Mortality among free-ranging California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) during 2010–2014 with determination of last meal and toxicant exposure

Over the past 30 years, the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) population has rebounded from 22 individuals to over 200 birds living in the wild. Historical impacts to the population have been largely anthropogenic. In this study, we explore mortality and cause of death data from condors that died during the years 2010-2014 and compare these to mortality data described by Rideout et al. in 2012, covering the years 1992-2009. In addition, morphologic and genetic analysis of the contents of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract was performed on the 2010-2014 condor mortalities to determine animal origins of the last meal eaten. The maximum population at risk within this time frame was 329 birds. During this time, 88 condors died and underwent post-mortem examination, and 41 birds were lost to tracking efforts and presumed dead (crude mortality rate of 39%; 129/329). A cause of death was determined for 66 of the 88 necropsied birds. Lead toxicosis remained a significant negative factor in condor population recovery, being related to the deaths of 37 adult and juvenile condors (proportional mortality rate 56%). Compared to condors succumbing to other causes of death, cattle were less often part of the last meal of lead-intoxicated condors. Based on these data, continued efforts to mitigate the impact of lead on California condors should be pursued.

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Institutional mortality rate and cause of death at health facilities in Ghana between 2014 and 2018

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0256515 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (9) ◽

pp. e0256515

Author(s):

Adobea Yaa Owusu ◽

Sandra Boatemaa Kushitor ◽

Anthony Adofo Ofosu ◽

Mawuli Komla Kushitor ◽

Atsu Ayi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

Information Management System ◽

Health Facilities ◽

World Health ◽

Urban Region ◽

Mortality Data ◽

National Trends ◽

Ghana Health

Background The epidemiological transition, touted as occurring in Ghana, requires research that tracks the changing patterns of diseases in order to capture the trend and improve healthcare delivery. This study examines national trends in mortality rate and cause of death at health facilities in Ghana between 2014 and 2018. Methods Institutional mortality data and cause of death from 2014–2018 were sourced from the Ghana Health Service’s District Health Information Management System. The latter collates healthcare service data routinely from government and non-governmental health institutions in Ghana yearly. The institutional mortality rate was estimated using guidelines from the Ghana Health Service. Percent change in mortality was examined for 2014 and 2018. In addition, cause of death data were available for 2017 and 2018. The World Health Organisation’s 11th International Classification for Diseases (ICD-11) was used to group the cause of death. Results Institutional mortality decreased by 7% nationally over the study period. However, four out of ten regions (Greater Accra, Volta, Upper East, and Upper West) recorded increases in institutional mortality. The Upper East (17%) and Volta regions (13%) recorded the highest increase. Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were the leading cause of death in 2017 (25%) and 2018 (20%). This was followed by certain infectious and parasitic diseases (15% for both years) and respiratory infections (10% in 2017 and 13% in 2018). Among the NCDs, hypertension was the leading cause of death with 2,243 and 2,472 cases in 2017 and 2018. Other (non-ischemic) heart diseases and diabetes were the second and third leading NCDs. Septicaemia, tuberculosis and pneumonia were the predominant infectious diseases. Regional variations existed in the cause of death. NCDs showed more urban-region bias while infectious diseases presented more rural-region bias. Conclusions This study examined national trends in mortality rate and cause of death at health facilities in Ghana. Ghana recorded a decrease in institutional mortality throughout the study. NCDs and infections were the leading causes of death, giving a double-burden of diseases. There is a need to enhance efforts towards healthcare and health promotion programmes for NCDs and infectious diseases at facility and community levels as outlined in the 2020 National Health Policy of Ghana.

