Publications
568 results found
Denaxas S, Shah AD, Mateen BA, et al., 2020, A semi-supervised approach for rapidly creating clinical biomarker phenotypes in the UK Biobank using different primary care EHR and clinical terminology systems, Jama Network Open, Vol: 3, Pages: 545-556, ISSN: 2574-3805
ObjectivesThe UK Biobank (UKB) is making primary care electronic health records (EHRs) for 500 000 participants available for COVID-19-related research. Data are extracted from four sources, recorded using five clinical terminologies and stored in different schemas. The aims of our research were to: (a) develop a semi-supervised approach for bootstrapping EHR phenotyping algorithms in UKB EHR, and (b) to evaluate our approach by implementing and evaluating phenotypes for 31 common biomarkers.Materials and MethodsWe describe an algorithmic approach to phenotyping biomarkers in primary care EHR involving (a) bootstrapping definitions using existing phenotypes, (b) excluding generic, rare, or semantically distant terms, (c) forward-mapping terminology terms, (d) expert review, and (e) data extraction. We evaluated the phenotypes by assessing the ability to reproduce known epidemiological associations with all-cause mortality using Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsWe created and evaluated phenotyping algorithms for 31 biomarkers many of which are directly related to COVID-19 complications, for example diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease. Our algorithm identified 1651 Read v2 and Clinical Terms Version 3 terms and automatically excluded 1228 terms. Clinical review excluded 103 terms and included 44 terms, resulting in 364 terms for data extraction (sensitivity 0.89, specificity 0.92). We extracted 38 190 682 events and identified 220 978 participants with at least one biomarker measured.Discussion and conclusionBootstrapping phenotyping algorithms from similar EHR can potentially address pre-existing methodological concerns that undermine the outputs of biomarker discovery pipelines and provide research-quality phenotyping algorithms.
Vioix H, Wright A, de Silva S, et al., 2020, THE CLINICAL AND COST IMPACT OF ADHERENCE TO CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE GUIDELINE RECOMMENDATIONS IN ENGLAND: A COST CONSEQUENCE MODEL, Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Pages: S719-S719, ISSN: 1098-3015
Bachtiger P, Adamson A, Quint JK, et al., 2020, Belief of having had unconfirmed Covid-19 infection reduces willingness to participate in app-based contact tracing, npj Digital Medicine, Vol: 3, Pages: 1-7, ISSN: 2398-6352
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Contact tracing and lockdown are health policies being used worldwide to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19). The UK National Health Service (NHS) Track and Trace Service has plans for a nationwide app that notifies the need for self-isolation to those in contact with a person testing positive for COVID-19. To be successful, such an app will require high uptake, the determinants and willingness for which are unclear but essential to understand for effective public health benefit. The objective of this study was to measure the determinants of willingness to participate in an NHS app-based contact-tracing programme using a questionnaire within the Care Information Exchange (CIE)—the largest patient-facing electronic health record in the NHS. Among 47,708 registered NHS users of the CIE, 27% completed a questionnaire asking about willingness to participate in app-based contact tracing, understanding of government advice, mental and physical wellbeing and their healthcare utilisation—related or not to COVID-19. Descriptive statistics are reported alongside univariate and multivariable logistic regression models, with positive or negative responses to a question on app-based contact tracing as the dependent variable. 26.1% of all CIE participants were included in the analysis (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 12,434, 43.0% male, mean age 55.2). 60.3% of respondents were willing to participate in app-based contact tracing. Out of those who responded ‘no’, 67.2% stated that this was due to privacy concerns. In univariate analysis, worsening mood, fear and anxiety in relation to changes in government rules around lockdown were associated with lower willingness to participate. Multivariable analysis showed that difficulty understanding government rules was associated with a decreased inclination to download the app, with those scoring 1–2 and 3–4
Buttery S, Lewis A, Kemp S, et al., 2020, Lung volume reduction eligibility in patients with COPD completing pulmonary rehabilitation: results from the UK National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme, BMJ Open, Vol: 10, ISSN: 2044-6055
Objectives To establish what proportion of patients completing a UK pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programme meet the 2018 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) guideline (NG115) criteria to have a respiratory review to establish whether referral to a lung volume reduction multidisciplinary team would be appropriate. This respiratory review would include evaluation of the presence of hyperinflation and the presence of emphysema on CT scan. The NICE criteria include measures of breathlessness and exercise capacity but these parameters are not completely defined.Design Observational study.Setting PR programmes across the UK in 2015 (210 centres) and 2017 (184 centres) entering data into the Royal College of Physicians’ National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme.Participants 8295 (55.7%) of 14 889 patients in programmes using incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) or 6-minute walk test (6MWT) as an outcome measure completed PR, and 4856 (32.6%) had complete data recorded (6MWT/ISWT, baseline spirometry, Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea score).Results Depending on the walking test safety threshold adopted for the ISWT (≥140 m or ≥ 80 m) and the MRC dyspnoea score threshold used (MRC score ≥3 or ≥4 at the end of PR), between 4.9% and 18.1% of PR completers met the NICE criteria for a lung volume reduction-focused respiratory review.Conclusions Lung volume reduction therapies are beneficial in appropriately selected patients with COPD, but few procedures are performed, and treatment pathways are unclear. These data help to inform the feasibility of the approach recommended by NICE and highlight the need for future systematic pathways to reduce inequalities in patients being considered for effective treatments.
