Healthcare resource utilization and costs among patients with rheumatoid arthritis on biologic therapies in Taiwan: A 1-year mirror-image study using a national claims database

Objectives

This nationwide population-based study aimed at evaluating healthcare resource utilization and direct medical costs among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients receiving biologic therapies in Taiwan.

Design and setting

A retrospective cohort of 2,425 RA patients who had received first-line tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α antagonist treatment for at least 6 months (the baseline period) between 2007 and 2011 was identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan.

Outcome measures

Healthcare resource utilization and direct medical costs of those patients were analyzed and compared 1 year before the index date and during the 1-year follow-up.

Results

Analytical results demonstrated that 87.7% of RA patients received the same TNF-α antagonist during the 1-year follow-up, 2.4% of the patients switched to another TNF-α antagonist after the baseline period, 7.1% of the study cohort received a second-line biologic agent, while the remaining patients discontinued use of any TNF-α antagonist. Compared to 1 year before the index date, there were significant reductions in emergency room visits and hospitalization days for RA patients treated with the same TNF-α antagonist during the 1-year follow-up. However, there was an increase of outpatient visits among those patients. For those RA patients who switched to another TNF-α antagonist or received a second-line biologic agent, they consumed more healthcare resources. Furthermore, the corresponding medication costs went up markedly during the 1-year follow-up, but nearly all total direct medical costs (biologics excluded) were significantly reduced across the study cohort. Lastly, male patients incurred slightly higher medical costs than their counterparts, albeit in a statistically insignificant fashion.

Conclusions

This investigation revealed that RA patients treated with biologics utilized fewer emergency room visits and shorter hospitalization days, but incurred higher costs. In summary, this study provides meaningful information on healthcare resource utilization and medical costs of RA patients for healthcare providers and policymakers.

Effect of glucocorticoid use on survival in patients with stage I-III breast cancer

PURPOSE

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are commonly used in breast cancer patients to ameliorate emesis induced by chemotherapy. Some preclinical studies have suggested that systemic GCs might promote survival of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer cells. This study aims to clarify their clinical effect on patient survival.

METHODS

A total of 18,596 women with newly diagnosed stage I-III breast cancer in 2002-2006 were identified from the Taiwan Cancer Database and drug treatment was examined from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Claims Database. Of these, 3989 who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy (non-chemotherapy cohort) and 3237 patients who received six cycles of adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy (anthracycline cohort) were included. The impact of GC use on survival was analyzed separately in these two cohorts using Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

In the non-chemotherapy cohort, GC use was associated with aggressive clinicopathological features of breast cancer. High-dose GC was associated with shorter overall survival in univariate analysis but not in multivariate analysis. In the anthracycline cohort, multivariate analysis showed that GC use at each dose level was significantly associated with longer breast cancer-specific survival (HR 0.65, 0.70, and 0.70 for low-dose, median-dose, and high-dose GC, respectively) and overall survival (HR 0.72, 0.76, and 0.73, respectively) when compared with those receiving no GC. The associations were significant in both ER-positive and ER-negative subgroups for breast cancer-specific survival, and in ER-negative subgroup for overall survival.

CONCLUSION

Concomitant use of GC improved survival in patients receiving adjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy for stage I-III breast cancer.

Evaluation of healthcare costs and utilization for patients with gout: a population-based matched cohort study

OBJECTIVES

To better understand the economic burden of gout patients in Taiwan, a nationwide retrospective study was conducted to compare the healthcare costs and utilization between gout and gout-free patients.

METHODS

The Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID) 2010 was used to identify gout cases and matched gout-free controls. Gout cases were defined as having (1) at least three instances of diagnoses of gout on medical claims, or (2) one diagnosis of gout with at least one gout-related pharmacy claim in 2011. A control cohort was matched with cases at a 3:1 ratio by age, gender, residential area, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index. All medical utilization and costs per patient within the 365 days following the index date were compared between cases and controls.

RESULTS

Out of 993,332 beneficiaries, a total of 21,376 matched gout patients met the gout inclusion criteria. Compared to controls, gout patients had more outpatient visits (mean = 31.2 vs 22.6), inpatient visits (mean = 1.7 vs 1.5), and ER visits (mean = 1.9 vs 1.7) (all p < .0001), as well as more outpatient costs (median = USD $634 vs $404), inpatient costs (median = USD $1330 vs $1254), and ER costs (median = USD $87 vs $89) (all p < .05).

