Nonoperative versus operative management of frail institutionalized older patients with a proximal femoral fracture: a cost-utility analysis alongside a multicenter prospective cohort study.

Hip fractures are associated with significant healthcare costs. In frail institutionalized patients, the costs of nonoperative management are less than operative management with comparable short-term quality of life. Nonoperative management of hip fractures in patients at the end of life should be openly discussed with SDM. PURPOSE: The aim was to describe healthcare use with associated costs and to determine cost-utility of nonoperative management (NOM) versus operative management (OM) of frail institutionalized older patients with a proximal femoral fracture. METHODS: This study included institutionalized patients with a limited life expectancy aged ≥ 70 years who sustained a proximal femoral fracture in the Netherlands. Costs of hospital- and nursing home care were calculated. Quality adjusted life years (QALY) were calculated based on EuroQol-5D-5L utility scores at day 7, 14, and 30 and at 3 and 6 months. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated from a societal perspective. RESULTS: Of the 172 enrolled patients, 88 (51%) patients opted for NOM and 84 (49%) for OM. NOM was associated with lower healthcare costs at 6 months (NOM; €2425 (SD 1.030), OM; €9325 (SD 4242), p < 0.001). The main cost driver was hospital stay (NOM; €738 (SD 841) and OM; €3140 (SD 2636)). The ICER per QALY gained in the OM versus NOM was €76,912 and exceeded the threshold of €20,000 per QALY. The gained QALY were minimal in the OM group in patients who died within 14- and 30-day post-injury, but OM resulted in more than triple the costs. CONCLUSION: OM results in significant higher healthcare costs, mainly due to the length of hospital stay. For frail patients at the end of life, NOM of proximal femoral fractures should be openly discussed in SDM conversations due to the limited gain in QoL. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Netherlands Trial Register (NTR7245; date 10-06-2018).

Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms among injury patients and the association with outcome after injury.

Background: Injury patients are at risk for mental health problems, which could result in slower recovery and affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL), health care utilization, and return to work (RTW). Objective: In this study, we determined the prevalence of symptoms indicative of probable depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their association with HRQoL, health care utilization, and RTW in adult injury patients. Method: Data on unintentional injuries in adult patients were retrieved from the Dutch Injury Surveillance System (DISS) and a six-month follow-up questionnaire that included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) to assess depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and items on HRQoL (measured with the EQ-5D-5 L and EQ visual analogue scale), health care utilization and RTW. Logistic regression analyses assessed the association between depression, anxiety, and PTSD and HRQoL, health care utilization, and RTW. Results: At six months post-injury, 22% (n = 665/3060) of included patients had scores indicative of probable anxiety disorder (14%), depression (16%), and/or PTSD (6%). These patients had reduced EQ-5D utility scores [ß: -0.26 (95% CI: -0.28, -0.23)] and were less likely to RTW [OR: 2.12 (95% CI: 1.34, 3.37)] compared to their counterparts. Both mental and physical health care utilization were significantly higher in patients with symptoms indicative of depression, anxiety, and/or PTSD. Conclusions: In injury patients, there is a high occurrence of depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms, which is associated with lower HRQoL, higher health care utilization, and lower RTW rates. These results underline the importance of screening and treatment of these symptoms in this population to enhance good recovery of injury patients.