Whittaker H, Pimenta J, Jarvis D, et al., 2020, Characteristics associated with accelerated lung function decline in a primary care population with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, International Journal of COPD, Vol: 2020, Pages: 3079-3091, ISSN: 1176-9106
Background: Estimates for lung function decline in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have differed by study setting and have not been described in a UK primary care population.Purpose: To describe rates of FEV1 and FVC decline in COPD and investigate characteristics associated with accelerated decline.Patients and Methods: Current/ex-smoking COPD patients (35 years+) who had at least 2 FEV1 or FVC measurements ≥ 6 months apart were included using Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Patients were followed up for a maximum of 13 years. Accelerated rate of lung function decline was defined as the fastest quartile of decline using mixed linear regression, and association with baseline characteristics was investigated using logistic regression.Results: A total of 72,683 and 50,649 COPD patients had at least 2 FEV1 or FVC measurements, respectively. Median rates of FEV1 and FVC changes or decline were − 18.1mL/year (IQR: − 31.6 to − 6.0) and − 22.7mL/year (IQR: − 39.9 to − 6.7), respectively. Older age, high socioeconomic status, being underweight, high mMRC dyspnoea and frequent AECOPD or severe AECOPD were associated with an accelerated rate of FEV1 and FVC decline. Current smoking, mild airflow obstruction and inhaled corticosteroid treatment were additionally associated with accelerated FEV1 decline whilst women, sputum production and severe airflow obstruction were associated with accelerated FVC decline.Conclusion: Rate of FEV1 and FVC decline was similar and showed similar heterogeneity. Whilst FEV1 and FVC shared associations with baseline characteristics, a few differences highlighted the importance of both lung function measures in COPD progression. We identified important characteristics that should be monitored for disease progression.
