Meredith Vandermeer

Association Between Use of Statins and Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized With Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Virus Infections: A Multistate Study

BACKGROUND Statins may have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects that could reduce the risk of mortality from influenza virus infections. METHODS The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Emerging Infections Program conducts active surveillance for persons hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza in 59 counties in 10 states. We analyzed data for hospitalized adults during the 2007-2008 influenza season to evaluate the association between receiving statins and influenza-related death. RESULTS We identified 3043 patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza, of whom 1013 (33.3%) received statins and 151 (5.0%) died within 30 days of their influenza test. Patients who received statins were more likely to be older, male, and white; to suffer from cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, and chronic lung disease; and to have been vaccinated against influenza that season. In a multivariable logistic regression model, administration of statins prior to or during hospitalization was associated with a protective odds of death (adjusted odds ratio, 0.59 [95% confidence interval, .38-.92]) when adjusting for age; race; cardiovascular, lung, and renal disease; influenza vaccination; and antiviral administration. CONCLUSIONS Statin use may be associated with reduced mortality in patients hospitalized with influenza.

Hospitalized Patients with 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection in the United States—September–October 2009

Given the potential worsening clinical severity of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus (pH1N1) infection from spring to fall 2009, we conducted a clinical case series among patients hospitalized with pH1N1 infection from September through October 2009. A case patient was defined as a hospitalized person who had test results positive for pH1N1 virus by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Among 255 hospitalized patients, 34% were admitted to an intensive care unit and 8% died. Thirty-four percent of patients were children <18 years of age, 8% were adults ≥ 65 years of age, and 67% had an underlying medical condition. Chest radiographs obtained at hospital admission that had findings that were consistent with pneumonia were noted in 103 (46%) of 255 patients. Among 255 hospitalized patients, 208 (82%) received neuraminidase inhibitors, but only 47% had treatment started ≤ 2 days after illness onset. Overall, characteristics of hospitalized patients with pH1N1 infection in fall 2009 were similar to characteristics of patients hospitalized with pH1N1 infection in spring 2009, which suggests that clinical severity did not change substantially over this period.

Adult Hospitalizations for Laboratory-Positive Influenza during the 2005–2006 through 2007–2008 Seasons in the United States

BACKGROUND Rates of influenza-associated hospitalizations in the United States have been estimated using modeling techniques with data from pneumonia and influenza hospitalization discharge diagnoses, but they have not been directly estimated from laboratory-positive cases. METHODS We calculated overall, age-specific, and site-specific rates of laboratory-positive, influenza-associated hospitalization among adults and compared demographic and clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized cases by season with use of data collected by the Emerging Infections Program Network during the 2005-2006 through 2007-2008 influenza seasons. RESULTS Overall rates of adult influenza-associated hospitalization per 100,000 persons were 9.9 during the 2005-2006 season, 4.8 during the 2006-2007 season, and 18.7 during the 2007-2008 season. Rates of hospitalization varied by Emerging Infections Program site and increased with increasing age. Higher overall and age-specific rates of hospitalization were observed during influenza A (H3) predominant seasons and during periods of increased circulation of influenza B. More than 80% of hospitalized persons each season had > or =1 underlying medical condition, including chronic cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. CONCLUSIONS Rates varied by season, age, geographic location, and type/subtype of circulating influenza viruses. Influenza-associated hospitalization surveillance is essential for assessing the relative severity of influenza seasons over time and the burden of influenza-associated complications.

Epidemiology of 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Deaths in the United States, April–July 2009

During the spring of 2009, pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus (pH1N1) was recognized and rapidly spread worldwide. To describe the geographic distribution and patient characteristics of pH1N1-associated deaths in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requested information from health departments on all laboratory-confirmed pH1N1 deaths reported from 17 April through 23 July 2009. Data were collected using medical charts, medical examiner reports, and death certificates. A total of 377 pH1N1-associated deaths were identified, for a mortality rate of .12 deaths per 100,000 population. Activity was geographically localized, with the highest mortality rates in Hawaii, New York, and Utah. Seventy-six percent of deaths occurred in persons aged 18-65 years, and 9% occurred in persons aged ≥ 65 years. Underlying medical conditions were reported for 78% of deaths: chronic lung disease among adults (39%) and neurologic disease among children (54%). Overall mortality associated with pH1N1 was low; however, the majority of deaths occurred in persons aged <65 years with underlying medical conditions.

