Factors Associated with the Treatment Costs within the First Year after Pacemaker Implantation or Pulse Generator Replacement. / Fatores Associados aos Custos do Tratamento no Primeiro Ano após Implantes Iniciais ou Trocas de Geradores de Pulsos de Marca-passos Cardíacos.

BACKGROUND: The use of artificial cardiac pacemakers has grown steadily in line with the aging population. OBJECTIVES: To determine the rates of hospital readmissions and complications after pacemaker implantation or pulse generator replacement and to assess the impact of these events on annual treatment costs from the perspective of the Unified Health System (SUS). METHODS: A prospective registry, with data derived from clinical practice, collected during index hospitalization and during the first 12 months after the surgical procedure. The cost of index hospitalization, the procedure, and clinical follow-up were estimated according to the values reimbursed by SUS and analyzed at the patient level. Generalized linear models were used to study factors associated with the total annual treatment cost, adopting a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: A total of 1,223 consecutive patients underwent initial implantation (n=634) or pulse generator replacement (n=589). Seventy episodes of complication were observed in 63 patients (5.1%). The incidence of hospital readmissions within one year was 16.4% (95% CI 13.7% - 19.6%) after initial implants and 10.6% (95% CI 8.3% - 13.4%) after generator replacements. Chronic kidney disease, history of stroke, length of hospital stays, need for postoperative intensive care, complications, and hospital readmissions showed a significant impact on the total annual treatment cost. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm the influence of age, comorbidities, postoperative complications, and hospital readmissions as factors associated with increased total annual treatment cost for patients with pacemakers.

FUNDAMENTO: O uso de marca-passos cardíacos artificiais tem crescido constantemente, acompanhando o envelhecimento populacional. OBJETIVOS: Determinar as taxas de readmissões hospitalares e complicações após implante de marca-passo ou troca de gerador de pulsos e avaliar o impacto desses eventos nos custos anuais do tratamento sob a perspectiva do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). MÉTODOS: Registro prospectivo, com dados derivados da prática clínica assistencial, coletados na hospitalização índice e durante os primeiros 12 meses após o procedimento cirúrgico. O custo da hospitalização índice, do procedimento e do seguimento clínico foram estimados de acordo com os valores reembolsados pelo SUS e analisados ao nível do paciente. Modelos lineares generalizados foram utilizados para estudar fatores associados ao custo total anual do tratamento, adotando-se um nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: No total, 1.223 pacientes consecutivos foram submetidos a implante inicial (n= 634) ou troca do gerador de pulsos (n= 589). Foram observados 70 episódios de complicação em 63 pacientes (5,1%). A incidência de readmissões hospitalares em um ano foi de 16,4% (IC 95% 13,7% - 19,6%) após implantes iniciais e 10,6% (IC 95% 8,3% - 13,4%) após trocas de geradores. Doença renal crônica, histórico de acidente vascular encefálico, tempo de permanência hospitalar, necessidade de cuidados intensivos pós-operatórios, complicações e readmissões hospitalares mostraram um impacto significativo sobre o custo anual total do tratamento. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados confirmam a influência da idade, comorbidades, complicações pós-operatórias e readmissões hospitalares como fatores associados ao incremento do custo total anual do tratamento de pacientes com marca-passo.

Fatores Associados aos Custos do Tratamento no Primeiro Ano após Implantes Iniciais ou Trocas de Geradores de Pulsos de Marca-passos Cardíacos / Factors Associated with the Treatment Costs within the First Year after Pacemaker Implantation or Pulse Generator Replacement