Stone P, Hickman K, Steiner MC, et al., 2020, Predictors of referral to pulmonary rehabilitation from UK primary care, International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Vol: 15, Pages: 2941-2952, ISSN: 1178-2005
Background: A large proportion of people with COPD are not referred to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) despite its proven benefits. No previous studies have examined predictors of referral to PR.Objective: To determine the characteristics of people with COPD associated with referral to PR.Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of a primary care cohort of 82,696 Welsh people with COPD generated as part of a UK national audit of COPD care. Data represent care received by patients as of 31/03/2017. Referral to PR was defined as any code in the patient record indicating referral to PR in the last 3 years. Potential predictors of referral to PR were chosen based on clinical judgement and data availability. Independent predictors of PR referral were determined using backward stepwise mixed-effects logistic regression with a random effect for practice. Variables assessed were: age, gender, deprivation, MRC recorded in past year, MRC grade, smoking status recorded in past year, smoking status, number of exacerbations in past year, inhaled therapy prescription, influenza vaccination, and comorbidities of diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, lung cancer, asthma, bronchiectasis, depression, anxiety, severe mental illness, osteoporosis, and painful condition.Results: A total of 13,297 people (16%) with COPD were referred from primary care for PR. Patients with a comorbidity of bronchiectasis or depression, MRC recorded in the last year, higher MRC grade, more exacerbations in the last year, a greater level of inhaled therapy, an influenza vaccination, or were an ex-smoker had significantly higher odds of referral to PR. Patients that were older, female, more deprived, or had a comorbidity of diabetes, asthma, or painful condition had significantly lower odds of referral to PR.Conclusion: Generally appropriate patients are being prioritised for PR referral; however, it is concerning that women, current smokers, and more deprived patients appear to have
Schultze A, Walker AJ, MacKenna B, et al., 2020, Risk of COVID-19-related death among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma prescribed inhaled corticosteroids: an observational cohort study using the OpenSAFELY platform, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Vol: 8, Pages: 1106-1120, ISSN: 2213-2600
BACKGROUND: Early descriptions of patients admitted to hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic showed a lower prevalence of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than would be expected for an acute respiratory disease like COVID-19, leading to speculation that inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) might protect against infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or the development of serious sequelae. We assessed the association between ICS and COVID-19-related death among people with COPD or asthma using linked electronic health records (EHRs) in England, UK. METHODS: In this observational study, we analysed patient-level data for people with COPD or asthma from primary care EHRs linked with death data from the Office of National Statistics using the OpenSAFELY platform. The index date (start of follow-up) for both cohorts was March 1, 2020; follow-up lasted until May 6, 2020. For the COPD cohort, individuals were eligible if they were aged 35 years or older, had COPD, were a current or former smoker, and were prescribed an ICS or long-acting β agonist plus long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LABA-LAMA) as combination therapy within the 4 months before the index date. For the asthma cohort, individuals were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had been diagnosed with asthma within 3 years of the index date, and were prescribed an ICS or short-acting β agonist (SABA) only within the 4 months before the index date. We compared the outcome of COVID-19-related death between people prescribed an ICS and those prescribed alternative respiratory medications: ICSs versus LABA-LAMA for the COPD cohort, and low-dose or medium-dose and high-dose ICSs versus SABAs only in the asthma cohort. We used Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for the association between exposure categories and the outcome in each population, adjusted for age, sex, and all other prespecified covariates. We calculated e-values to
Stone P, Quint J, Roberts CM, et al., 2020, Use of NEWS2 to predict length of stay and in hospital mortality at exacerbation of COPD, 2020 ERS International Congress, Publisher: European Respiratory Society, Pages: 1-2, ISSN: 0903-1936
Background: NEWS2 is a risk score based on routinely collected physiologic measures. We assessed if NEWS2 can be used to predict short-term outcomes for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) admissions.Methods: Data were collected from 167 English Hospitals participating in the National Asthma and COPD Audit Programme (NACAP) for AECOPD admissions discharged between 01/10/2018 and 30/09/2019. NEWS2 was recorded on arrival to hospital. A mixed-effects logistic regression examined the association between NEWS2 risk category (low, medium, high) and AECOPD outcomes (inpatient mortality, received NIV, length of stay > median [4 days]) using a random effect for hospital. Regression models were adjusted for age, sex, deprivation, GOLD stage, smoking status, history of cardiovascular disease, and history of mental illness.Results: Of the 78302 patients included in the study 4% died during admission, 10% required NIV, and 41% had a length of stay longer than the median. There was a significant increase in odds of death, requirement for NIV, and longer length of stay for each increase in risk category (table).