Characteristics of Patients with Oseltamivir-Resistant Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, United States

During April 2009–June 2010, thirty-seven (0.5%) of 6,740 pandemic (H1N1) 2009 viruses submitted to a US surveillance system were oseltamivir resistant. Most patients with oseltamivir-resistant infections were severely immunocompromised (76%) and had received oseltamivir before specimen collection (89%). No evidence was found for community circulation of resistant viruses; only 4 (unlinked) patients had no oseltamivir exposure.

Patient-centered interventions to improve medication management and adherence: A qualitative review of research findings

OBJECTIVE Patient-centered approaches to improving medication adherence hold promise, but evidence of their effectiveness is unclear. This review reports the current state of scientific research around interventions to improve medication management through four patient-centered domains: shared decision-making, methods to enhance effective prescribing, systems for eliciting and acting on patient feedback about medication use and treatment goals, and medication-taking behavior. METHODS We reviewed literature on interventions that fell into these domains and were published between January 2007 and May 2013. Two reviewers abstracted information and categorized studies by intervention type. RESULTS We identified 60 studies, of which 40% focused on patient education. Other intervention types included augmented pharmacy services, decision aids, shared decision-making, and clinical review of patient adherence. Medication adherence was an outcome in most (70%) of the studies, although 50% also examined patient-centered outcomes. CONCLUSIONS We identified a large number of medication management interventions that incorporated patient-centered care and improved patient outcomes. We were unable to determine whether these interventions are more effective than traditional medication adherence interventions. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Additional research is needed to identify effective and feasible approaches to incorporate patient-centeredness into the medication management processes of the current health care system, if appropriate.

HIV and Hepatitis C Virus Screening Practices in a Geographically Diverse Sample of American Community Health Centers.

Because of the advent of highly effective treatments, routine screening for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been recommended for many Americans. This study explored the perceived barriers surrounding routine HIV and HCV screening in a diverse sample of community health centers (CHCs). The Community Health Applied Research Network (CHARN) is a collaboration of CHCs, with a shared clinical database. In July, 2013, 195 CHARN providers working in 12 CHCs completed a survey of their attitudes and beliefs about HIV and HCV testing. Summary statistics were generated to describe the prevalence of HIV and HCV and associated demographics by CHCs. HIV and HCV prevalence ranged from 0.1% to 5.7% for HIV and from 0.1% to 3.7% for HCV in the different CHCs. About 15% of the providers cared for at least 50 individuals with HIV and the same was true for HCV. Two-thirds saw less than 10 patients with HIV and less than half saw less than 10 patients with HCV. Less than two-thirds followed USPHS guidelines to screen all patients for HIV between the ages of 13 and 64, and only 44.4% followed the guidance to screen all baby boomers for HCV. Providers with less HIV experience tended to be more concerned about routine screening practices. More experienced providers were more likely to perceive lack of time being an impediment to routine screening. Many US CHC providers do not routinely screen their patients for HIV and HCV. Although additional education about the rationale for routine screening may be indicated, incentives to compensate providers for the additional time they anticipate spending in counseling may also facilitate increased screening rates.

