Clinical characteristics, mortality rates and causes of death in non-exacerbating COPD patients. A longitudinal cohort analysis of UK primary care data

Background: Among patients hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke, abnormal serum troponins are associated with higher risk of short-term mortality. However, most findings have been reported from European hospitals. Whether troponin elevation after stroke is independently associated with death among a more heterogeneous US population remains unclear. Furthermore, only a few studies have evaluated the association between the magnitude of troponin elevation and subsequent mortality, patterns of dynamic troponin changes over time, or whether troponin elevation is related to specific causes of death. Methods: Using data collected in the American Heart Association's ‘Get With The Guidelines' stroke registry between 2008 and 2012 at a tertiary care US hospital, we used logistic regression to evaluate the independent relationship between troponin elevation and mortality after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics. We then assessed whether the magnitude of troponin elevation was related to in-hospital mortality by calculating mortality rates according to tertiles of peak troponin levels. Dynamic troponin changes over time were evaluated as well. To better understand whether troponin elevation identified patients most likely to die due to a specific cause of death, investigators blinded from troponin values reviewed all in-hospital deaths, and the association between troponin elevation and mortality was evaluated among patients with cardiac, neurologic, or other causes of death. Results: Of 1,145 ischemic stroke patients, 199 (17%) had elevated troponin levels. Troponin-positive patients had more cardiovascular risk factors, more intensive medical therapy, and greater use of cardiac procedures. These individuals had higher in-hospital mortality rates than troponin-negative patients (27 vs. 8%, p < 0.001), and this association persisted after adjustment for 13 clinical and management variables (OR 4.28, 95% CI 2.40-7.63). Any troponin elevation was associated with higher mortality, even at very low peak troponin levels (mortality rates 24-29% across tertiles of troponin). Patients with persistently rising troponin levels had fewer anticoagulant and antiatherosclerotic therapies, with markedly worse outcomes. Furthermore, troponin-positive patients had higher rates of all categories of death: neurologic (17 vs. 7%), cardiac (5 vs. <1%), and other causes of death (5 vs. <1%; p < 0.001 for all comparisons). Conclusions: Ischemic stroke patients with abnormal troponin levels are at higher risk of in-hospital death, even after accounting for demographic and clinical characteristics, and any degree of troponin elevation identifies this higher level of risk. Troponins that continue to rise during the hospitalization identify stroke patients at markedly higher risk of mortality, and both neurologic and non-neurologically mediated mortality rates are higher when troponin is elevated.

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Primary care risk stratification in COPD using routinely collected data: a secondary data analysis

npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine ◽

10.1038/s41533-019-0154-6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Matthew Johnson ◽

Lucy Rigge ◽

David Culliford ◽

Lynn Josephs ◽

Mike Thomas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Risk Stratification ◽

Data Quality ◽

Risk Score ◽

Secondary Care ◽

Risk Scores ◽

Average Risk ◽

Primary Care Data ◽

Copd Patients ◽

Dose Index

AbstractMost clinical contacts with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients take place in primary care, presenting opportunity for proactive clinical management. Electronic health records could be used to risk stratify diagnosed patients in this setting, but may be limited by poor data quality or completeness. We developed a risk stratification database algorithm using the DOSE index (Dyspnoea, Obstruction, Smoking and Exacerbation) with routinely collected primary care data, aiming to calculate up to three repeated risk scores per patient over five years, each separated by at least one year. Among 10,393 patients with diagnosed COPD, sufficient primary care data were present to calculate at least one risk score for 77.4%, and the maximum of three risk scores for 50.6%. Linked secondary care data revealed primary care under-recording of hospital exacerbations, which translated to a slight, non-significant cohort average risk score reduction, and an understated risk group allocation for less than 1% of patients. Algorithmic calculation of the DOSE index is possible using primary care data, and appears robust to the absence of linked secondary care data, if unavailable. The DOSE index appears a simple and practical means of incorporating risk stratification into the routine primary care of COPD patients, but further research is needed to evaluate its clinical utility in this setting. Although secondary analysis of routinely collected primary care data could benefit clinicians, patients and the health system, standardised data collection and improved data quality and completeness are also needed.