CONCLUSION

Gout patients had higher medical utilization and costs than gout-free patients. In gout patients, all-cause and gout-related utilization were mostly outpatient visits, whereas most of the all-cause and gout-related costs were due to hospitalization. The study findings could be useful for future economic evaluations and healthcare resource allocation.

Strong opioid prescription in cancer patients in their final year of life: A population-based analysis using a Taiwanese health insurance database

AIM

Pain assessment and management have been important criteria in hospital accreditation in Taiwan since 2007. We used a Taiwanese health insurance database to determine factors influencing patterns of strong opioid use in cancer patients in their final 12 months of life.

METHODS

Data from patients with cancer in Taiwan outpatient clinics with cancer-related deaths between 2008 and 2011 were included in the analysis. Strong opioid prescription data from the last 12 months of each patient's life, as well as patient, physician, and hospital characteristics, were collected from the National Health Insurance Research Database.

RESULTS

Among 162 679 patients, more were male (63.6%) than female (36.4%) and almost half (49.3%) were ≥70 years old. Most (44.9%) patients had gastrointestinal cancer. More than one-third (35.4%) of patients were prescribed strong opioids during the 12 months before death, and more than half (53.2%) of those prescribed opioids received them in the 3 months before death. Median duration of strong opioid use was 81 days before death. Patients with head/neck cancer (52.8%) or who were treated in hematology and oncology departments (45.8%) were most likely, and patients with gastrointestinal cancer (hazard ratio = 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-0.67) or treated in gastroenterology departments (hazard ratio = 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.93) were least likely to be prescribed strong opioids.

CONCLUSION

Strong opioid prescriptions varied among patients with different cancer diagnoses and physicians. Information from this study can guide efforts to improve patient and physician education about cancer pain management.

Diuretic or Beta-Blocker for Hypertensive Patients Already Receiving ACEI/ARB and Calcium Channel Blocker

BACKGROUND

In patients already receiving combination of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) and calcium channel blocker (CCB), whether the choice of additional diuretic or beta-blocker affects the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes remains unclear.

METHODS

A total of 13,551 patients who were concurrently receiving three anti-hypertensive agents of different classes through outpatient clinics during 2004-2006 were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. Patients were further classified into two treatment groups according to the medication possession ratio of drug combinations; the A + B + C group as those who received concurrent therapy of ACEI/ARB, beta-blocker and CCB. The A + C + D group as patients who received ACEI/ARB, CCB, and diuretics. The event-free survival of stroke, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), mortality, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) between the two treatment groups was investigated.

RESULTS

After propensity score matching, there were 5120 patients in each group. There were no differences in the incidence of cardiovascular events between the two groups. In patients with prior history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA), the A + C + D group had a significantly higher AMI-free survival (adjusted HR = 1.56; 95% CI 1.051-2.307; p < 0.05) as compared with the A + B + C group.

CONCLUSION

Adding a diuretic may be better than adding a beta-blocker for treating hypertensive patients with prior CVA history who have already received ACEIs/ARBs and CCBs.

Risk of Non-melanoma Skin Cancer in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease and its Relationship to Uraemic Pruritus

This study investigated the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in pre-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and explored associated risk factors. A population-based cohort of 1,515,858 Taiwanese CKD patients was included. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) for incident NMSC was determined. Compared with the general population, a 1.14-fold risk of NMSC was found in the CKD cohort. NMSC risk was significant in patients with pre-dialysis stage 5 CKD and anaemia (1.48-fold), and in those with uraemic pruritus after long-term antihistamine treatment (1.38-fold). A higher SIR for NMSC was found in younger patients with CKD (age < 70 years, 1.34-fold; age 20-39 years, 1.63-fold), stage 5 CKD with anaemia (age < 70 years, 2.09-fold), and uraemic pruritus (age <70 years, 2.22-fold). Pre-dialysis patients with CKD are at higher risk of NMSC, especially those with advanced-stage CKD, and those with uraemic pruritus.

