[Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer: Potentials and Limitations of Social Health Insurance Data for Benefit Assessment]

BACKGROUND

Due to the insufficient data base the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) had in 2009 after 7 years of deliberation decided to initiate consultation regarding ambulatory brachytherapy for localised prostate cancer for 10 years from social health insurance (SHI) benefits. The aim is to gain more findings by means of comparative studies.

PROBLEM

Based on the non-availability of clinical primary data of a methodologically acceptable level, it was analysed to what extent secondary data of the SHI may be used in order to arrive at valid conclusions for benefit aspects.

METHODS

As base approx. 8 million insured of TK with their data of cost reimbursement between 2006 and 2011 were considered. In SHI secondary data no clinical information regarding tumour stage and other prognostic factors are available. Therefore, a novel method with therapy-specific multisectoral inclusion and exclusion criteria, respectively, was developed in order to differentiate between localised and advanced tumours of the prostate. Overall survival, relapse-free survival, event-free survival and side-effects associated to prostate cancer were analysed.

RESULTS

Out of 87 822 insured persons with the diagnosis prostate cancer, 795 with PBT, 10 936 with RP and 1 925 with EBRT were investigated in detail. The 4-year event-free survival rate was 73% for RP, 77% for PBT and 71% for EBRT. Many prostate cancer-specific side effects appeared already before intervention. Side effects of the intestinal tract (23.8%) and sexual impairments (26.5%) were more frequent for EBRT than for RP (17.1%/14.8%) and PBT (16.4%/13.2%).

CONCLUSION

By means of SHI secondary data and adequate operationalisation important findings regarding relevant aspects of prostate cancer in healthcare research can be generated. However, these hold methodological limitations and are not suited to draw valid conclusions for benefit assessment. Based solely on SHI routine data valid statements regarding comparative benefit assessment are limited. Limitations could be reduced by applying a record linkage with clinical data. Such primary data should include information on tumour stages as well as therapy assignment and observation of survival time.

[Additional Costs for Care of Patients with Multi-Resistant Pathogens--An Analysis from the Perspective of a Statutory Health Insurance]

Aim of this study was to determine the additional expenditures for a German statutory health insurance which are induced by patients with multi-resistant bacteria. Therefore a nationwide cross-sectional data analysis using routine data of the health insurance "Techniker Krankenkasse" was conducted. In the consideration of costs we included expenditures for inpatient and outpatient care and on drugs in a time period of 12 months. A control group was matched by age, gender, basic disease, quarterly period and region. On average additional costs of 17,500 Euro per insured were calculated due to the presence of multi-resistant bacteria. The hypothesis was corroborated in that the level of these costs differ widely by age, gender and basic disease.

Evaluating methods for intersectoral comparison of quality of care. A routine data analysis of elective percutaneous coronary interventions

OBJECTIVES

To compare the quality of care regarding the use of elective percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) in the inpatient and outpatient setting and to evaluate different methods of confounder control in this context.

METHODS

Based on data of three statutory health insurances including more than nine million insurance members, a retrospective cohort study between 2005 and 2009 was conducted. The occurrence of myocardial infarction, stroke, further coronary intervention and death was ascertained following the first PCI in the study period, which was preceded by a one-year period without a PCI. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess the influence of the setting of the elective PCI on the risk for complications after the PCI for each outcome separately. Age, sex, the number of diseases of the Elixhauser comorbidity measure, past acute coronary syndrome, coronary artery disease, dyslipidemia, past stroke, past coronary artery bypass surgery and the year of the PCI were included as covariables. The analyses were repeated in a propensity score matched cohort as well as in inverse probability of treatment weighted analyses.

RESULTS

The cohort comprised 4,269 patients with an outpatient PCI and 26,044 patients with an inpatient PCI. The majority of the analyses revealed no statistically significant effect of the setting of the PCI on the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and further coronary interventions, whereas a reduced mortality risk was observed for outpatient PCIs. Similar results were obtained in the propensity score analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

The analysis revealed that the adjusted risk for complications following an elective PCI is similar between the inpatient and the outpatient setting. For mortality the risk differed but this might be explained by residual or unmeasured confounding. The different methods applied in this study revealed mostly similar results. Since our study only covered one aspect of quality of care in the field of PCI and did not consider drug treatment in hospital or in the outpatient setting, further studies are needed which include these aspects.

[Physicians' prescription behavior of potentially inappropriate medications for elderly people: an analysis using the PRISCUS list based on TK routine data]

BACKGROUND

Referring to the German PRISCUS list, the paper analyzes differences in the prescription of potentially inadequate medication (PIM) between older and younger patients. We account for changes in the development over time and for the influence of the publication of the PRISCUS list.

METHODS

The retrospective study analyzes pharmaceutical prescriptions based on data from the Techniker Krankenkasse for the years 2008-20012. Age groups are compared regarding PIM prescriptions as share of total prescriptions within therapeutic areas (based on ATC codes). For a comparison of prescribed daily doses between age groups the median of those younger than 65 was indexed to the value 100.