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Factors associated with deaths due to COVID-19 versus other causes: population-based cohort analysis of UK primary care data and linked national death registrations within the OpenSAFELY platform

10.1101/2021.01.15.21249756 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

K Bhaskaran ◽

SCJ Bacon ◽

SJW Evans ◽

CJ Bates ◽

CT Rentsch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

South Asian ◽

Health Research ◽

Cohort Analysis ◽

Logistic Models ◽

Smoking History ◽

Research Centre ◽

Individual Level ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Primary Care Data

ABSTRACTBackgroundMortality from COVID-19 shows a strong relationship with age and pre-existing medical conditions, as does mortality from other causes. However it is unclear how specific factors are differentially associated with COVID-19 mortality as compared to mortality from other causes.MethodsWorking on behalf of NHS England, we carried out a cohort study within the OpenSAFELY platform. Primary care data from England were linked to national death registrations. We included all adults (aged ≥18 years) in the database on 1st February 2020 and with >1 year of continuous prior registration, the cut-off date for deaths was 9th November 2020. Associations between individual-level characteristics and COVID-19 and non-COVID deaths were estimated by fitting age- and sex-adjusted logistic models for these two outcomes.Results17,456,515 individuals were included. 17,063 died from COVID-19 and 134,316 from other causes. Most factors associated with COVID-19 death were similarly associated with non-COVID death, but the magnitudes of association differed. Older age was more strongly associated with COVID-19 death than non-COVID death (e.g. ORs 40.7 [95% CI 37.7-43.8] and 29.6 [28.9-30.3] respectively for ≥80 vs 50-59 years), as was male sex, deprivation, obesity, and some comorbidities. Smoking, history of cancer and chronic liver disease had stronger associations with non-COVID than COVID-19 death. All non-white ethnic groups had higher odds than white of COVID-19 death (OR for Black: 2.20 [1.96-2.47], South Asian: 2.33 [2.16-2.52]), but lower odds than white of non-COVID death (Black: 0.88 [0.83-0.94], South Asian: 0.78 [0.75-0.81]).InterpretationSimilar associations of most individual-level factors with COVID-19 and non-COVID death suggest that COVID-19 largely multiplies existing risks faced by patients, with some notable exceptions. Identifying the unique factors contributing to the excess COVID-19 mortality risk among non-white groups is a priority to inform efforts to reduce deaths from COVID-19.FundingWellcome, Royal Society, National Institute for Health Research, National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, UK Medical Research Council, Health Data Research UK.

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HIV infection and COVID-19 death: population-based cohort analysis of UK primary care data and linked national death registrations within the OpenSAFELY platform

10.1101/2020.08.07.20169490 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Krishnan Bhaskaran ◽

Christopher T Rentsch ◽

Brian MacKenna ◽

Anna Schultz ◽

Amir Mehrkar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Cohort Analysis ◽

Geographical Area ◽

Population Based ◽

People Living With Hiv ◽

Primary Care Data ◽

Living With Hiv ◽

Age And Sex

Background: It is unclear whether HIV infection is associated with risk of COVID-19 death. We aimed to investigate this in a large-scale population-based study in England. Methods: Working on behalf of NHS England, we used the OpenSAFELY platform to analyse routinely collected electronic primary care data linked to national death registrations. People with a primary care record for HIV infection were compared to people without HIV. COVID-19 death was defined by ICD-10 codes U07.1 or U07.2 anywhere on the death certificate. Cox regression models were used to estimate the association between HIV infection and COVID-19 death, initially adjusted for age and sex, then adding adjustment for index of multiple deprivation and ethnicity, and finally for a broad range of comorbidities. Interaction terms were added to assess effect modification by age, sex, ethnicity, comorbidities and calendar time. Results: 17.3 million adults were included, of whom 27,480 (0.16%) had HIV recorded. People living with HIV were more likely to be male, of black ethnicity, and from a more deprived geographical area than the general population. There were 14,882 COVID-19 deaths during the study period, with 25 among people with HIV. People living with HIV had nearly three-fold higher risk of COVID-19 death than those without HIV after adjusting for age and sex (HR=2.90, 95% CI 1.96-4.30). The association was attenuated but risk remained substantially raised, after adjustment for deprivation and ethnicity (adjusted HR=2.52, 1.70-3.73) and further adjustment for comorbidities (HR=2.30, 1.55-3.41). There was some evidence that the association was larger among people of black ethnicity (HR = 3.80, 2.15-6.74, compared to 1.64, 0.92-2.90 in non-black individuals, p-interaction=0.045) Interpretation: HIV infection was associated with a markedly raised risk of COVID-19 death in a country with high levels of antiretroviral therapy coverage and viral suppression; the association was larger in people of black ethnicity.

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