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Mortality and potential years of life lost by road traffic injuries in Brazil, 2013

Revista de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/s1518-8787.2016050006465 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 50 (0) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Silvânia Suely Caribé de Araújo Andrade ◽

Maria Helena Prado de Mello-Jorge

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Traffic Safety ◽

Skin Color ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Age Groups ◽

Mortality Rates ◽

Years Of Life Lost ◽

Road Traffic Injuries ◽

Proportional Mortality ◽

The Impact

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To estimate the potential years of life lost by road traffic injuries three years after the beginning of the Decade of Action for Traffic Safety. METHODS We analyzed the data of the Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade (SIM – Mortality Information System) related to road traffic injuries, in 2013. We estimated the crude and standardized mortality rates for Brazil and geographic regions. We calculated, for the Country, the proportional mortality according to age groups, education level, race/skin color, and type or quality of the victim while user of the public highway. We estimated the potential years of life lost according to sex. RESULTS The mortality rate in 2013 was of 21.0 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants for the Country. The Midwest region presented the highest rate (29.9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants). Most of the deaths by road traffic injuries took place with males (34.9 deaths per 100,000 males). More than half of the people who have died because of road traffic injuries were of black race/skin color, young adults (24.2%), individuals with low schooling (24.0%), and motorcyclists (28.5%). The mortality rate in the triennium 2011-2013 decreased 4.1%, but increased among motorcyclists. Across the Country, more than a million of potential years of life were lost, in 2013, because of road traffic injuries, especially in the age group of 20 to 29 years. CONCLUSIONS The impact of the high mortality rate is of over a million of potential years of life lost by road traffic injuries, especially among adults in productive age (early mortality), in only one year, representing extreme social cost arising from a cause of death that could be prevented. Despite the reduction of mortality by road traffic injuries from 2011 to 2013, the mortality rates increased among motorcyclists.

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P2746Survival of people with valvular heart disease in the community (OxValve-Survive)

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/eurheartj/ehz748.1063 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

C Taylor ◽

J M Ordonez-Mena ◽

A K Roalfe ◽

J Wilson ◽

S Myerson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Disease ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

Valvular Heart Disease ◽

Cox Regression ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Research Centre ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

Increased Risk ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Valvular heart disease (VHD) occurs commonly in older patients (>65 years) but the majority is mild disease, which is of uncertain importance. Understanding the impact of VHD on mortality in this older group of patients would help determine its relevance and aid the appropriate use of healthcare resources. OxValve is a cohort study in Oxfordshire screening people aged 65 and over for VHD. Over 4,009 participants were recruited between August 2009 and May 2016 and screened using echocardiography to establish the presence and severity of VHD. AIMS To report survival in the OxValve cohort, and to investigate whether people with VHD are at increased risk of death. Methods The OxValve cohort was linked to Office for National Statistics mortality data to obtain date and cause of death. Cox regression was used to investigate the association of any VHD, VHD of significant severity, and VHD subtypes with all-cause and cause-specific mortality, adjusting for potential confounders including age, sex, socioeconomic status, smoking, and comorbidities. Results Linked mortality data was available for 3,511 OxValve participants up to September 2018 (median 5.85 years follow-up). VHD was present in 2,645 (75.3%) participants and of these 288 (8.2%) had significant VHD. In total, 311 (8.9%) participants had died. Cancer was the commonest cause of death (n=135), followed by cardiovascular disease (n=75) and respiratory disease (n=35). After adjustment for age and other covariates, mild to moderate VHD was not associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR 1.16, 95% CI: 0.89 to 1.50). However, VHD of significant severity (moderate or severe disease) was associated with a nearly two-fold higher risk of death overall (HR 1.92, 95% CI: 1:38 to 2.67) including increased CVD mortality (HR 2.25, 95% CI: 1.21 to 4.18). DISCUSSION Mild to moderate VHD was very common, but was not associated with increased mortality. Significant VHD was however associated with a two-fold reduction in survival. Further research is required to understand the natural history of VHD, how to identify those with progressive disease and when to intervene. Acknowledgement/Funding NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford

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The association between first and second wave COVID-19 mortality in Italy

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-12126-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marco Vinceti ◽

Tommaso Filippini ◽

Kenneth J. Rothman ◽

Silvia Di Federico ◽

Nicola Orsini

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Cubic Spline ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Spline Regression ◽