Protein-energy wasting significantly increases healthcare utilization and costs among patients with chronic kidney disease: a propensity-score matched cohort study

BACKGROUND

Disease-related malnutrition is highly prevalent, and has prognostic implications for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, few studies have investigated the impact of malnutrition, or protein-energy wasting (PEW), on healthcare utilization and medical expenditure among CKD patients.

METHODS

Using claim data from the National Health Insurance in Taiwan, this study identified patients with CKD between 2009-2013 and categorized them into those with mild, moderate, or severe CKD. Cases with PEW after CKD was diagnosed were propensity-score matched with controls in a 1:4 ratio. Healthcare resource utilization metrics were compared, including outpatient and emergency department visits, frequency and duration of hospitalization, and the cumulative costs associated with different CKD severity.

RESULTS

From among 347,501 CKD patients, eligible cohorts of 66,872 with mild CKD (49.2%), 27,122 with moderate CKD (19.9%), and 42,013 with severe CKD (30.9%) were selected. Malnourished CKD patients had significantly higher rates of hospitalization (p < .001 for all severities) and re-admission (p = .015 for mild CKD, p = .002 for severe CKD) than non-malnourished controls. Cumulative medical costs for outpatient and emergency visits, and hospitalization, were significantly higher among all malnourished CKD patients than non-malnourished ones (p < .001); total medical costs were also higher among malnourished patients with mild (62.9%), moderate (59.6%), or severe (43.6%) CKD compared to non-malnourished patients (p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

In a nationally-representative cohort, CKD patients with PEW had significantly more healthcare resource utilization and higher aggregate medical costs than those without, across the spectrum of CKD: preventing PEW in CKD patients should receive high priority if we would like to reduce medical costs.

Development of stable Pickering emulsions/oil powders and Pickering HIPEs stabilized by gliadin/chitosan complex particles

In this paper, we demonstrate the use of gliadin/chitosan complex particles (GCCPs) as particulate stabilizers of oil-in-water emulsions of natural oils and water. For this purpose, we fabricated GCCPs through a facile anti-solvent procedure and demonstrated their usage in the formation of Pickering emulsions and Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). The GCCPs can be used to produce surfactant-free o/w Pickering emulsions and Pickering HIPEs; unfortunately these emulsions were labile to coalescence. NaCl addition and/or pH regulation, and the combination were used to modify the surface wettability of the complex particles to achieve stable emulsions. The microstructures, e.g., interfacial frameworks, GCCP partition between the continuous phase and interfacial region, and the state of the droplets, of Pickering emulsions were visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), confirming that the inclusion of NaCl and slightly adjusting pH toward 4.0 and/or 5.0 benefited the adsorption and accumulation of colloid particles at the droplet surface to form an engineered interfacial structure, bridging droplets together through a percolating layer of colloidal particles at the oil/water interface. A schematic representation for the formation route of the emulsions is proposed to relate the physical performance and rheological property with the interfacial structures and aggregate behaviors in the Pickering system stabilized by the complex particles. Interestingly, direct freeze-drying of the emulsions transformed unstable Pickering emulsions into stable oil powders. This study opens a promising route based on Pickering HIPEs or oil powders to structure liquid oils into solid-like fats without artificial trans-fat, which outlines new directions for future fundamental research.

Bipolar patients treated with long-acting injectable risperidone in Taiwan: A 1-year mirror-image study using a national claims database

OBJECTIVE

Bipolar disorder (BD) is burdensome for patients and healthcare systems. This study evaluated changes in concomitant medication patterns, healthcare utilization, and costs after the initiation of risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) treatment among BD patients.

METHOD

287 BD patients receiving regular RLAI treatment for 1 year were identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research database during 2007-2012. The bootstrapping procedure was performed to create 1000 samples to generate normally distributed data. The paired t-tests with a correction for multiple comparisons using Bonferroni correction were used to compare the proportion of patients of concomitant psychiatric medication and resource use and costs between pre- and post-RLAI periods. Rapid and non-rapid cycling stratification was performed based on the number of change-in-mood episodes within 1 year prior to the index date.