Quint J, O'leary C, venerus A, et al., 2020, Prescribing pathways to triple therapy: a multi-country, retrospective observational study of adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Pulmonary Therapy, Vol: 6, Pages: 333-350, ISSN: 2364-1746
IntroductionMaintenance treatment strategies in COPD recommend inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) + long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) + long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) triple therapy after initial dual therapy. Little is known about how treatment pathways to triple therapy vary across countries in clinical practice.MethodsThis multi-country, retrospective cohort study (conducted 1 January 2005–1 May 2016) included patients with a COPD diagnosis, and (UK only) evidence of smoking history, or (France, Italy, Germany, and Australia) an indicator confirming COPD diagnosis, a first instance of triple therapy recorded during the study period and ≥ 12 months of data prior to this date. Treatment pathways to triple therapy were analyzed in patients whose first instance of triple therapy was on or after the initial COPD diagnosis. The proportion of patients who initiated triple therapy prior to initial COPD diagnosis was also estimated. Meta-analyses of the main results were performed.ResultsIn 130,729 patients across all countries, mean age (standard deviation) ranged from 63.4 (10.4) years (Germany) to 69.8 (9.9) years (Italy), and median time (interquartile range) from initial COPD diagnosis to first prescription of triple therapy ranged from 16.9 (5.7–36.2) months (Australia) to 42.5 (13.9–87.4) months (UK). ICS + LABA was the most common treatment pathway prior to triple therapy in the UK, Germany, and Italy (27.3%–31.6%); no previous maintenance therapy prior to triple therapy was the most common pathway in France and Australia (32.5% and 37.9%, respectively). Meta-analyses provided a pooled estimate of 20.4% (95% confidence interval: 13.8%–29.1%) for the proportion of patients initiating triple therapy at or before initial COPD diagnosis.ConclusionsIn this retrospective cohort study, treatment pathways to triple therapy were diverse within and between countries. The differing
Drake TM, Docherty AB, Harrison EM, et al., 2020, Outcome of hospitalization for COVID-19 in patients with interstitial lung disease: an international multicenter study., American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Vol: 202, Pages: 1656-1665, ISSN: 1073-449X
RATIONALE: The impact of COVID-19 on patients with Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) has not been established. OBJECTIVES: To assess outcomes in patients with ILD hospitalized for COVID-19 versus those without ILD in a contemporaneous age, sex and comorbidity matched population. METHODS: An international multicenter audit of patients with a prior diagnosis of ILD admitted to hospital with COVID-19 between 1 March and 1 May 2020 was undertaken and compared with patients, without ILD obtained from the ISARIC 4C cohort, admitted with COVID-19 over the same period. The primary outcome was survival. Secondary analysis distinguished IPF from non-IPF ILD and used lung function to determine the greatest risks of death. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Data from 349 patients with ILD across Europe were included, of whom 161 were admitted to hospital with laboratory or clinical evidence of COVID-19 and eligible for propensity-score matching. Overall mortality was 49% (79/161) in patients with ILD with COVID-19. After matching ILD patients with COVID-19 had higher mortality (HR 1.60, Confidence Intervals 1.17-2.18 p=0.003) compared with age, sex and co-morbidity matched controls without ILD. Patients with a Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) of <80% had an increased risk of death versus patients with FVC ≥80% (HR 1.72, 1.05-2.83). Furthermore, obese patients with ILD had an elevated risk of death (HR 2.27, 1.39-3.71). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with ILD are at increased risk of death from COVID-19, particularly those with poor lung function and obesity. Stringent precautions should be taken to avoid COVID-19 in patients with ILD. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Bloom CI, Cabrera C, Arnetorp S, et al., 2020, Asthma-related health outcomes associated with short-acting beta(2)-agonist inhaler use: an observational UK study as part of the SABINA global program, Advances in Therapy, Vol: 37, Pages: 4190-4208, ISSN: 0741-238X
