Inpatient health care utilization by children and adolescents with systemic lupus erythematosus and kidney involvement

The Effect of Psychiatric Comorbidity on Healthcare Utilization for Youth With Newly Diagnosed Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effect of psychiatric diagnoses on healthcare use in youth with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) during their first year of SLE care.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using claims from 2000 to 2013 from Clinformatics Data Mart (OptumInsight). Youth aged 10 years to 24 years with an incident diagnosis of SLE (≥ 3 International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, codes for SLE 710.0, > 30 days apart) were categorized as having: (1) a preceding psychiatric diagnosis in the year before SLE diagnosis, (2) an incident psychiatric diagnosis in the year after SLE diagnosis, or (3) no psychiatric diagnosis. We compared ambulatory, emergency, and inpatient visits in the year after SLE diagnosis, stratified by nonpsychiatric and psychiatric visits. We examined the effect of childhood-onset vs adult-onset SLE by testing for an interaction between age and psychiatric exposure on outcome.

RESULTS

We identified 650 youth with an incident diagnosis of SLE, of which 122 (19%) had a preceding psychiatric diagnosis and 105 (16%) had an incident psychiatric diagnosis. Compared with those without a psychiatric diagnosis, youth with SLE and a preceding or incident psychiatric diagnosis had more healthcare use across both ambulatory and emergency settings for both nonpsychiatric and psychiatric-related care. These associations were minimally affected by age at time of SLE diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

Psychiatric comorbidity is common among youth with newly diagnosed SLE and is associated with greater healthcare use. Interventions to address preceding and incident psychiatric comorbidity may decrease healthcare burden for youth with SLE.

Using a Multi-Institutional Pediatric Learning Health System to Identify Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Lupus Nephritis: Development and Validation of Computable Phenotypes

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Performing adequately powered clinical trials in pediatric diseases, such as SLE, is challenging. Improved recruitment strategies are needed for identifying patients.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS

Electronic health record algorithms were developed and tested to identify children with SLE both with and without lupus nephritis. We used single-center electronic health record data to develop computable phenotypes composed of diagnosis, medication, procedure, and utilization codes. These were evaluated iteratively against a manually assembled database of patients with SLE. The highest-performing phenotypes were then evaluated across institutions in PEDSnet, a national health care systems network of >6.7 million children. Reviewers blinded to case status used standardized forms to review random samples of cases (n=350) and noncases (n=350).

RESULTS

Final algorithms consisted of both utilization and diagnostic criteria. For both, utilization criteria included two or more in-person visits with nephrology or rheumatology and ≥60 days follow-up. SLE diagnostic criteria included absence of neonatal lupus, one or more hydroxychloroquine exposures, and either three or more qualifying diagnosis codes separated by ≥30 days or one or more diagnosis codes and one or more kidney biopsy procedure codes. Sensitivity was 100% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 99 to 100), specificity was 92% (95% CI, 88 to 94), positive predictive value was 91% (95% CI, 87 to 94), and negative predictive value was 100% (95% CI, 99 to 100). Lupus nephritis diagnostic criteria included either three or more qualifying lupus nephritis diagnosis codes (or SLE codes on the same day as glomerular/kidney codes) separated by ≥30 days or one or more SLE diagnosis codes and one or more kidney biopsy procedure codes. Sensitivity was 90% (95% CI, 85 to 94), specificity was 93% (95% CI, 89 to 97), positive predictive value was 94% (95% CI, 89 to 97), and negative predictive value was 90% (95% CI, 84 to 94). Algorithms identified 1508 children with SLE at PEDSnet institutions (537 with lupus nephritis), 809 of whom were seen in the past 12 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Electronic health record-based algorithms for SLE and lupus nephritis demonstrated excellent classification accuracy across PEDSnet institutions.

Dialysis Outcomes for Children With Lupus Nephritis Compared to Children With Other Forms of Nephritis: A Retrospective Cohort Study

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE

Children with lupus nephritis (LN) are at high risk of developing kidney failure requiring initiation of kidney replacement therapy. This study compared outcomes among children with LN on dialysis with children with non-lupus glomerular disease and investigated risk factors for adverse outcomes among children with LN on dialysis.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS

Children and adolescents aged 6-20 years with LN (n = 231) and non-lupus glomerular disease (n = 1,726) who initiated maintenance dialysis 1991-2018 and were enrolled in the North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies (NAPRTCS) registry.