Resumo Fundamento O uso de marca-passos cardíacos artificiais tem crescido constantemente, acompanhando o envelhecimento populacional. Objetivos Determinar as taxas de readmissões hospitalares e complicações após implante de marca-passo ou troca de gerador de pulsos e avaliar o impacto desses eventos nos custos anuais do tratamento sob a perspectiva do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Métodos Registro prospectivo, com dados derivados da prática clínica assistencial, coletados na hospitalização índice e durante os primeiros 12 meses após o procedimento cirúrgico. O custo da hospitalização índice, do procedimento e do seguimento clínico foram estimados de acordo com os valores reembolsados pelo SUS e analisados ao nível do paciente. Modelos lineares generalizados foram utilizados para estudar fatores associados ao custo total anual do tratamento, adotando-se um nível de significância de 5%. Resultados No total, 1.223 pacientes consecutivos foram submetidos a implante inicial (n= 634) ou troca do gerador de pulsos (n= 589). Foram observados 70 episódios de complicação em 63 pacientes (5,1%). A incidência de readmissões hospitalares em um ano foi de 16,4% (IC 95% 13,7% - 19,6%) após implantes iniciais e 10,6% (IC 95% 8,3% - 13,4%) após trocas de geradores. Doença renal crônica, histórico de acidente vascular encefálico, tempo de permanência hospitalar, necessidade de cuidados intensivos pós-operatórios, complicações e readmissões hospitalares mostraram um impacto significativo sobre o custo anual total do tratamento. Conclusões Os resultados confirmam a influência da idade, comorbidades, complicações pós-operatórias e readmissões hospitalares como fatores associados ao incremento do custo total anual do tratamento de pacientes com marca-passo.

Abstract Background The use of artificial cardiac pacemakers has grown steadily in line with the aging population. Objectives To determine the rates of hospital readmissions and complications after pacemaker implantation or pulse generator replacement and to assess the impact of these events on annual treatment costs from the perspective of the Unified Health System (SUS). Methods A prospective registry, with data derived from clinical practice, collected during index hospitalization and during the first 12 months after the surgical procedure. The cost of index hospitalization, the procedure, and clinical follow-up were estimated according to the values reimbursed by SUS and analyzed at the patient level. Generalized linear models were used to study factors associated with the total annual treatment cost, adopting a significance level of 5%. Results A total of 1,223 consecutive patients underwent initial implantation (n=634) or pulse generator replacement (n=589). Seventy episodes of complication were observed in 63 patients (5.1%). The incidence of hospital readmissions within one year was 16.4% (95% CI 13.7% - 19.6%) after initial implants and 10.6% (95% CI 8.3% - 13.4%) after generator replacements. Chronic kidney disease, history of stroke, length of hospital stays, need for postoperative intensive care, complications, and hospital readmissions showed a significant impact on the total annual treatment cost. Conclusions The results confirm the influence of age, comorbidities, postoperative complications, and hospital readmissions as factors associated with increased total annual treatment cost for patients with pacemakers.

Influence of age on the effectiveness and duration of protection of Vaxzevria and CoronaVac vaccines: A population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Aging influences COVID-19 severity and response to vaccination, but previous vaccine effectiveness (VE) analyzes lack the power to evaluate its role in subgroups within the elderly age group. Here we analyzed the impact of age on viral vector and inactivated virus vaccines' effectiveness, the main platforms used in low- and middle-income countries. METHODS: We report a retrospective longitudinal study of 75,919,840 Brazilian vaccinees from January 18 to July 24, 2021, evaluating documented infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19-related hospitalisation, ICU admission, and death. Negative binomial regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics were used for VE estimation. FINDINGS: The overall analyzes of full vaccination showed VE against hospitalisation, ICU admission, and death of 91·4% (95%CI:90·1-92·5), 91·1% (95%CI:88·9-92·9) and 92·3% (95%CI:90·5-93·7) for Vaxzevria and 71·2% (95%CI:70·0-72·4), 72·2% (95%CI:70·2-74·0) and 73·7% (95%CI:72·1-75·2) for CoronaVac, respectively. VE for all outcomes is progressively lower with age. In fully-Vaxzevria-vaccinated individuals aged <60 years, VE against death was 96.5% (95%CI:82.1-99.3) versus 68·5% (95%CI:40·0-83·4) in those ≥90 years. Among fully-CoronaVac-vaccinated individuals, VE against death was 84.8% (95%CI:77.1-89.9) in those <60 years compared to 63.5 (95%CI 58.7-67.7) for vaccinees aged 80-89 years and 48·6%; (95%CI:35·0-59·3) for individuals aged ≥90 years. Post-vaccination daily cumulative incidence curves for all outcomes showed increased risk from younger to elder decades of life. There was no increase in the incidence of hospitalisation for individuals <60 years vaccinated during the same period as those aged ≥90 years. INTERPRETATION: Although both vaccines have been effective in protecting against infection, hospitalization and death; Vaxzevria and CoronaVac demonstrated high effectiveness against severe outcomes for individuals up to 79 years of age. Our results reinforce the idea that booster doses should be carefully considered in elders. FUNDING: This study was partially supported by a donation from the "Fazer o bem faz bem" program.