IntroductionPatients with asthma typically increase short-acting β2-agonists (SABA) use with worsening symptoms. Excessive SABA use may lead to a higher risk of adverse outcomes. We evaluated, in a large population cohort, an association between SABA inhaler use and asthma exacerbations and healthcare utilization.MethodsAs part of the SABINA (SABA use IN Asthma) global program, we conducted a retrospective longitudinal observational study (SABINA I) using UK primary care electronic healthcare records (Clinical Practice Research Datalink; 2007–2017) from asthma patients aged ≥ 12 years. SABA inhaler use was classified as ‘high use ’ 3 canisters/year versus ‘low use’, 0–2 canisters/year. Taking into consideration all their asthma prescriptions, patients were categorized into a treatment step according to 2016 British Thoracic Society (BTS) asthma management guidelines. Multivariable regression assessed the association of SABA inhaler use by BTS treatment steps (grouped as BTS steps 1/2 and 3–5), separately, and with outcomes of exacerbations or asthma-related healthcare utilization (primary care and hospital outpatient consultations); only patients with linked hospital data were included in this analysis.ResultsOf the 574,913 patients included, 218,365 (38%) had high SABA inhaler use. Overall, 336,412 patients had linked hospital data. High SABA inhaler use was significantly associated with an increased risk of exacerbations [adjusted hazard ratio, 95% confidence interval (CI): BTS steps 1/2 = 1.20, 1.16–1.24; BTS steps 3–5 = 1.24, 1.20–1.28], asthma-related primary care consultations [adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR), 95% CI: BTS steps 1/2 = 1.24, 1.23–1.26; BTS steps 3–5 = 1.13, 1.11–1.15), and asthma-related hospital outpatient consultations (adjusted IRR, 95% CI: BTS steps 1/2 = 1.19, 1.12&ndas
Requena G, Sansbury L, Wolf A, et al., 2020, Description of COPD patients treated with multiple inhaler triple therapies (MITT) using the CPRD GOLD and CPRD aurum electronic health record (EHR) databases, Publisher: WILEY, Pages: 95-95, ISSN: 1053-8569
Gulea C, Zakeri R, Quint JK, 2020, Transatlantic differences in healthcare systems captured by large administrative databases: Assessing the burden of COPD in patients admitted for heart failure, Publisher: WILEY, Pages: 52-52, ISSN: 1053-8569
Nan C, Arnetorp S, Beekman MJHI, et al., 2020, Methodological considerations and learnings from setting up the SABINA program, Publisher: WILEY, Pages: 237-237, ISSN: 1053-8569
Axson E, Lewis A, Potts J, et al., 2020, Inhaled therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis, BMJ Open, Vol: 10, ISSN: 2044-6055
Objectives To integrate evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies on the efficacy of inhaled treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using network meta-analyses.Methods Systematic searches MEDLINE and Embase based on predetermined criteria. Network meta-analyses of RCTs investigated efficacy on exacerbations (long-term: ≥20 weeks of treatment; short-term: <20 weeks), lung function (≥12 weeks), health-related quality of life, mortality and adverse events. Qualitative comparisons of efficacies between RCTs and observational studies.Results 212 RCTs and 19 observational studies were included. Compared with combined long-acting beta-adrenoceptor agonists and long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LABA+LAMA), triple therapy (LABA+LAMA+inhaled corticosteroid) was significantly more effective at reducing exacerbations (long-term 0.85 (95% CI: 0.78 to 0.94; short-term 0.67 (95% CI: 0.49 to 0.92)) and mortality (0.72 (95% CI: 0.59 to 0.89)) but was also associated with increased pneumonia (1.35 (95% CI: 1.10 to 1.67)). No differences in lung function (0.02 (95% CI: −0.10 to 0.14)), health-related quality of life (−1.12 (95% CI: −3.83 to 1.59)) or other adverse events (1.02 (95% CI: 0.96 to 1.08)) were found. Most of the observational evidence trended in the same direction as pooled RCT data.Conclusion Further evidence, especially pragmatic trials, are needed to fully understand the characteristics of patient subgroups who may benefit from triple therapy and for those whom the extra risk of adverse events, such as pneumonia, may outweigh any benefits.