Crude Mortality Rate ◽

Crude Mortality ◽

Time Periods ◽

Second Wave

Abstract Background The relation between the magnitude of successive waves of the COVID-19 outbreak within the same communities could be useful in predicting the scope of new outbreaks. Methods We investigated the extent to which COVID-19 mortality in Italy during the second wave was related to first wave mortality within the same provinces. We compared data on province-specific COVID-19 2020 mortality in two time periods, corresponding to the first wave (February 24–June 30, 2020) and to the second wave (September 1–December 31, 2020), using cubic spline regression. Results For provinces with the lowest crude mortality rate in the first wave (February–June), i.e. < 22 cases/100,000/month, mortality in the second wave (September–December) was positively associated with mortality during the first wave. In provinces with mortality greater than 22/100,000/month during the first wave, higher mortality in the first wave was associated with a lower second wave mortality. Results were similar when the analysis was censored at October 2020, before the implementation of region-specific measures against the outbreak. Neither vaccination nor variant spread had any role during the study period. Conclusions These findings indicate that provinces with the most severe initial COVID-19 outbreaks, as assessed through mortality data, faced milder second waves.

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The Relationship Between Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Health-Related Parameters and the Impact of COVID-19 on 24 Regions in India: Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.23083 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ravi Philip Rajkumar

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Sex Ratio ◽

Multivariate Analyses ◽

Case Fatality ◽

Negatively Associated ◽

Crude Mortality Rate ◽

Crude Mortality ◽

Health Related ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

BACKGROUND The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has varied widely across nations and even in different regions of the same nation. Some of this variability may be due to the interplay of pre-existing demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors in a given population. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the statistical associations between the statewise prevalence, mortality rate, and case fatality rate of COVID-19 in 24 regions in India (23 states and Delhi), as well as key demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related indices. METHODS Data on disease prevalence, crude mortality, and case fatality were obtained from statistics provided by the Government of India for 24 regions, as of June 30, 2020. The relationship between these parameters and the demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related indices of the regions under study was examined using both bivariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS COVID-19 prevalence was negatively associated with male-to-female sex ratio (defined as the number of females per 1000 male population) and positively associated with the presence of an international airport in a particular state. The crude mortality rate for COVID-19 was negatively associated with sex ratio and the statewise burden of diarrheal disease, and positively associated with the statewise burden of ischemic heart disease. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the COVID-19 crude mortality rate was significantly and negatively associated with sex ratio. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the transmission and impact of COVID-19 in a given population may be influenced by a number of variables, with demographic factors showing the most consistent association.

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Retrospective Analysis of the Initiation of Antibiotic Therapy In Severe Sepsis In Pediatric Patients

The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics ◽

10.5863/1551-6776-14.4.221 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 221-225

Author(s):

Joseph M. LaRochelle ◽

Jill A. Morgan ◽

Kristine A. Parbuoni

Keyword(s):

Severe Sepsis ◽

Time Delay ◽

Mortality Rate ◽

Antibiotic Therapy ◽

Sample Size ◽

Retrospective Chart Review ◽

Time Frame ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Average Weight ◽

Pediatric Sepsis

BACKGROUND The 2008 Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines state that intravenous antibiotic therapy should be started within the first hour of recognition of septic shock. Currently, there are no published studies looking at antibiotic timing in pediatric sepsis patients. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to determine if sepsis patients admitted to a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) are administered antibiotics in the appropriate time frame according to the Surviving Sepsis Guidelines. METHODS A retrospective chart review was conducted during a six-month time frame. For the purpose of this pilot study the onset of severe sepsis was defined as the time of a physician order for a vasopressor. Antibiotic appropriateness was based on culture results, drug dosing, and route. Length of PICU stay, overall hospital days, and mortality data were collected. Descriptive statistics on patient demographics, and the prescribing and time of administration of both antibiotics and vasopressors are included. RESULTS Fifty-four patients were identified, 4 of which were admitted twice during the study period. Fifty admissions did not meet criteria for analysis, with a final sample size of 8 patients identified. All patients were male with an average age of 7.6 years, average weight of 33.4 kg, and zero mortality rate. Eighty-eight percent of the patients were administered appropriate antibiotics. The average time from vasopressor order to the administration of antibiotics was 7 hours and 40 minutes. CONCLUSIONS The time delay in administering antibiotics to our pediatric sepsis patients likely involved physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. System improvements are needed to decrease the time delay in providing antibiotics to this patient population. Although our sample size was small, the mortality rate found in this study is lower than what has been reported in adults with sepsis.