Antecedentes: Los pacientes lesionados se encuentran en riesgo de desarrollar problemas de salud mental, los cuales podrían resultar en recuperación más lenta y podrían afectar la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (HRQoL en sus siglas en inglés), la utilización de los servicios de salud, y el retorno al trabajo (RTW en sus siglas en inglés).Objetivo: En este estudio, determinamos la prevalencia de síntomas indicativos de probable depresión, ansiedad y de trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y su asociación con la HRQoL, con la utilización de servicios de salud, y el RTW en pacientes adultos lesionados.Método: Se recuperaron datos de pacientes adultos con lesiones no intencionales desde el Sistema Holandés de Vigilancia de Lesiones (DISS) y desde un cuestionario a los seis meses de seguimiento que incluyó la Escala Hospitalaria de Ansiedad y Depresión (HADS) y la Escala -revisada- del Impacto del Evento (IES-R) para evaluar síntomas de depresión, ansiedad y estrés postraumático (TEPT), también ítems sobre HRQoL (medida con la escala EQ-5D-5 L y la escala visual análoga EQ), utilización de servicios de salud, y RTW. Se aplicó análisis de regresión logística para evaluar la asociación entre depresión, ansiedad y TEPT y la HRQoL, utilización de servicios de salud y RWT.Resultados: A los 6 meses de seguimiento tras la lesión, el 22% (n = 665/3060) de los pacientes incluidos tuvo puntajes indicativos de probable trastorno de ansiedad (14%), depresión (16%) y/o TEPT (6%). Estos pacientes habían reducido los puntajes de la escala EQ-5D [ß: −0.26 (95% CI: −0.28,-0.23)] y tuvieron menos probabilidad de RTW [OR: 2.12 (95% CI: 1.34, 3.37)] comparados con su contraparte. La utilización de servicios de salud tanto física como mental fue significativamente más alta en los pacientes con síntomas indicativos de depresión, ansiedad y/o TEPT.Conclusiones: En los pacientes lesionados, existe una alta incidencia de depresión, ansiedad y síntomas de TEPT, los cuales se asociaron con una menor HRQoL, mayor uso de servicios de salud, y menores tasas de RTW. Estos resultados subrayan la importancia del tamizaje y tratamiento de estos síntomas en esta población, para aumentar una buena recuperación de los pacientes lesionados.

Sensitivity of the EQ-5D-5L for fatigue and cognitive problems and their added value in Q-fever patients.

PURPOSE: Measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with the EQ-5D-5L might lack sensitivity for disease-specific health complaints. This cross-sectional study analyzed whether fatigue and cognitive problems are captured by the EQ-5D-5L in a Q-fever patient population with persistent fatigue/cognitive problems, and whether addition of fatigue/cognition improved the explained variance for HRQoL. METHODS: A Dutch sample of Q-fever patients filled out the EQ-5D-5L and EQ VAS, the fatigue subscale of the Checklist Individual Strength, and a cognition dimension in the EQ-5D-5L format. The extent to which fatigue and cognition were captured by the EQ-5D-5L was determined based on distributional effects, head-to-head comparisons, Spearman rank correlation coefficients, and regression analyses. Explanatory power was determined of the EQ-5D-5L for the EQ VAS with and without a fatigue and cognition dimension. RESULTS: Out of 432 respondents, 373(86%) reported severe fatigue, 387(90%) cognitive problems. EQ-5D-5L utility and EQ VAS scores of respondents reporting severe fatigue/cognitive problems were significantly lower. Fatigue was strongly correlated with EQ-5D-5L dimensions usual activities and pain/discomfort (r = 0.602 and r = 0.510) and moderately with other EQ-5D-5L dimensions (r = 0.305-0.476). Cognition was strongly correlated with usual activities (r = 0.554) and moderately with other dimensions (r = 0.291-0.451). Adding fatigue to the EQ-5D-5L increased explanatory power for the EQ VAS with 6%. CONCLUSION: Fatigue and cognitive problems in Q-fever patients were partially captured by the EQ-5D-5L dimensions. The addition of fatigue to the EQ-5D-5L slightly improved explained variance for the EQ VAS. This potentially also accounts for patients who experience sequelae of other infectious diseases, such as COVID-19.

The Effect of Written and Video Discharge Instructions After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on Healthcare Costs and Productivity Costs.

OBJECTIVE: To compare healthcare and productivity costs between patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) who received verbal discharge instructions only and patients who received an additional flyer with or without video instructions. SETTING: Emergency departments (EDs) of 6 hospitals in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 1155 adult patients with mTBI (384 with verbal instructions; 771 with additional flyer with or without video instructions) were included. DESIGN: Cost study with comparison between usual care and intervention. METHODS: Medical and productivity costs up to 3 months after presentation at the ED were compared between mTBI patients with usual care and mTBI patients who received the intervention. RESULTS: Mean medical costs per mTBI patient were slightly higher for the verbal instructions-only cohort (€337 vs €315), whereas mean productivity costs were significantly higher for the flyer/video cohort (€1625 vs €899). Higher productivity costs were associated with higher working age, injury severity, and postconcussion symptoms. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the implementation of flyer (and video) discharge instructions for patients with mTBI who present at the ED increased reports of postconcussion symptoms and reduced medical costs, whereas productivity costs were found to be higher for the working population in the first 3 months after the sustained head injury.