Sinha I, Quint J, Roberts CM, 2020, Improving outcomes for children with asthma: the role of a national audit, Archives of Disease in Childhood, Vol: 105, Pages: 919-920, ISSN: 0003-9888
Buttery S, Lewis A, Kemp S, et al., 2020, Eligibility for Lung Volume Reduction in patients with COPD attending Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Publisher: EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD, ISSN: 0903-1936
Adamson A, Robinson S, Roberts CM, et al., 2020, How do differences in the definition of good quality care affect classification of hospital performance?, Publisher: EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD, ISSN: 0903-1936
Quint J, Arnetorp S, Janson C, et al., 2020, Short-acting β2-agonist use in asthma in Western societies, Publisher: EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD, ISSN: 0903-1936
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Ramakrishnan S, Janssens W, Burgel PR, et al., 2020, European expert consensus on assessment and management of hospitalised exacerbations of COPD (CICERO ERS CRC), Publisher: EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD, ISSN: 0903-1936
Gayle A, Lenoir A, Minelli C, et al., 2020, Who are the patients who die of COPD with no evidence of prior diagnosis? A UK primary care database analysis, Publisher: EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD, ISSN: 0903-1936
Elbehairy AF, Quint J, Jordan S, et al., 2020, Identifying patient suitability for lung volume reduction - estimation of gas trapping from spirometry, Publisher: EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD, ISSN: 0903-1936
Schulze A, Walker A, MacKenna B, et al., 2020, Inhaled corticosteroid use and risk COVID-19 related death among 966,461 patients with COPD or asthma: an OpenSAFELY analysis, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, ISSN: 2213-2600
Whittaker H, Quint JK, 2020, Using routine health data for research: the devil is in the detail, Thorax, Vol: 75, Pages: 714-715, ISSN: 0040-6376
Gayle A, Quint JK, Fuertes E, 2020, Understanding the relationships between environmental factors and exacerbations of COPD, Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine, Vol: 15, Pages: 39-50, ISSN: 1747-6348
IntroductionExacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with a significant health burden both for patients and healthcare systems. Exposure to various environmental factors increases the risk of exacerbations.Areas coveredWe searched PubMed and assessed literature published within the last 10 years to include epidemiological evidence on the relationships between air pollution, temperature and COPD exacerbation risk as well as the implications of extreme weather events on exacerbations.Expert opinionOngoing climate change is expected to increase air pollution levels, global temperature and the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, all of which are associated with COPD exacerbations. Further research is needed using patient-focused methodological approaches to better understand and quantify these relationships, so that effective mitigation strategies that decrease the risk of exacerbations can be developed.
Rothnie KJ, Quint JK, 2020, Methodologic Issues With Comparative Effectiveness Study on LAMA-LABA-ICS vs LAMA-LABA for the Treatment of COPD in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, CHEST, Vol: 158, Pages: 831-832, ISSN: 0012-3692
Bloom C, de Preux L, Sheikh A, et al., 2020, Health and cost impact of stepping down asthma medication for UK patients, 2001–2017: a population-based observational study, PLoS Medicine, Vol: 17, ISSN: 1549-1277
BackgroundGuidelines recommend stepping down asthma treatment to the minimum effective dose to achieve symptom control, prevent adverse side effects, and reduce costs. Limited data exist on asthma prescription patterns in a real-world setting. We aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of doses prescribed to a UK general asthma population and assess whether stepping down medication increased exacerbations or reliever use, as well as its impact on costs.Methods and findingsWe used nationwide UK primary care medical records, 2001–2017, to identify 508,459 adult asthma patients managed with preventer medication. Prescriptions of higher-level medication: medium/high-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) or ICSs + add-on medication (long-acting β2-agonist [LABA], leukotriene receptor antagonist [LTRA], theophylline, or long-acting muscarinic antagonist [LAMA]) steadily increased over time (2001 = 49.8%, 2017 = 68.3%). Of those prescribed their first preventer, one-third were prescribed a higher-level medication, of whom half had no reliever prescription or exacerbation in the year prior. Of patients first prescribed ICSs + 1 add-on, 70.4% remained on the same medication during a mean follow-up of 6.6 years. Of those prescribed medium/high-dose ICSs as their first preventer, 13.0% already had documented diabetes, cataracts, glaucoma, or osteopenia/osteoporosis. A cohort of 125,341 patients were drawn to assess the impact of stepping down medication: mean age 50.4 years, 39.4% males, 39,881 stepped down. Exposed patients were stepped down by dropping their LABAs or another add-on or by halving their ICS dose (halving their mean-daily dose or their inhaler dose). The primary and secondary outcomes were, respectively, exacerbations and an increase in reliever prescriptions. Multivariable regression was used to assess outcomes and determine the prognostic factors for initiating stepdown. There was no increased exacerbation risk for each possible medication stepdown (ad