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A new model of diffuse brain injury in rats

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns.1994.80.2.0291 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 80 (2) ◽

pp. 291-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 748

Author(s):

Anthony Marmarou ◽

Montasser A. Abd-Elfattah Foda ◽

Wimer van den Brink ◽

J. Campbell ◽

H. Kita ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Injury ◽

Mortality Rate ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

Skull Fracture ◽

Guide Tube ◽

Diffuse Brain Injury ◽

Group 2 ◽

The Impact ◽

Diffuse Brain ◽

Group 1

✓ This report describes the development of an experimental head injury model capable of producing diffuse brain injury in the rodent. A total of 161 anesthetized adult rats were injured utilizing a simple weight-drop device consisting of a segmented brass weight free-falling through a Plexiglas guide tube. Skull fracture was prevented by cementing a small stainless-steel disc on the calvaria. Two groups of rats were tested: Group 1, consisting of 54 rats, to establish fracture threshold; and Group 2, consisting of 107 animals, to determine the primary cause of death at severe injury levels. Data from Group 1 animals showed that a 450-gm weight falling from a 2-m height (0.9 kg-m) resulted in a mortality rate of 44% with a low incidence (12.5%) of skull fracture. Impact was followed by apnea, convulsions, and moderate hypertension. The surviving rats developed decortication flexion deformity of the forelimbs, with behavioral depression and loss of muscle tone. Data from Group 2 animals suggested that the cause of death was due to central respiratory depression; the mortality rate decreased markedly in animals mechanically ventilated during the impact. Analysis of mathematical models showed that this mass-height combination resulted in a brain acceleration of 900 G and a brain compression gradient of 0.28 mm. It is concluded that this simple model is capable of producing a graded brain injury in the rodent without a massive hypertensive surge or excessive brain-stem damage.

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Effect of Nosocomial Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcal Bacteremia on Mortality, Length of Stay, and Costs

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1086/502196 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 251-256 ◽

Cited By ~ 82

Author(s):

Xiaoyan Song ◽

Arjun Srinivasan ◽

David Plaut ◽

Trish M. Perl

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Length Of Stay ◽

Severity Of Illness ◽

Attributable Mortality ◽

Crude Mortality Rate ◽

Crude Mortality ◽

Vancomycin Resistant ◽

And Control ◽

The Impact ◽

Enterococcal Bacteremia

AbstractObjective:To determine the impact of vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia on patient outcomes and costs by assessing mortality, excess length of stay, and charges attributable to it.Design:A population-based, matched, historical cohort study.Setting:A 1,025-bed, university-based teaching facility and referral hospital.Patients:Two hundred seventy-seven vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia case-patients and 277 matched control-patients identified between 1993 and 2000.Results:The crude mortality rate was 50.2% and 19.9% for case-patients and control-patients, respectively, yielding a mortality rate of 30.3% attributable to vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia. The excess length of hospital stay attributable to vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia was 17 days, of which 12 days were spent in intensive care units. On average, $77,558 in extra charges was attributable to each vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia. To adjust for severity of illness, 159 pairs of case-patients and control-patients, who had the same severity of illness (All Patient Refined-Diagnosis Related Group complexity level), were further analyzed. When patients were stratified by severity of illness, the crude mortality rate was 50.3% among case-patients compared with 27.7% among control-patients, accounting for an attributable mortality rate of 22.6%. Attributable excess length of stay and charges were 17 days and $81,208, respectively.Conclusion:Vancomycin-resistant enterococcal bacteremia contributes significantly to excess mortality and economic loss, once severity of illness is considered. Efforts to prevent these infections will likely be cost-effective.

