Excess Mortality and Its Association with SARS-CoV-2 Status During the First Pandemic Peak: Cross-Sectional Analyses of the English Primary Care Surveillance Network

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Joy ◽  
Richard Hobbs ◽  
Julian Sherlock ◽  
Dylan McGagh ◽  
Oluwafunmi Akinyemi ◽  
...  
BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e019616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Excoffier ◽  
Lilli Herzig ◽  
Alexandra A N’Goran ◽  
Anouk Déruaz-Luyet ◽  
Dagmar M Haller

ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of multimorbidity using a list of 75 chronic conditions derived from the International Classification for Primary Care, Second edition and developed specifically to assess multimorbidity in primary care. Our aim was also to provide prevalence data for multimorbidity in primary care in a country in which general practitioners (GPs) do not play a gatekeeping role in the health system.SettingA representative sample of GPs within the Swiss Sentinel Surveillance Network.Participants118 GPs completed a paper-based questionnaire about 25 consecutive patients of all ages between September and November 2015. There were no patient exclusion criteria. Recorded data included date of birth, gender and the patients’ chronic conditions.Primary and secondary outcome measuresWe estimated the prevalence of multimorbidity, defined as ≥2, and ≥3 chronic conditions stratified by gender and age group, and adjusted for clustering by GPs. We also computed the prevalence of each chronic condition individually and grouped by system.ResultsData from 2904 patients were included (mean age (SD)=56.5 (20.5) years; male=43.7%). Prevalence was 52.1% (95% CI 48.6% to 55.5%) for ≥2 and 35.0% (95% CI 31.6% to 38.5%) for ≥3 chronic conditions, with no significant gender differences. Prevalence of two or more chronic conditions was low (6.2%, 95% CI 2.8% to 13.0%) in those below 20 but affected more than 85% (85.8%, 95% CI 79.6% to 90.3%) of those above the age of 80. The most prevalent conditions were cardiovascular (42.7%, 95% CI 39.7% to 45.7%), psychological (28.5%, 95% CI 26.1% to 31.1%) and metabolic or endocrine disorders (24.1%, 95% CI 21.6% to 26.7%). Elevated blood pressure was the most prevalent cardiovascular condition and depression the most common psychological disorder.ConclusionIn a country in which GPs do not play a gatekeeping role within the health system, the prevalence of multimorbidity, as assessed using a list of chronic conditions specifically relevant to primary care, is high and increases with age.


Author(s):  
Tyler Williamson ◽  
Sylvia Aponte-Hao ◽  
Bria Mele ◽  
Brendan Cord Lethebe ◽  
Charles Leduc ◽  
...  

Introduction. Individuals who have been identified as frail have an increased state of vulnerability, often leading to adverse health events, increased health spending, and potentially detrimental outcomes. Objective. The objective of this work is to develop and validate a case definition for frailty that can be used in a primary care electronic medical record database. Methods. This is a cross-sectional validation study using data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) in Southern Alberta. 52 CPCSSN sentinels assessed a random sample of their own patients using the Rockwood Clinical Frailty scale, resulting in a total of 875 patients to be used as reference standard. Patients must be over the age of 65 and have had a clinic visit within the last 24 months. The case definition for frailty was developed using machine learning methods using CPCSSN records for the 875 patients. Results. Of the 875 patients, 155 (17.7%) were frail and 720 (84.2%) were not frail. Validation metrics of the case definition were: sensitivity and specificity of 0.28, 95% CI (0.21 to 0.36) and 0.94, 95% CI (0.93 to 0.96), respectively; PPV and NPV of 0.53, 95% CI (0.42 to 0.64) and 0.86, 95% CI (0.83 to 0.88), respectively. Conclusion. The low sensitivity and specificity results could be because frailty as a construct remains under-developed and relatively poorly understood due to its complex nature. These results contribute to the literature by demonstrating that case definitions for frailty require expert consensus and potentially more sophisticated algorithms to be successful


CMAJ Open ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. E28-E32 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Queenan ◽  
T. Williamson ◽  
S. Khan ◽  
N. Drummond ◽  
S. Garies ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 658-661
Author(s):  
Mafalda Lemos Caldas ◽  
Miguel Julião ◽  
Ana João Santos ◽  
Harvey Max Chochinov

AbstractIntroductionThe Patient Dignity Question (PDQ) is a clinical tool developed with the aim of reinforcing the sense of personhood and dignity, enabling health care providers (HCPs) to see patients as people and not solely based on their illness.ObjectiveTo study the acceptability and feasibility of the Portuguese version of the PDQ (PDQ-PT) in a sample of palliative care patients cared for in primary care (PC).MethodA cross-sectional study using 20 palliative patients cared for in a PC unit. A post-PDQ satisfaction questionnaire was developed.ResultsTwenty participants were included, 75% were male; average age was 70 years old. Patients found the summary accurate, precise, and complete; all said that they would recommend the PDQ to others and want a copy of the summary placed on their family physician's medical chart. They felt the summary heightened their sense of dignity, considered it important that HCPs have access to the summary and indicated that this information could affect the way HCPs see and care for them. The PDQ-PT's took 7 min on average to answer, and 10 min to complete the summary.Significance of resultsThe PDQ-PT is well accepted and feasible to use with palliative patients in the context of PC and seems to be a promising tool to be implemented. Future trials are now warranted.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110350
Author(s):  
Pasitpon Vatcharavongvan ◽  
Viwat Puttawanchai