Cost impact of procalcitonin-guided decision making on duration of antibiotic therapy for suspected early-onset sepsis in neonates.

BACKGROUNDS: The large, international, randomized controlled NeoPInS trial showed that procalcitonin (PCT)-guided decision making was superior to standard care in reducing the duration of antibiotic therapy and hospitalization in neonates suspected of early-onset sepsis (EOS), without increased adverse events. This study aimed to perform a cost-minimization study of the NeoPInS trial, comparing health care costs of standard care and PCT-guided decision making based on the NeoPInS algorithm, and to analyze subgroups based on country, risk category and gestational age. METHODS: Data from the NeoPInS trial in neonates born after 34 weeks of gestational age with suspected EOS in the first 72 h of life requiring antibiotic therapy were used. We performed a cost-minimization study of health care costs, comparing standard care to PCT-guided decision making. RESULTS: In total, 1489 neonates were included in the study, of which 754 were treated according to PCT-guided decision making and 735 received standard care. Mean health care costs of PCT-guided decision making were not significantly different from costs of standard care (€3649 vs. €3616). Considering subgroups, we found a significant reduction in health care costs of PCT-guided decision making for risk category 'infection unlikely' and for gestational age ≥ 37 weeks in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, and for gestational age < 37 weeks in the Czech Republic. CONCLUSIONS: Health care costs of PCT-guided decision making of term and late-preterm neonates with suspected EOS are not significantly different from costs of standard care. Significant cost reduction was found for risk category 'infection unlikely,' and is affected by both the price of PCT-testing and (prolonged) hospitalization due to SAEs.

Health care costs of injury in the older population: a prospective multicentre cohort study in the Netherlands.

BACKGROUND: With the ageing population, the number of older trauma patients has increased. The aim of this study was to assess non-surgical health care costs of older trauma patients and to identify which characteristics of older trauma patients were associated with high health care costs. METHODS: Trauma patients aged ≥65 years who were admitted to a hospital in Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands, were included in the Brabant Injury Outcome Surveillance (BIOS) study. Non-surgical in-hospital and up to 24- months post-hospital health care use were obtained from hospital registration data and collected with the iMTA Medical Consumption Questionnaire which patients completed 1 week and 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after injury. Log-linked gamma generalized linear models were used to identify cost-driving factors. RESULTS: A total of 1910 patients were included in the study. Mean total health care costs per patient were €12,190 ranging from €8390 for 65-69 year-olds to €15,550 for those older than 90 years. Main cost drivers were the post-hospital costs due to home care and stay at an institution. Falls (72%) and traffic injury (15%) contributed most to the total health care costs, although costs of cause of trauma varied with age and sex. In-hospital costs were especially high in patients with high injury severity, frailty and comorbidities. Age, female sex, injury severity, frailty, having comorbidities and having a hip fracture were independently associated with higher post-hospital health care costs. CONCLUSIONS: In-hospital health care costs were chiefly associated with high injury severity. Several patient and injury characteristics including age, high injury severity, frailty and comorbidity were associated with post-hospital health care costs. Both fall-related injuries and traffic-related injuries are important areas for prevention of injury in the older population.

A systematic review of studies measuring health-related quality of life of general injury populations: update 2010-2018.

BACKGROUND: Studies examining the impact of injury on health-related quality of life (HRQL) over time are necessary to understand the short- and long-term consequences of injury for population health. The aim of this systematic review was to provide an evidence update on studies that have measured HRQL over time in general injury populations using a generic (general) health state measure. METHODS: Studies conducted between 2010 and 2018 that assessed HRQL at more than one time point among general injury populations were eligible for inclusion. Two reviewers independently extracted information from each study on design, HRQL measure used, method of HRQL measure administration, timing of assessment(s), predictive variables, ability to detect change, and findings. Quality appraisals of each study were also completed by two reviewers using items from the RTI Item Bank on Risk of Bias and Precision of Observational Studies and the Guidelines for the Conduction of Follow-up Studies Measuring Injury-Related Disability. RESULTS: Twenty-nine studies (44 articles) that met the inclusion criteria were identified. HRQL was measured using 14 different generic measures; the SF-36, SF-12, and EQ-5D were used most frequently. A varying number of follow-up assessments were undertaken, ranging from one to five. Follow-up often occurred 12 months post-injury. Fewer studies (n = 11) examined outcomes two or more years post-injury, and only one to 10 years post-injury. While most studies documented improvements in HRQL over time since the injury event, study populations had not returned to pre-injury status or reached general population norm HRQL values at post-injury follow-ups. CONCLUSIONS: Since 2010 there has been a substantial increase in the number of studies evaluating the HRQL of general injury populations. However, significant variability in study design continues to impede quantification of the impact of injury on population health over time. Variation between studies is particularly evident with respect to timing and number of follow-up assessments, and selection of instruments to evaluate HRQL.