RESULTS

The mean annual dose of RLAI was 638.41mg, which was equal to an average dose of 24.6mg every 2 weeks. The prevalence of concomitant use of conventional antipsychotics, atypical antipsychotics, lithium, and antidepressants decreased from the pre-RLAI period to the post-RLAI period by 23.75%, 31.91%, 1.29%, and 7.08%, respectively. RLAI use decreased emergency room (ER) visits, hospital admissions, length of hospital stay, and non-medication costs (all P<0.0001). The cost savings with RLAI were attributed to lower hospitalization costs in spite of higher medication costs. Moreover, rapid cycling patients (n=36) demonstrated greater reduction in ER and inpatient services with RLAI than non-rapid cycling patients (n=251).

LIMITATIONS

Of the patients who initiated RLAI, 15% of them who had regular treatment were included. Furthermore, data on measures of symptom severity, side effects, and hyperprolactinemia were not available.

CONCLUSION

BD patients had lower inpatient and ER utilization, and non-medication costs after using RLAI. In addition, RLAI use decreased the number of change-in-mood episodes in rapid cycling patients; which provides additional insights into the treatment of rapid cycling BD patients.

Epidemiology and comorbidities of patients with chronic urticaria in Taiwan‏: A nationwide population-based study

BACKGROUND

Comprehensive data regarding the epidemiology of chronic urticaria (CU) in general populations are scant.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the prevalence, incidence, and comorbidities of CU in general population.

METHODS

The data were sourced from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) for 2009-2012. Patients who had a primary/secondary ICD-9-CM diagnosis code of 708.1, 708.8, or 708.9 during the year with at least two outpatient visits and an antihistamine prescription, were identified as the cases of CU for each year. The incidence, persistence and comorbidities of CU were examined.

RESULTS

The prevalence of CU ranged from 0.69% to 0.79% for each year from 2009 to 2012, and the incidence was around 0.50% per year from 2010 to 2012. Comparing to the Standard Population, the standardized prevalence ratios (SPRs) for the rheumatic diseases, thyroid disorders, inflammatory diseases, and psychiatric disorders among CU patients were 2.74, 1.81, 1.57 and 1.87, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of CU in Taiwan is about 0.69-0.79%. CU is associated with a significantly increased risk of psychiatric disorders, inflammatory diseases, thyroid disorders, and rheumatic diseases. Except for thyroid disorders, the prevalence of these comorbidities tends to increase the longer CU persists.

Economic costs of automated and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis in Taiwan: a combined survey and retrospective cohort analysis

OBJECTIVES

Taiwan succeeded in raising the proportion of peritoneal dialysis (PD) usage after the National Health Insurance (NHI) payment scheme introduced financial incentives in 2005. This study aims to compare the economic costs between automated PD (APD) and continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) modalities from a societal perspective.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A retrospective cohort of patients receiving PD from the NHI Research Database was identified during 2004-2011. The 1:1 propensity score matched 1749 APD patients and 1749 CAPD patients who were analysed on their NHI-financed medical costs and utilisation. A multicentre study by face-to-face interviews on 117 APD and 129 CAPD patients from five hospitals located in four regions of Taiwan was further carried out to collect data on their out-of-pocket payments, productivity losses and quality of life with EuroQol-5D-5L.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The NHI-financed medical costs, out-of-pocket payments and productivity losses of APD and CAPD patients.

RESULTS

The total NHI-financed medical costs per patient-year after 5 years of follow-up were significantly higher with APD than CAPD (US$23 005 vs US$19 237; p<0.01). In terms of dialysis-related costs, APD had higher costs resulting from the use of APD machines (US$795) and APD sets (US$2913). Significantly lower productivity losses were found with APD (US$2619) than CAPD (US$6443), but the out-of-pocket payments were not significantly different. The differences in NHI-financed medical costs and productivity losses between APD and CAPD remained robust in the bootstrap analysis. The total economic costs of APD (US$30 401) were similar to those of CAPD (US$29 939), even after bootstrap analysis (APD, US$28 399; CAPD, US$27 960). No discernable differences were found in the results of mortality and quality of life between the APD and CAPD patients.

CONCLUSIONS

APD had higher annual dialysis-related costs and lower annual productivity losses than CAPD, which made the economic costs of APD very close to those of CAPD in Taiwan.