Background Most older adults with comorbidities in primary care clinics use multiple medications and are at risk of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) prescription. Objective This study examined the prevalence of polypharmacy and PIMs using Thai criteria for PIMs. Methods This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study. Data were collected from electronic medical records in a primary care clinic in 2018. Samples were patients aged ≥65 years old with at least 1 prescription. Variables included age, gender, comorbidities, and medications. The list of risk drugs for Thai elderly version 2 was the criteria for PIMs. The prevalence of polypharmacy and PIMs were calculated, and multiple logistic regression was conducted to examine associations between variables and PIMs. Results Of 2806 patients, 27.5% and 43.7% used ≥5 medications and PIMs, respectively. Of 10 290 prescriptions, 47% had at least 1 PIM. The top 3 PIMs were anticholinergics, proton-pump inhibitors, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Polypharmacy and dyspepsia were associated with PIM prescriptions (adjusted odds ratio 2.48 [95% confident interval or 95% CI 2.07-2.96] and 3.88 [95% CI 2.65-5.68], respectively). Conclusion Prescriptions with PIMs were high in the primary care clinic. Describing unnecessary medications is crucial to prevent negative health outcomes from PIMs. Computer-based clinical decision support, pharmacy-led interventions, and patient-specific drug recommendations are promising interventions to reduce PIMs in a primary care setting.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e042551
Author(s):  
Andrea L Hernan ◽  
Sally J Giles ◽  
Andrew Carson-Stevens ◽  
Mark Morgan ◽  
Penny Lewis ◽  
...  

BackgroundPatient engagement in safety has shown positive effects in preventing or reducing adverse events and potential safety risks. Capturing and utilising patient-reported safety incident data can be used for service learning and improvement.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to characterise the nature of patient-reported safety incidents in primary care.DesignSecondary analysis of two cross sectional studies.ParticipantsAdult patients from Australian and English primary care settings.MeasuresPatients’ self-reported experiences of safety incidents were captured using the validated Primary Care Patient Measure of Safety questionnaire. Qualitative responses to survey items were analysed and categorised using the Primary Care Patient Safety Classification System. The frequency and type of safety incidents, contributory factors, and patient and system level outcomes are presented.ResultsA total of 1329 patients (n=490, England; n=839, Australia) completed the questionnaire. Overall, 5.3% (n=69) of patients reported a safety incident over the preceding 12 months. The most common incident types were administration incidents (n=27, 31%) (mainly delays in accessing a physician) and incidents involving diagnosis and assessment (n=16, 18.4%). Organisation of care accounted for 27.6% (n=29) of the contributory factors identified in the safety incidents. Staff factors (n=13, 12.4%) was the second most commonly reported contributory factor. Where an outcome could be determined, patient inconvenience (n=24, 28.6%) and clinical harm (n=21, 25%) (psychological distress and unpleasant experience) were the most frequent.ConclusionsThe nature and outcomes of patient-reported incidents differ markedly from those identified in studies of staff-reported incidents. The findings from this study emphasise the importance of capturing patient-reported safety incidents in the primary care setting. The patient perspective can complement existing sources of safety intelligence with the potential for service improvement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110237
Author(s):  
Zouina Sarfraz ◽  
Azza Sarfraz ◽  
Alanna Barrios ◽  
Radhika Garimella ◽  
Asimina Dominari ◽  
...  

Background: Current literature lacks characterization of the post-recovery sequelae among COVID-19 patients. This review characterizes the course of clinical, laboratory, radiological findings during the primary infection period, and the complications post-recovery. Primary care findings are presented for long-COVID care. Methods: Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, 4 databases were searched (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Scopus) through December 5, 2020, using the keywords “COVID-19 and/or recovered and/or cardiovascular and/or long-term and/or sequelae and/or sub-acute and/or complication.” We included published peer-reviewed case reports, case series, and cross-sectional studies providing the clinical course of COVID-19 infection, and cardiopulmonary complications of patients who recovered from COVID-19, while making healthcare considerations for primary care workers. Results: We identified 29 studies across 9 countries including 37.9% Chinese and 24.1% U.S. studies, comprising 655 patients (Mean Age = 45) with various ethnical backgrounds including Asian and European. Based on the WHO COVID-19 severity classification scale, initial disease severity was mild for 377 patients and severe for 52 patients. Treatments during primary infection included corticosteroids, oxygen support, and antivirals. The mean value (in days) for complication onset after acute recovery was 28 days. Complete blood counts and RT-PCR tests were the most common laboratory results described. In 22 of the studies, patients showed signs of clinical improvement and were prescribed medications such as anticoagulants or corticosteroids. Conclusion: Post-recovery infectious complications are common in long-COVID-19 patients ranging from mild infections to life-threatening conditions. International thoracic and cardiovascular societies need to develop guidelines for patients recovering from COVID-19 pneumonia, while focused patient care by the primary care physician is crucial to curb preventable adverse events. Recommendations for real-time and lab-quality diagnostic tests are warranted to establish point-of-care testing, detect early complications, and provide timely treatment.


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