Risky Alcohol Use: The Impact on Health Service Use.

OBJECTIVE: To examine health services use on the basis of alcohol consumption. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on patients visiting the Primary Health Care (PHC) settings in Catalonia during 2011 and 2012; these patients had a history of alcohol consumption. Information about outpatient visits in the PHC setting, hospitalizations, specialists' visits and emergency room visits for the year 2013 was obtained from 2 databases (the Information System for the Development of Research in PHC and the Catalan Health Surveillance System). Risky drinkers were defined as those who consumed more than 280 g per week for men or more than 170 g per week for women, or any amount of alcohol while being involved in a high risk work activity, or taking medication that significantly interferes with alcohol or when being pregnant. Binge drinkers (> 60 g in men or > 50 g in women in a short amount of time more than once a month) were also considered risky drinkers. RESULTS: A total of 606,948 patients reported consuming alcohol (of which 10.5% were risky drinkers). Risky drinkers were more likely to be admitted to hospitals or emergency departments (range of ORs 1.08-1.18) compared to light drinkers. Male risky drinkers used fewer PHC services than male light drinkers (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.87-0.92). In general, risky alcohol users used services more and had longer hospital stays. When stratifying by socioeconomic level of the residential area, we found that risky drinking failed significance, while current or past cigarette smoking was associated with higher healthcare use. CONCLUSIONS: Risky drinkers use more expensive services, such as hospitals and emergency rooms, but not PHC services, which may suggest that prevention strategies and alcohol interventions should also be implemented in those settings.

Alcohol, tobacco and health care costs: a population-wide cohort study (n = 606 947 patients) of current drinkers based on medical and administrative health records from Catalonia.

Background: Most cost of illness studies are based on models where information on exposure is combined with risk information from meta-analyses, and the resulting attributable fractions are applied to the number of cases. Methods: This study presents data on alcohol and tobacco use for 2011 and 2012 obtained from a routine medical practice in Catalonia of 606 947 patients, 18 years of age and older, as compared with health care costs for 2013 (all costs from the public health care system: primary health care visits, hospital admissions, laboratory and medical tests, outpatient visits to specialists, emergency department visits and pharmacy expenses). Quasi-Poisson regressions were used to assess the association between alcohol consumption and smoking status and health care costs (adjusted for age and socio-economic status). Results: Resulting health care costs per person per year amounted to 1290 Euros in 2013, and were 20.1% higher for men than for women. Sex, alcohol consumption, tobacco use and socio-economic status were all associated with health care costs. In particular, alcohol consumption had a positive dose-response association with health care costs. Similarly, both smokers and former smokers had higher health care costs than did people who never smoked. Conclusions: Alcohol and tobacco use had modest and large impacts respectively on health care costs, confirming the results of previous ecological modelling analyses. Reductions of alcohol consumption and smoking through public policies and via early identification and brief interventions would likely be associated with reductions in health care costs.

Alcohol Consumption and Inpatient Health Service Utilization in a Cohort of Patients With Alcohol Dependence After 20 Years of Follow-up.

Aims: To examine the association between drinking levels and inpatient health service utilization in people with a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Methods: A longitudinal prospective study was conducted in a cohort of patients with alcohol dependence who had undergone treatment in 1987. Current results refer to the association between drinking patterns at 20-year follow-up and subsequent inpatient health service utilization. At 20 years after baseline, 530 of 850 patients were alive with administrative data available. Follow-up interview was conducted on 378 patients. There were 88 refusals and 64 could not be traced. Three categories of alcohol consumption were established (abstainers, moderate drinkers and heavy drinkers) depending on the pattern of alcohol use during the last year prior to the evaluation. Health service utilization was based on official statistics, including admissions to general, rehabilitation and psychiatric hospitals. The time period analysed was 5 years after the assessment of drinking patterns. Results: Admission rates were lowest for abstainers compared to people with moderate and heavy drinking. With respect to hospital days, heavy drinking was associated with significantly higher adjusted rates than both abstainers and moderate drinkers. Alcohol-related diagnoses in hospital admissions were more frequent for both moderate and heavy drinkers. Conclusion: Abstinence and moderate alcohol consumption were both associated with lower hospitalization in people with a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Thus, not only abstinence-oriented treatment strategies but also those to reduce alcohol intake would reduce inpatient hospitalizations. Short Summary: Abstention and reduced drinking in lifetime alcohol-dependent patients were associated with lower health care utilization compared to heavy drinking. Alcohol treatment strategies for alcohol-dependent patients have a positive impact on the reduction in health care utilization. An increase in treatment rate for alcohol use disorders will consequently have marked population health improvements.