Effect of pulmonary tuberculosis on clinical outcomes of long-term dialysis patients: Pre- and post-DOTS implementation in Taiwan

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The link between tuberculosis (TB) and dialysis is known; however, the impact of TB on the clinical outcomes remains to be elucidated. This study aims to determine the clinical consequences of pulmonary TB among patients under long-term dialysis.

METHODS

A retrospective propensity-scores matched (1:4) cohort study was conducted by retrieving patient data for pulmonary TB after long-term dialysis commencement from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 1999 and 2013. Patients with TB (n = 1993) or without TB (n = 7972) were compared for 3-year morbidity and mortality. The effect of Directly Observed Treatment, Short-Course (DOTS) implementation was also evaluated. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine adjusted hazard ratios (HRs).

RESULTS

TB patients had a significantly higher risk of mortality than non-TB patients even after multivariate adjustment (HR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.36-1.60; P < 0.001). DOTS implementation reduced the risk of some morbidities such as pneumonia, hospitalization and intensive care unit stay >7 days, but not inotropic agent usage, ventilator therapy >21 days and mortality in TB patients. In pulmonary TB patients with treatment duration ≥180 days, DOTS implementation also lowered the risk of TB relapse (HR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.19-0.55; P < 0.001), irrespective of treatment duration (180-224 or ≥225 days).

CONCLUSION

Pulmonary TB increases the risk of morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients; DOTS implementation reduces some morbidities and TB relapse. Continuing DOTS implementation should be encouraged to improve clinical outcomes in dialysis patients.

Data for outcomes of acute hospital administration of amiodarone and/or lidocaine in shockable patients presenting with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “Acute Hospital Administration of Amiodarone and/or Lidocaine in Shockable Patients Presenting with Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Nationwide Cohort Study” (C.H. Huang, P.H. Yu, M.S. Tsai et al., 2016) [1]. The data contains the information of co-morbidities coding from ICD-9 CM codes and specific difference in requirement between medical centers and non-medical centers in resuscitation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis for factors related to the outcome of survival to ICU admission and survival to hospital discharge are included in the data set. The data also contains bootstrap sensitivity analysis of the logistic regression model for survival to ICU admission and hospital discharge outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Subgroup analysis of epinephrine dosage related to outcome of one-year survival is shown.

Acute hospital administration of amiodarone and/or lidocaine in shockable patients presenting with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND

Terminating ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VT) is critical for successful resuscitation of patients with shockable cardiac arrest. In the event of shock-refractory VF, applicable guidelines suggest use of anti-arrhythmic agents. However, subsequent long-term outcomes remain unclear. A nationwide cohort study was therefore launched, examining 1-year survival rates in patients given amiodarone and/or lidocaine for cardiac arrest.

METHODS

Medical records accruing between years 2004 and 2011 were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) for review. This repository houses all insurance claims data for nearly the entire populace (>99%). Candidates for study included all non-traumatized adults receiving DC shock and cardiopulmonary resuscitation immediately or within 6h of emergency room arrival. Analysis was based on data from emergency rooms and hospitalization.

RESULTS

One-year survival rates by treatment group were 8.27% (534/6459) for amiodarone, 7.15% (77/1077) for lidocaine, 11.10% (165/1487) for combined amiodarone/lidocaine use, and 3.26% (602/18,440) for use of neither amiodarone nor lidocaine (all, p<0.0001). Relative to those given neither medication, odds ratios for 1-year survival via multiple regression analysis were 1.84 (95% CI: 1.58-2.13; p<0.0001) for amiodarone, 1.88 (95% CI: 1.40-2.53; p<0.0001) for lidocaine, and 2.18 (95% CI: 1.71-2.77; p<0.0001) for dual agent use.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with shockable cardiac arrest, 1-year survival rates were improved with association of using amiodarone and/or lidocaine, as opposed to non-treatment. However, outcomes of patients given one or both medications did not differ significantly in intergroup comparisons.