The growing impact of older patients in the emergency department: a 5-year retrospective analysis in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: The average age of the global population is rising at an increasing rate. There is a disproportional increase in Emergency Department (ED) visits by older people worldwide. In the Brazilian health system, complex and severely ill patients and those requiring specialized urgent procedures are referred to tertiary level care. As far as we know, no other study in Latin America has analyzed the impact of demographic changes in tertiary ED attendance. AIM: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics and outcomes of tertiary Brazilian ED users. METHODS: Design: Observational cross-sectional analytic study. SETTING: Emergency Department, tertiary university hospital, São Paulo, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: patients aged 18 years or older attending a tertiary ED (2009-2013). The primary outcomes were hospitalization and mortality; the secondary outcome was ICU admission. Age was categorized as 'young adults' (18-39y), 'adults' (40-59y), 'young-older adults' (60-79y), and 'old-older adults' (80-109y). Other variables included sex, reason for attendance, time of ED visit, mode of presentation, type of hospitalization, main procedure, length of hospital stay (LOS) and length of ICU stay (ICU-LOS). We calculated descriptive statistics, built generalized linear mixed models for each outcome and estimated Odds Ratios (95% CI) for the independent categorical variables. The significance level was 5% with Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: Older age-groups represented 26.6% of 333,028 ED visits, 40.7% of admissions, 42.7% of ICU admissions and 58% of all deaths. Old-older patients accounted for 5.1% of ED visits, 9.5% of admissions and 10.1% of ICU admissions. Hospitalization, ICU admission and mortality rates increased with older age in both sexes. LOS and ICU-LOS were similar across age-groups. The proportions of visits and admissions attributed to young adults decreased annually, while those of people aged 60 or over increased. The ORs for hospitalization, ICU admission and mortality associated with the old-older group were 3.49 (95% CI = 3.15-3.87), 1.27 (1.15-1.39) and 5.93 (5.29-6.66) respectively, with young adults as the reference. CONCLUSIONS: In tertiary ED, age is an important risk factor for hospitalization and mortality, but not for ICU admission. Old-older people are at the greatest risk and demand further subgroup stratification.

Burden of hospitalisation among older people in the Brazilian public health system: a big data analysis from 2009 to 2015.

BACKGROUND: The world's population is progressively ageing, and this trend imposes several challenges to society and governments. The aim of this study was to investigate the burden generated by the hospitalisation of older (>60 years) compared with non-older population, as well as the epidemiology of these hospital admissions. METHODS: Using the Brazilian Unified Health System (known as 'Sistema Único de Saúde' (SUS)), an analysis of all hospital admissions of adult patients in the SUS from 2009 to 2015 was undertaken. The following indicators were used: hospital admission rate, intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, average length of hospital and ICU stay, hospital mortality and average reimbursement per hospitalisation. RESULTS: A total of 61 958 959 admissions during the 7-year period, were analysed, encompassing 17 893 392 (28.9%) older patients. Elderly represent 15% (n=21 294 950) of the Brazilian adult population, but are responsible for 29% (n=17 893 392) of hospitalisations, 52% (n=1 731 299) of ICU admissions and 66% (n=1 885 291) of hospital mortality. Among the adults, elderly represents 39% of the total reimbursement made related to admission/hospitalisation. For 2009 to 2015, while the older population increased 27%, ICU admission rate increased 20%; the average length of ICU stay was 12% higher in 2015 (6.5 days) compared with 2009 (5.8 days); and the hospital mortality increased from 9.8% to 11.2%. CONCLUSION: These findings illustrate the current panorama of the burden due to hospitalisation of older people in the Brazilian public health system, and evidence the consolidation of the epidemiological transition toward the predominance of non-communicable diseases as the main cause of hospitalisation among the elderly in Brazil.