[Preventing chronic kidney disease in France: advantages, feasibility and concerns]. / Prévention de la maladie rénale chronique en France : intérêt, faisabilité et difficultés.

Chronic kidney disease concerns 10 to 14 % of Western populations, and these people are at increased risk of mortality. Treating those patients who reach end-stage renal disease is socially and financially costly and requires considerable medical efforts. While the number of nephrologists per inhabitant in France seems to be preserved over time, the increasing prevalence of end-stage renal disease and improvement in early referral of chronic kidney disease patients results in increased workload for renal physicians. In order to reduce the consequences of chronic kidney disease at both, individual and societal levels, promoting primary prevention (elimination of risk factors), secondary prevention (early management of patients) or tertiary prevention (optimal treatment of functional disabilities related to chronic kidney disease) seems relevant. Some of these actions could narrow the gap between current medical practices and recommendations or prevent new end-stage renal disease cases with an acceptable cost-effectiveness ratio. New approaches might be necessary to better control the disease and overcome current limitations such as resistance to treatments.

Efficacy of an integrated hospital-primary care program for heart failure: a population-based analysis of 56,742 patients.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The efficacy of heart failure programs has been demonstrated in clinical trials but their applicability in the real world practice setting is more controversial. This study evaluates the feasibility and efficacy of an integrated hospital-primary care program for the management of patients with heart failure in an integrated health area covering a population of 309,345. METHODS: For the analysis, we included all patients consecutively admitted with heart failure as the principal diagnosis who had been discharged alive from all of the hospitals in Catalonia, Spain, from 2005 to 2011, the period when the program was implemented, and compared mortality and readmissions among patients exposed to the program with the rates in the patients of all the remaining integrated health areas of the Servei Català de la Salut (Catalan Health Service). RESULTS: We included 56,742 patients in the study. There were 181,204 hospital admissions and 30,712 deaths during the study period. In the adjusted analyses, when compared to the 54,659 patients from the other health areas, the 2083 patients exposed to the program had a lower risk of death (hazard ratio=0.92 [95% confidence interval, 0.86-0.97]; P=.005), a lower risk of clinically-related readmission (hazard ratio=0.71 [95% confidence interval, 0.66-0.76]; P<.001), and a lower risk of readmission for heart failure (hazard ratio=0.86 [95% confidence interval, 0.80-0.94]; P<.001). The positive impact on the morbidity and mortality rates was more marked once the program had become well established. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of multidisciplinary heart failure management programs that integrate the hospital and the community is feasible and is associated with a significant reduction in patient morbidity and mortality.

Eficacia de un programa integrado hospital-atención primaria para la insuficiencia cardiaca: análisis poblacional sobre 56.742 pacientes / Efficacy of an Integrated Hospital-primary Care Program for Heart Failure: A Population-based Analysis of 56 742 Patients