Does the EQ-5D-5L benefit from extension with a cognitive domain: Testing a multi-criteria psychometric strategy in trauma patients.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the psychometric yield of extension of the EQ-5D-5L with a cognitive domain (EQ-5D+C) in a mixed cohort of trauma patients with repeated data. METHODS: A stratified sample of patients that presented at the emergency department filled out a follow-up survey 6 and 12 months after trauma. The surveys included the EQ-5D-5L+C, EQ-VAS, and the impact of events scale-revised (IES-R), a validated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) self-assessment scale. Generally, results of the EQ-5D and EQ-5D+C were compared. Psychometrics included the following: distributional features (ceiling/floor effects), discriminatory performance, convergent validity with the EQ-VAS as reference, and responsiveness to change. Psychometric properties were compared between predefined subgroups based on conditions with cognitive impact (Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)/PTSD). RESULTS: In total, 1799 trauma patients responded 6 and 12 months after trauma, including 107 respondents with PTSD, and 273 with TBI. Six months post-trauma, ceiling of the EQ-5D (26.3%) was reduced with 2.2% with the additional cognitive domain. Using EQ-VAS as reference, convergent validity increased slightly with the addition of the cognitive domain: correlation increasing from 0.651 to 0.664. Cognitive level was found to slightly improve over time in TBI (delta: 0.04) and PTSD patients (delta: 0.05), while (almost) no change was found in patients without TBI and PTSD. CONCLUSION: Adding a cognitive domain to the EQ-5D-5L slightly improved measurement properties and better captured change in health status for trauma patients with TBI and PTSD. Inclusion of the cognitive domain in the EQ-5D-5L when measuring in populations with cognitive problems should be considered.

Prognostic factors for medical and productivity costs, and return to work after trauma.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine prognostic factors for medical and productivity costs, and return to work (RTW) during the first two years after trauma in a clinical trauma population. METHODS: This prospective multicentre observational study followed all adult trauma patients (≥18 years) admitted to a hospital in Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands from August 2015 through November 2016. Health care consumption, productivity loss and return to work were measured in questionnaires at 1 week, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after injury. Data was linked with hospital registries. Prognostic factors for medical costs and productivity costs were analysed with log-linked gamma generalized linear models. Prognostic factors for RTW were assessed with Cox proportional hazards model. The predictive ability of the models was assessed with McFadden R2 (explained variance) and c-statistics (discrimination). RESULTS: A total of 3785 trauma patients (39% of total study population) responded to at least one follow-up questionnaire. Mean medical costs per patient (€9,710) and mean productivity costs per patient (€9,000) varied widely. Prognostic factors for high medical costs were higher age, female gender, spine injury, lower extremity injury, severe head injury, high injury severity, comorbidities, and pre-injury health status. Productivity costs were highest in males, and in patients with spinal cord injury, high injury severity, longer length of stay at the hospital and patients admitted to the ICU. Prognostic factors for RTW were high educational level, male gender, low injury severity, shorter length of stay at the hospital and absence of comorbidity. CONCLUSIONS: Productivity costs and RTW should be considered when assessing the economic impact of injury in addition to medical costs. Prognostic factors may assist in identifying high cost groups with potentially modifiable factors for targeted preventive interventions, hence reducing costs and increasing RTW rates.

Medical and productivity costs after trauma.