Glucocorticoid use during cardiopulmonary resuscitation may be beneficial for cardiac arrest

BACKGROUND

Various studies have indicated that glucocorticoid supplementation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), in conjunction with vasopressors, may improve outcomes in instances of cardiac arrest. However, further population-based analysis is warranted with respect to resuscitative and long-term survival benefits conferred by administering glucocorticoids in this setting.

METHODS

A total of 145,644 adult patients who experienced non-traumatic, cardiac arrest occurred at emergency room during years 2004-2011 were selected for study from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research database. These patients were grouped as steroid and non-steroid recipients during CPR, and group members were matched in terms of patient characteristics, including presenting complaint, prior steroid use, resuscitative drugs and shocks delivered, treatment setting (medical center or not), socioeconomic status, and year that cardiac arrest occurred, through propensity scoring. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the impact of steroid usage on survival to admission, survival to discharge, and 1-year survival.

RESULTS

Compared with matched non-steroid group members (n=8628), patients given steroid (n=2876) displayed significantly higher rates of survival to admission (38.32% vs 18.67%; adjusted OR=2.97, 95% CI 2.69-3.29; p<0.0001), survival to discharge (14.50% vs 5.61%; adjusted OR=1.71, 95% CI 1.42-2.05; p<0.0001), and 1-year overall survival (10.81% vs 4.74%; adjusted OR=1.48, 95% CI 1.22-1.79; p<0.0001). Steroid use proved more beneficial in patients with COPD or asthma and in the absence of shockable rhythm during CPR.

CONCLUSION

Glucocorticoid use during CPR is associated with improved survival-to-admission, survival-to-discharge, and 1-year survival rates.

Palatoplasty decreases the re-insertion rate of middle ear ventilation tube in cleft palate children - A population-based birth cohort study

CONCLUSION

Palatoplasty can significantly decrease their middle ear re-intubation rate with a relatively lower hazard ratio compared to children who underwent VTI only.

OBJECTIVES

In children with cleft palate, questions remain about the overall effect of ventilation tube insertion (VTI) and palatoplasty for their OME. A large-scale study might offer more evidence for the roles of palatal surgery.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

This was a retrospective birth cohort study based upon a national database. We analyzed children born between 1999-2004 and diagnosed as cleft palate and/or lips. These children, according to their surgeries, were separated into two groups: (1) VTI only, and (2) VTI and palatoplasty. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test were used to calculate their cumulative tube re-insertion rates. Their hazard ratios of tube re-insertion were also analyzed.

RESULTS

In total, 1205 cleft children were collected, with 151 in the VTI only group and 1054 in the VTI + palatoplasty group. Ventilation tube re-insertion rates were significantly lower in the VTI + palatoplasty group (p = 0.002). The cumulative re-insertion rates also showed a significant difference (p = 0.001). When compared to the VTI only group, the adjusted hazard ratio was 0.528 in the VTI + palatoplasty group (p = 0.001).

Do Automated Peritoneal Dialysis and Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis Have the Same Clinical Outcomes? A Ten-year Cohort Study in Taiwan

This paper reports a comprehensive comparison for mortality and technique failure rates between automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in Taiwan. A propensity-score matched cohort study was conducted by retrieving APD and CAPD patients identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 2001 and 2010. The main outcomes were the 5-year mortality and technique failure rates. Further analyses were then carried out based upon the first (2001–2004), second (2005–2007), and third (2008–2010) sub-periods. Similar baseline characteristics were identified for APD (n = 2,287) and CAPD (n = 2,287) patients. The proportion on APD therapy increased rapidly in the second sub-period. As compared to CAPD patients of this sub-period, APD patients had a significantly higher risk of mortality (HR, 1.37; 95% CI 1.09–1.72; p < 0.01) and technique failure (HR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.10–1.86; p < 0.01), particularly in the first year after peritoneal dialysis commencement. However, APD patients had similar mortality and technique failure rates to those of CAPD patients throughout the full sample period and the first and third sub-periods. These findings do not suggest the presence of a clear advantage of CAPD over APD. Differences observed between these two modalities might be attributed to specials circumstances of sub-periods.

Comparative effectiveness of long-acting injectable risperidone vs. long-acting injectable first-generation antipsychotics in bipolar disorder

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to compare the treatment effectiveness between long-acting injectable risperidone and long-acting injectable first-generation antipsychotics among patients with bipolar disorder.