Introducción y objetivos: Los programas de insuficiencia cardiaca han demostrado su eficacia en ensayos clínicos, aunque su aplicabilidad en un entorno de práctica real es más controvertida. Este estudio evalúa la factibilidad y la eficacia de un programa integrado hospital-atención primaria para la gestión de pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca en un área integral de salud de 309.345 habitantes. Métodos: Para el análisis, se incluyó a todos los pacientes consecutivos ingresados por insuficiencia cardiaca como diagnóstico principal y dados de alta vivos en todos los hospitales de Cataluña durante el periodo 2005-2011, en el que se implantó el programa y se comparó la mortalidad y los reingresos entre los pacientes expuestos al programa y todos los pacientes de las demás áreas integrales de salud del Servei Català de la Salut. Resultados: Se incluyó en el estudio a 56.742 pacientes. Se produjeron 181.204 hospitalizaciones y 30.712 defunciones en ese periodo. En los análisis ajustados, los 2.083 pacientes expuestos al programa, respecto los 54.659 pacientes de las otras áreas sanitarias, tuvieron menor riesgo de muerte (hazard ratio = 0,92 [intervalo de confianza del 95%, 0,86-0,97]; p = 0,005), menor riesgo de reingreso clínicamente relacionado (hazard ratio = 0,71 [intervalo de confianza del 95%, 0,66-0,76]; p < 0,001) y menor riesgo de rehospitalización por insuficiencia cardiaca (hazard ratio = 0,86 [intervalo de confianza del 95%, 0,80-0,94]; p < 0,001). Se observó que el impacto positivo en la morbimortalidad fue más notorio en el periodo de consolidación del programa. Conclusiones: La implantación de programas multidisciplinarios para la gestión de la insuficiencia cardiaca que integran hospital y comunidad es factible y se asocia a una reducción significativa de la morbimortalidad de los pacientes (AU)

Introduction and objectives: The efficacy of heart failure programs has been demonstrated in clinical trials but their applicability in the real world practice setting is more controversial. This study evaluates the feasibility and efficacy of an integrated hospital-primary care program for the management of patients with heart failure in an integrated health area covering a population of 309 345. Methods: For the analysis, we included all patients consecutively admitted with heart failure as the principal diagnosis who had been discharged alive from all of the hospitals in Catalonia, Spain, from 2005 to 2011, the period when the program was implemented, and compared mortality and readmissions among patients exposed to the program with the rates in the patients of all the remaining integrated health areas of the Servei Català de la Salut (Catalan Health Service). Results: We included 56 742 patients in the study. There were 181 204 hospital admissions and 30 712 deaths during the study period. In the adjusted analyses, when compared to the 54 659 patients from the other health areas, the 2083 patients exposed to the program had a lower risk of death (hazard ratio = 0.92 [95% confidence interval, 0.86-0.97]; P = 0.005), a lower risk of clinically-related readmission (hazard ratio = 0.71 [95% confidence interval, 0.66-0.76]; P < 0.001), and a lower risk of readmission for heart failure (hazard ratio = 0.86 [95% confidence interval, 0.80-0.94]; P < 0.001). The positive impact on the morbidity and mortality rates was more marked once the program had become well established. Conclusions: The implementation of multidisciplinary heart failure management programs that integrate the hospital and the community is feasible and is associated with a significant reduction in patient morbidity and mortality (AU)

Hospital mortality over time in patients with specific complications of cirrhosis.

UNLABELLED: Hospital mortality secondary to cirrhosis is high. AIM: To evaluate hospital mortality in patients admitted for specific complications of cirrhosis over time. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Registry-data from Administrative Inpatient Dataset of acute care hospitals were collected at discharge from 2003 to 2010. Inclusion criteria were as follows: hospital admissions where one of the diagnoses was cirrhosis and the reason for admission was a specific complication of cirrhosis (ascites, encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome and haemorrhage from varices, bacterial spontaneous peritonitis). Analysis of variance was used for comparisons of quantitative variables and Chi-square for qualitative variables. Logistic regression was performed to identify the risk factors associated with hospital mortality; the Hosmer and Lemeshow test was applied to evaluate calibration and the ROC curve for discrimination respectively. RESULTS: A total of 12,671 hospital admissions were analysed; 67.7% were men. Mean hospitalization stay was 10.9 (SD 9.2) days and the most frequent causes were encephalopathy (44.2%) and ascites (30.9%). Global hospital mortality was 11.6%. Logistic regression showed that once all factors had been adjusted, hepatorenal syndrome conveyed the highest risk for death (49.2%; OR = 8.1(95%CI:6.6-9.9). Risk of death was also increased by associated comorbidities and older age. Hospital mortality in the period 2006-2010 was 27% inferior to the period 2003-2005. The area under the ROC curve (AUROC) was 0.77 (95%CI 0.76-0.78). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital mortality as a result of specific complications of cirrhosis is high, but has been declining in recent years.