Kiddle S, Whittaker H, Seaman S, et al., 2020, Prediction of five-year mortality after COPD diagnosis using primary care records, PLoS One, Vol: 15, ISSN: 1932-6203
Accurate prognosis information after a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) would facilitate earlier and better informed decisions about the use of prevention strategies and advanced care plans. We therefore aimed to develop and validate an accurate prognosis model for incident COPD cases using only information present in general practitioner (GP) records at the point of diagnosis. Incident COPD patients between 2004–2012 over the age of 35 were studied using records from 396 general practices in England. We developed a model to predict all-cause five-year mortality at the point of COPD diagnosis, using 47,964 English patients. Our model uses age, gender, smoking status, body mass index, forced expiratory volume in 1-second (FEV1) % predicted and 16 co-morbidities (the same number as the Charlson Co-morbidity Index). The performance of our chosen model was validated in all countries of the UK (N = 48,304). Our model performed well, and performed consistently in validation data. The validation area under the curves in each country varied between 0.783–0.809 and the calibration slopes between 0.911–1.04. Our model performed better in this context than models based on the Charlson Co-morbidity Index or Cambridge Multimorbidity Score. We have developed and validated a model that outperforms general multimorbidity scores at predicting five-year mortality after COPD diagnosis. Our model includes only data routinely collected before COPD diagnosis, allowing it to be readily translated into clinical practice, and has been made available through an online risk calculator
Drake TM, Docherty AB, Harrison EM, et al., 2020, Outcome of hospitalisation for COVID-19 in patients with interstitial lung disease: an international multicentre study., Publisher: bioRxiv
Rationale: The impact of COVID-19 on patients with Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) has not been established. Objectives: To assess outcomes following COVID-19 in patients with ILD versus those without in a contemporaneous age, sex and comorbidity matched population. Methods: An international multicentre audit of patients with a prior diagnosis of ILD admitted to hospital with COVID-19 between 1 March and 1 May 2020 was undertaken and compared with patients, without ILD obtained from the ISARIC 4C cohort, admitted with COVID-19 over the same period. The primary outcome was survival. Secondary analysis distinguished IPF from non-IPF ILD and used lung function to determine the greatest risks of death. Measurements and Main Results: Data from 349 patients with ILD across Europe were included, of whom 161 were admitted to hospital with laboratory or clinical evidence of COVID-19 and eligible for propensity-score matching. Overall mortality was 49% (79/161) in patients with ILD with COVID-19. After matching ILD patients with COVID-19 had higher mortality (HR 1.60, Confidence Intervals 1.17-2.18 p=0.003) compared with age, sex and co-morbidity matched controls without ILD. Patients with a Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) of <80% had an increased risk of death versus patients with FVC ≥80% (HR 1.72, 1.05-2.83). Furthermore, obese patients with ILD had an elevated risk of death (HR 1.98, 1.13−3.46). Conclusions: Patients with ILD are at increased risk of death from COVID-19, particularly those with poor lung function and obesity. Stringent precautions should be taken to avoid COVID-19 in patients with ILD.
Hurst JR, Quint JK, Stone RA, et al., 2020, National clinical audit for hospitalised exacerbations of COPD, ERJ Open Research, Vol: 6, ISSN: 2312-0541
Introduction: Exacerbations of COPD requiring hospital admission are burdensome to patients and health services. Audit enables benchmarking performance between units and against national standards, and supports quality improvement. We summarise 23 years of UK audit for hospitalised COPD exacerbations to better understand which features of audit design have had most impact. Method: Pilot audits were performed in 1997 and 2001, with national cross-sectional audits in 2003, 2008 and 2014. Continuous audit commenced in 2017. Overall, 96% of eligible units took part in cross-sectional audit, 86% in the most recent round of continuous audit. We synthesised data from eight rounds of national COPD audit. Results: Clinical outcomes were observed to change at the same time as changes in delivery of care: length of stay halved from 8 to 4 days between 1997 and 2014, alongside wider availability of integrated care. Process indicators did not generally improve with sequential cross-sectional audit. Under continuous audit with quality improvement support, process indicators linked to financial incentives (early specialist review (55-66%) and provision of a discharge bundle (53-74%)) improved more rapidly than those not linked (availability of spirometry (40-46%) and timely noninvasive ventilation (21-24%)). Conclusion: Careful piloting and engagement can result in successful roll-out of cross-sectional national audit in a high-burden disease. Audit outcome measures and process indicators may be affected by changes in care pathways. Sequential cross-sectional national audit alone was not generally accompanied by improvements in care. However, improvements in process indicators were seen when continuous audit was combined with quality improvement support and, in particular, financial incentives.
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