RESULTS

The share of older insured with at least one PRISCUS prescription declined from 21,7 % in 2008 to 18,9 % in 2012. Moreover, the total share of PIM prescriptions is steadily higher for elderly persons. Comparing major therapeutic areas shows a heterogeneous picture. An influence of the PRISCUS list on the prescription behavior is not observable.

CONCLUSION

The share of PIM prescriptions in the TK sample is slightly declining over time. Unexpectedly, the total share is higher for the elderly than for those below 65. With regard to different therapeutic areas, results are less clear. For future research, our findings emphasize the need to rely on the applied methods.

[Incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Germany: an analysis based on 5.43 million patients]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Based on claims-data of 5.43 million members of a large German statutory health insurance fund in 2008 (Techniker Krankenkasse), the aim of this contribution is to update and more precisely quantify age- and gender-specific prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a German setting.

METHODS

A patient was classified as T2DM prevalent if he or she had received at least two outpatient diagnoses of T2DM in two different quarters of the year and/or had received at least one T2DM diagnosis during inpatient treatment between 01/01/2006 and 12/31/2008. A patient was considered to have had new onset T2DM in 2008 under one of three conditions: 1. no diagnosis of T2DM in 2006 and 2007, 2. no presripction of oral antidiabetics in 2006 and 2007, 3. either one inpatient or two outpatient diagnoses of T2DM conducted in two different quarters of 2008 or one outpatient T2DM diagnosis in 2006/07 when the second diagnosis was made in 2008.

RESULTS

A total of 254,524 patients had T2DM. Compared to the total membership of the medical insurance fund, the prevalence of T2DM was 4.69 %. The average age was 64.8 years, and 66.37 % were male. The incidence of T2DM in our sample was 2.814 cases per 1,000 person-years in men and 1.690 cases in 1,000 person-years in women. Based on our sample and on official population data, 4,704,585 patients (5.75 %) in Germany would be T2DM prevalent in 2009. The number of incident T2DM cases would amount to 215,746 patients (0.264 %).

CONCLUSIONS

T2DM is one of the most common chronic diseases in Germany. The expected demographic changes in Germany will increase the burden on the German health system caused by T2DM.

Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis

The study aims to develop a computer-assisted decision support based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood findings to improve their value and ease the diagnostic procedure of chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) of central nervous system (CNS). Data were collected from patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS,n = 73), from another CID of the CNS (n = 22), or a psychiatric disease (control group, CTRL,n = 12). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using multiple logistic regression and artificial neural networks. Differentiating between MS and CID, no parameter could be disclosed that could provide a meaningful decision support. However, multivariate analysis obtained a statistically significant classification (sensitivity = 84.9%, specificity = 54.5%,p < 0.001). On the contrary, multivariate analysis based on the differentiation between MS vs. CTRL, gave good results (sensitivity = 95.9%, specificity = 83.3%,p < 0.001). It became evident from standard laboratory findings that there is a significant potential for computer-aided decision support.

Is late stent thrombosis in drug-eluting stents a real clinical issue? A single-center experience and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Randomized studies have not found an increased rate of late stent thrombosis (LAST) in drug-eluting stents (DES) compared with bare metal stents (BMS) but those studies were statistically not powered to show such a difference. At the same time there is an increasing number of reports of LAST in DES patients in the current literature.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We tried to describe the incidence of LAST in an unselected DES and BMS patient population. All patients who underwent stenting in our hospital between October 2003 and March 2006 were included in the study (n=1377). A total of 424 (30.1%) patients were treated with only BMS stents, 520 (37.8%) with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES), 384 (27.9%) with sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) and 49 (3.6%) with BMS and DES. Long-term follow-up of all patients was used to determine the incidence of LAST as defined by angiographically proven stent thrombosis associated with acute symptoms more than 30 days after stent implantation. Followup was between 1 month and 2 years 7 months (mean 12 months). Patients treated with DES were younger (66+/-11 years) than BMS patients (72+/-10 years; p<0.001) and more often had diabetes (24.2% vs 17.4%; p < 0.001). A previous PCI had been performed in 27.1% of DES patients vs 13.9% of BMS patients (p < 0.001).

RESULTS

There were 9 cases of LAST: 2 with SES (at 6 and 11 months after implantation), 6 with PES (at 6, 9 (2x), 10, 16 and 26 months), and one with BMS (at 22 months). All patients with LAST presented with STEMI and without an angina history that suggested restenosis. Two cases were related to complete cessation of antiplatelet therapy, one because of patient non-compliance (SES), one after aspirin was stopped for orthopedic surgery (BMS). Two cases occurred within 1 month of cessation of clopidogrel therapy and while these patients were on aspirin therapy. Five cases occurred on aspirin monotherapy 2, 3, 4, 10 and 20 months, respectively after planned cessation of clopidogrel. None of the cases occurred under dual antiplatelet therapy. All patients underwent primary PCI; none died.

CONCLUSION

Angiographically proven LAST occurred in our unselected patient population with an incidence of 0.84% in patients treated with DES and 0.21% in BMS patients within a mean follow-up of 12 months (p = 0.36). LAST may indeed occur in clinically stable patients while on aspirin monotherapy. Since LAST led in all patients to STEMI it seems to be a serious clinical issue that prompts further investigation and discussion of length of dual platelet therapy.