Excess Clinical Comorbidity Among HIV-Infected Patients Accessing Primary Care in US Community Health Centers:

Objectives: As the life expectancy of people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has increased, the spectrum of illness has evolved. We evaluated whether people living with HIV accessing primary care in US community health centers had higher morbidity compared with HIV-uninfected patients receiving care at the same sites. Methods: We compared data from electronic health records for 12 837 HIV-infected and 227 012 HIV-uninfected patients to evaluate the relative prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, dyslipidemia, and malignancies by HIV serostatus. We used multivariable logistic regression to evaluate differences. Participants were patients aged ≥18 who were followed for ≥3 years (from January 2006 to December 2016) in 1 of 17 community health centers belonging to the Community Health Applied Research Network. Results: Nearly two-thirds of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients lived in poverty. Compared with HIV-uninfected patients, HIV-infected patients were significantly more likely to be diagnosed and/or treated for diabetes (odds ratio [OR] = 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22-1.41), hypertension (OR = 1.38; 95% CI, 1.31-1.46), dyslipidemia (OR = 2.30; 95% CI, 2.17-2.43), chronic kidney disease (OR = 4.75; 95% CI, 4.23-5.34), lymphomas (OR = 4.02; 95% CI, 2.86-5.67), cancers related to human papillomavirus (OR = 5.05; 95% CI, 3.77-6.78), or other cancers (OR = 1.25; 95% CI, 1.10-1.42). The prevalence of stroke was higher among HIV-infected patients (OR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.06-1.63) than among HIV-uninfected patients, but the prevalence of myocardial infarction or coronary artery disease did not differ between the 2 groups. Conclusions: As HIV-infected patients live longer, the increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases may complicate their clinical management, requiring primary care providers to be trained in chronic disease management for this population.

Positive Predictive Value of ICD-9 Code for Herpes Zoster Among Children During the Varicella Vaccine Era.

We examined the positive predictive value of the herpes zoster ICD-9 diagnosis code 053 in the Kaiser Permanente Northwest integrated health plan. Among children 0-17 years old, the positive predictive value was 87.1% (95% confidence interval: 84.2-89.6) and 96.8% (95% confidence interval: 95.0-98.1) during the years 1997-2002 and 2005-2009, respectively, using chart review of the medical record as the diagnostic standard.

CA5-02: Assessing the Performance of Propensity Score Methods for Estimating the Probability of Receiving Cervical Procedures

Background/Aims Propensity scores provide an alternative to traditional regression modeling for assessing the effect of exposure on an outcome in the presence of confounders. We describe methods to establish propensity scores for a cohort of Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) members receiving surgical procedures of the cervix. Methods The HMORN Virtual Data Warehouse (VDW) was used to obtain health plan enrollment, diagnosis, procedure, and demographic data for a cohort of 14- to 53-year-old KPNW women during the study years, 1998–2009. Unexposed women were matched to exposed women on age and calendar year. We performed logistic regression to model the propensity of receiving surgical procedures of the cervix. Potential covariates included smoking status, race and ethnicity, sexually transmitted infections (STI), immunocompromised status, length of health plan enrollment, and number of encounters per enrollment year. Propensity score balance was assessed using histograms and boxplots. The common support condition was imposed. Matching on propensity scores was performed using a greedy 5 to 1 digit match. Results There were 86,898 women in our cohort. Women receiving a surgical procedure were more likely to be current tobacco users, immunocompromised, have a history of STI, have longer prior enrolment in the health plan, and have more healthcare encounters per enrolment year than unexposed women. In our cohort, propensity scores for receiving invasive cervical procedures for exposed women ranged from 0.02 to 0.56 (n=4138; mean=0.08; median=0.06), whereas propensity scores for unexposed women ranged from 0.01 to 0.99 (n=82760; mean=0.05; median=0.04). We excluded 1,819 (2%) unexposed women based on the common support condition. A 1:3 match ratio produced the best matched population. No matches were found for 43 (1%) of our exposed population. Discussion Use of the HMORN VDW enabled us to create propensity scores for estimating the probability of receiving cervical procedures. Matching and imposing the common support condition decreased our study population minimally. However, women excluded from analysis may be intrinsically different from those who remained. One limitation to our study is that some potential variables we wished to include in our model, such as marital status, were not available in HMORN VDW data which may introduce bias.