BACKGROUND: Well-advised priority setting in prevention and treatment of injuries relies on detailed insight into costs of injury. This study aimed to provide a detailed overview of medical and productivity costs due to injury up to two years post-injury and compare these costs across subgroups for injury severity and age. METHODS: A prospective longitudinal cohort study followed all adult (≥18 years) injury patients admitted to a hospital in Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands. Patients filled out questionnaires 1 week, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after trauma, including items on health care consumption from the medical consumption questionnaire (iMCQ) and productivity loss from the productivity cost questionnaire (PCQ). Furthermore, injury severity was defined by Injury Severity Score (ISS). Data on diagnostics was retrieved from hospital registries. We calculated medical costs, consisting of in-hospital costs and post-hospital medical costs, and productivity costs due to injury up to two years post-injury. RESULTS: Approximately 50% (N = 4883) of registered patients provided informed consent, and 3785 filled out at least one questionnaire. In total, the average costs per patient were €12,190. In-hospital costs, post-hospital medical costs and productivity costs contributed €4810, €5110 and €5830, respectively. Total costs per patient increased with injury severity, from €7030 in ISS1-3 to €23,750 in ISS16+ and were lowest for age category 18-24y (€7980), highest for age category 85 years and over (€15,580), and fluctuated over age groups in between. CONCLUSION: Both medical costs and productivity costs generally increased with injury severity. Furthermore, productivity costs were found to be a large component of total costs of injury in ISS1-8 and are therefore a potentially interesting area with regard to reducing costs.

Correspondence of directly reported and recalled health-related quality of life in a large heterogeneous sample of trauma patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the correspondence of directly reported and recalled health-related quality of life (HRQL) in a heterogeneous sample of trauma patients. METHODS: Adult trauma patients who attended the Emergency Department and were admitted between 03/2016 and 11/2016 were invited to participate. Postal surveys were sent 1 week (T1), 3 months (T2), and 12 months (T3) post-trauma. The EQ-5D-3L and Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) were used to assess directly reported and recalled HRQL. RESULTS: The EQ-5D was completed by 446 patients at T1, T2, and T3. Directly reported mean T1 EQ-5D summary score was 0.482, whereas recalled T1 EQ-5D summary score was 0.453 (p < 0.05) at T2 and 0.363 (p < 0.001) at T3. Directly reported mean T2 EQ-5D summary score was 0.737 and mean recalled T2 EQ-5D summary score was 0.713 (p < 0.05) at T3. Directly reported mean T1 EQ-VAS was 56.3, whereas mean recalled T1 EQ-VAS at T2 and T3 was 55.4 (p = 0.304) and 53.3 (p < 0.05), respectively. Directly reported mean T2 EQ-VAS was 72.5 and recalled T2 EQ-VAS at T3 was 68.0 (p < 0.001). The correspondence between all directly reported and recalled HRQL (both EQ-5D summary and EQ-VAS) was fair (ICC = 0.518-0.598). Lowest correspondence was seen in patients with major trauma (injury severity score ≥ 16) and in patients with middle-level education. CONCLUSIONS: Recalled HRQL measured by the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-VAS was systematically lower compared to the directly reported HRQL. Patient characteristics, injury severity, subjectivity of the dimension, and time interval appear to influence correspondence between directly reported and recalled HRQL.

The added value of the EQ-5D with a cognition dimension in injury patients with and without traumatic brain injury.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the psychometric gain, if any, from the extension of the EQ-5D with a cognition bolt-on (EQ-5D + C) in a large cohort injury patients with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: Hospitalized adult injury patients filled out a survey 1 month after initial admission. The survey included the EQ-5D-3L, the cognition bolt-on item in EQ-5D format, and the visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS). We compared ceiling and other distributional effects between EQ-5D and EQ-5D + C and TBI and non-TBI group, and assessed convergent validity using the predictive association with EQ-VAS. Also, we assessed explanatory power using regression analysis, and classification efficiency using Shannon indices. RESULTS: In total, 715 TBI patients and 1978 non-TBI patients filled out the EQ-5D + C and EQ-VAS. Perfect health was reported by 7.9% (N = 214) on the EQ-5D, and 7.3% (N = 197) on the EQ-5D + C. Convergent validity was highest for EQ-5D + C in the TBI group (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient = - 0.736) and lowest for EQ-5D in the non-TBI group (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient = - 0.652). For both TBI and non-TBI groups, the explanatory power of EQ-5D + C was slightly higher than of EQ-5D (R2 = 0.56 vs. 0.53 for TBI; R2 = 0.47 vs. 0.45 for non-TBI). Absolute classification efficiency was higher for EQ-5D + C than for EQ-5D in both TBI groups, whereas relative classification efficiency was similar. CONCLUSIONS: Psychometric performance in general of both the EQ-5D and EQ-5D + C was better in TBI patients. Adding a cognitive bolt-on slightly improved the psychometric performance of the EQ-5D-3L.