences from the Data for Health Initiative. BMC Med 2020; 18:74. [PMID: 32146900 PMCID: PMC7061467 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-020-01519-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accurate and timely cause of death (COD) data are essential for informed public health policymaking. Medical certification of COD generally provides the majority of COD data in a population and is an essential component of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems. Accurate completion of the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCOD) should be a relatively straightforward procedure for physicians, but mistakes are common. Here, we present three training strategies implemented in five countries supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health (D4H) Initiative at the University of Melbourne (UoM) and evaluate the impact on the quality of certification. METHODS The three training strategies evaluated were (1) training of trainers (TOT) in the Philippines, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka; (2) direct training of physicians by the UoM D4H in Papua New Guinea (PNG); and (3) the implementation of an online and basic training strategy in Peru. The evaluation involved an assessment of MCCODs before and after training using an assessment tool developed by the University of Melbourne. RESULTS The TOT strategy led to reductions in incorrectly completed certificates of between 28% in Sri Lanka and 40% in the Philippines. Following direct training of physicians in PNG, the reduction in incorrectly completed certificates was 30%. In Peru, the reduction in incorrect certificates was 30% after implementation and training on an online system only and 43% after training on both the online system and basic medical certification principles. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that a variety of training strategies can produce benefits in the quality of certification, but further improvements are possible. The experiences of D4H suggest several aspects of the strategies that should be further developed to improve outcomes, particularly key stakeholder engagement from early in the intervention and local committees to oversee activities and support an improved culture in hospitals to support better diagnostic skills and practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Hart
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia.
| | - Renee Sorchik
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Khin Sandar Bo
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Hafizur R Chowdhury
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Saman Gamage
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Rohina Joshi
- The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW Sydney, Newtown, New South Wales, 2042, Australia
| | - Viola Kwa
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Hang Li
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Buddhika P K Mahesh
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Deirdre Mclaughlin
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Lene Mikkelsen
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Janet Miki
- Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Vital Strategies, Bloomberg Data for Health Initiative, Santiago de Surco, Lima, Peru
| | - Roderick Napulan
- Health Facility Development Bureau, Department of Health, Manila, Philippines
| | - Rasika Rampatige
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Matthew Reeve
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Carmina Sarmiento
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Nang Su War
- John Snow, Inc. (JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.), Mandalay, Myanmar
| | - Nicola Richards
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Ian D Riley
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Alan D Lopez
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
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Cavalieri E, Roth R, Althoff J, Grandjean C, Patil K, Marsh S, Mclaughlin D. Carcinogenicity and metabolic profiles of 3-methylcholanthrene oxygenated derivatives at the 1 and 2 positions. Chem Biol Interact 1978; 22:69-81. [PMID: 688526 DOI: 10.1016/0009-2797(78)90150-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Trapping of 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) radical cation by nucleophilic compounds occurs specifically at the 1-carbon atom. With the purpose of providing more evidence for the hypothesis that the critical mechanism of activation of MC is one-electron oxidation, the carcinogenicity of MC was compared to that of 1-hydroxy-3-methylcholanthrene (MC-1-OH), 3-methylcholanthrene-1-one (MC-1-one), 2-hydroxy-3-methylcholanthrene (MC-2-OH), 3-methylcholanthrene-2-one (MC-2-one) and 3-methylcholanthrylene (MCL) by repeated application on mouse skin. Seven-week-old female Swiss mice in 6 groups of 30 were treated on the back with 0.2 mumol of compound in acetone twice weekly for 20 weeks. In addition, the metabolism of MC and its derivatives was studied using mouse skin homogenates. The compounds tested were classified according to carcinogenicity in 4 groups: MC and MC-2-OH, the strongest carcinogens; MC-2-one and MCL, weaker than MC and MC-2-OH; MC-1-OH, the weakest carcinogen; and MC-1-one, non-carcinogenic. These results support the hypothesis that one-electron oxidation for MC, MC-2-OH and MC-1-one might be the critical mechanism of carcinogenic activation, with C-1 the binding site to cellular nucleophiles. The carcinogenic effect of MC-1-OH is speculated to be the formation of an ester bearing a good leaving group, which might be the ultimate alkylating compound in the in vivo reaction. The lack of carcinogenic activity for MC-1-one may be attributed to absence of nucleophilic trapping at C-1 via the radical cation pathway as well as the inability of mouse skin to reduce MC-1-one to the carcinogenic MC-1-OH.
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