METHOD

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients with bipolar disorder aged 15 years or higher, who were newly administered long-acting injectable antipsychotics between June 1, 2004 and December 31, 2011 were included. The clinical outcome indexes were hospitalization for any mood, manic/mixed, or depressive episodes. In addition, the all-cause discontinuation of long-acting injectable antipsychotic treatment was also assessed.

RESULTS

A total of 3916 patients with bipolar disorder were extracted. Compared with risperidone, the use of first-generation antipsychotics was associated with a higher rate of hospitalization for any mood episode and major depressive episode. However, there was no statistically significant difference in treatment discontinuation rate between risperidone and first-generation antipsychotics.

LIMITATIONS

Information for the severity of mood symptoms, social support, life style, neurological and metabolic adverse effect was not available in this database. In addition, we only measured severe mood episodes with hospitalization as our outcome index. It may not be possible to generalize our findings to mild mood episodes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggested that patients treated with long-acting injectable risperidone might be superior to first-generation antipsychotics in the rate of psychiatric hospitalization.

Migraine and incidence of ischemic stroke: A nationwide population-based study

Background

The association between migraine and the incidence of ischemic stroke varies in different subgroups of patients. We aimed to clarify this association using a population-based database.

Method

A nationwide cohort study was conducted using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Two cohorts were extracted: a neurologist-diagnosed migraine cohort, and a non-headache, propensity score-matched comparison cohort. All participants were enrolled in this study between 2005 and 2009, and were followed through the end of 2010, death, or the occurrence of ischemic stroke. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with a Cox proportional hazards model to compare the between-group risks.

Results

Both cohorts ( n = 119,017 each) were followed for a mean period of 3.6 ± 1.3 years. A total of 744 migraine patients (429,741 person-years) and 617 matched comparison individuals (436,141 person-years) developed ischemic stroke during the research period. Compared to the comparison cohort, patients with migraine were at an increased risk of ischemic stroke (aHR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.12–1.38, p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis by age and sex revealed the highest risk in women aged ≤ 45 years (aHR: 3.44, 95% CI: 2.20–5.39, p < 0.001), especially among those with migraine with aura (aHR: 4.58, 95% CI: 2.45 – 8.56, p < 0.001). A trend for increased stroke risk was observed in men aged ≤ 45 years (aHR: 1.54, 95% CI: 0.96–2.48, p = 0.075).

Conclusion

Migraine is associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke, especially in younger (age ≤ 45 years) women with migraine with aura. The trend toward ischemic stroke in younger men merits further exploration.

Change in employment status in bipolar disorder: a longitudinal study using national claims data

OBJECTIVE

To assess change in employment status in patients with bipolar disorder in comparison with non-mentally ill controls from 1 year before bipolar incidence to 10 years after. Sociodemographic factors of change in employment status were also examined for patients with bipolar disorder.

METHOD

A cohort of 502 patients with ICD-9-CM bipolar disorder was identified using claims data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan between 1998 and 2001 and compared to non-mentally ill controls through December 31, 2008. The primary outcome measure was the time from bipolar incidence to the time of change in employment status, ie, from earning income to not earning income.

RESULTS

The probability of changing to a non-income earner was significantly higher (P < .0001) in patients with bipolar disorder than in controls over time, even before the incidence of bipolar disorder (27% vs 14% for patients with bipolar disorder vs controls, respectively). Risks of occupational deterioration in patients with bipolar disorder were greater in the year before incidence and in the following year, with gradually decreasing risks over the subsequent 2 years, and comparable to controls from the third year onward. The adjusted hazard ratio of changing to a non-income earner was 2.06 (95% CI, 1.82-2.33) in patients with bipolar disorder. Male sex, ages 18 to 25 years, lower payroll bracket (< NT$50,001 [US $1,489]), and living in an urban area and insured area in the Northern region were associated with the risk of changing to a non-income earner in patients with bipolar disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with bipolar disorder had poorer employment outcomes than the controls, with greater risks of occupational deterioration before and after the bipolar episodes. Employment status should be incorporated as a measure of functioning and of treatment and intervention effectiveness in clinical practices and research.