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Improve Healthcare Quality Through Mortality Committee: Retrospective Analysis of Bambino Gesù Children Hospital’s Ten Years’ Experience 2008-2017

Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology ◽

10.2174/1389201020666190211124436 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (8) ◽

pp. 635-642 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Caterina Offidani ◽

Maria Lodise ◽

Vittorio Gatto ◽

Paola Frati ◽

Stefano D'Errico ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rate ◽

Hospital Mortality ◽

Healthcare Quality ◽

Mortality Rates ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Systematic Analysis ◽

Mortality Review ◽

Hospital Deaths ◽

The Impact

Background: Healthcare quality improvements are one of the most important goals to reach a better and safer healthcare system. Reviewing in-hospital mortality data is useful to identify areas for improvement, and to monitor the impact of actions taken to avoid preventable cases, such as those related to healthcare associated infections (HAI). Methods: In this paper, we present the experience of the Mortality Committee of Bambino Gesù Children Hospital (OPBG). OPBG has instituted a process of systematic revision of all in-hospital deaths conducted by a multidisciplinary team. The goal is to identify system-wide issues that could be improved to reduce in-hospital preventable deaths. In this way, the mortality review goes alongside all the other risk management activities for the continuous quality improvement and patient safety. Results: In years 2008-2017, we performed a systematic analysis of 1148 inpatient deaths. In this time period, the overall mortality rate was 0.4%. Forty-seven deaths were caused due to infections, 10 of which involved patients with HAI transferred to OPBG from other facilities or patients with community- acquired infections. Six deaths related to HAI were followed by claims compensations. All these cases were not followed by compensation because the onset of HAI was considered an inevitable consequence of the underlying disease. Conclusion: Introduction of the mortality review committee has proved to be a valid instrument to improve the quality of the care provided in a hospital, allowing early identification of care gaps that could lead to an increase in mortality rates. Article Highlights Box: Reduction of preventable deaths is one of the most important goals to be achieved for any health-care system and to improve the quality of care. • Several studies have shown that analysis of morbidity and mortality rate helps to detect any factors that can lead to an increase in in-hospital mortality rates. • The review of in-hospital deaths allows to learn how to improve the quality and safety of care through identification of critical issues that lead to an increase in mortality ratio. • In some medical areas, such as intensive care units or surgery, the implementation of the conference on mortality and morbidity is more useful for assessing procedures at high risk of errors. • The implementation of existing databases with data deriving from the systematic review of medical records and in-hospital deaths appears to be desirable. • Mortality Review Committees can represent a very useful tool for all the health facilities for the reduction of preventable deaths, such as those related to HAI.

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How have changes in death by cause and age group contributed to the recent stalling of life expectancy gains in Scotland? Comparative decomposition analysis of mortality data, 2000–2002 to 2015–2017

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036529 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. e036529

Author(s):

Julie Ramsay ◽

Jon Minton ◽

Colin Fischbacher ◽

Lynda Fenton ◽

Maria Kaye-Bardgett ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Expectancy ◽

Cause Of Death ◽

Age Groups ◽

Decomposition Analysis ◽

Future Research ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Age Group ◽

Mortality Trends ◽

Life Expectancy At Birth ◽

The Impact

ObjectiveAnnual gains in life expectancy in Scotland were slower in recent years than in the previous two decades. This analysis investigates how deaths in different age groups and from different causes have contributed to annual average change in life expectancy across two time periods: 2000–2002 to 2012–2014 and 2012–2014 to 2015–2017.SettingScotland.MethodsLife expectancy at birth was calculated from death and population counts, disaggregated by 5 year age group and by underlying cause of death. Arriaga’s method of life expectancy decomposition was applied to produce estimates of the contribution of different age groups and underlying causes to changes in life expectancy at birth for the two periods.ResultsAnnualised gains in life expectancy between 2012–2014 and 2015–2017 were markedly smaller than in the earlier period. Almost all age groups saw worsening mortality trends, which deteriorated for most cause of death groups between 2012–2014 and 2015–2017. In particular, the previously observed substantial life expectancy gains due to reductions in mortality from circulatory causes, which most benefited those aged 55–84 years, more than halved. Mortality rates for those aged 30–54 years and 90+ years worsened, due in large part to increases in drug-related deaths, and dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, respectively.ConclusionFuture research should seek to explain the changes in mortality trends for all age groups and causes. More investigation is required to establish to what extent shortcomings in the social security system and public services may be contributing to the adverse trends and preventing mitigation of the impact of other contributing factors, such as influenza outbreaks.

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