EXPOSURE

Lupus nephritis.

OUTCOME

Hospitalization, mortality, and time to transplant.

ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Contingency tables were used to compare hospitalizations, and multivariable cause-specific hazards models were used to compare rates of death and transplantation in children with LN compared with those with non-lupus glomerular disease. Using data from children with LN, multivariable logistic regression models were fit to evaluate the risk factors for hospitalization, and multivariable Cox regression models were fit to evaluate factors associated with kidney transplantation.

RESULTS

Children with LN were more likely to be hospitalized in the first year after dialysis initiation (63.3% vs 48.6%, P < 0.001) and were less likely to receive a kidney transplant in the first 3 years after dialysis initiation (year 0-1: adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 0.36 [95% CI, 0.23-0.57], P < 0.001; year 1-3: AHR, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.54-0.98], P = 0.04). Anemia was associated with hospitalization after dialysis initiation (adjusted OR, 4.44 [95% CI, 1.44-13.66], P = 0.01). Non-White race was associated with a lower rate of kidney transplantation (AHR, 0.47 [95% CI, 0.27-0.82], P = 0.01). LN was not associated with death while on dialysis (AHR, 1.21 [95% CI, 0.47-3.11], P = 0.7).

LIMITATIONS

The NAPRTCS registry does not collect information on lupus disease activity or medication doses and has limited data on medication use.

CONCLUSIONS

Children and adolescents with LN on dialysis are at higher risk for adverse outcomes including hospitalization and lower rates of kidney transplantation compared with children with non-lupus glomerular disease receiving maintenance dialysis.

Inpatient Pediatric CKD Health Care Utilization and Mortality in the United States

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE

The impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on inpatient health care use is unknown. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of pediatric CKD among children hospitalized in the United States and examine the association of CKD with hospital outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional national survey of pediatric discharges.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS

Hospital discharges of children (aged>28 days to 19 years) with a chronic medical diagnosis included in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database for 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2016.

PREDICTOR

Presence of primary or coexisting CKD as identified by diagnosis codes.

OUTCOMES

Length of stay (LOS), cost, and mortality.

ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Multivariable analysis using Poisson, gamma, and logistic regressions were performed for LOS, cost, and mortality, respectively.

RESULTS

A chronic medical condition was present in 6,524,745 estimated discharges during the study period and CKD was present among 3.9% of discharges (96.1% without CKD). Those with CKD had a longer LOS (median of 2.8 [IQR, 1.4-6.0] days compared with 1.8 [IQR, 1.0-4.4] days for those without a CKD diagnosis; P<0.001). Median cost was higher in the CKD group compared with the group without CKD, at $8,755 (IQR, $4,563-18,345) and $5,016 (IQR, $2,860-10,109) per hospitalization, respectively (P<0.001). Presence of CKD was associated with a longer LOS (29.9% [95% CI, 27.2%-32.6%] longer than those without CKD), higher cost (61.3% [95% CI, 57.4%-65.4%] greater than those without CKD), and higher risk for mortality (OR, 1.51 [95% CI, 1.40-1.63]).

LIMITATIONS

Lack of access to and adjustment for confounders including patient readmission and laboratory data.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatric CKD was associated with longer LOS, higher costs, and higher risk for mortality compared with hospitalizations with other chronic illnesses. Further studies are needed to better understand the health care needs and delivery of care to hospitalized children with CKD.

Association of miRNA-145 expression in vascular smooth muscle cells with vascular damages in patients with lupus nephritis

miRNAs have been found to contribute to the regulation of multiple cellular processes, including cell apoptosis, differentiation and proliferation. The patients with lupus nephritis (LN) exhibit thickened renal vascular membrane and highly proliferative vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Of various miRNAs discovered, miR-145 is essential to mediate the proliferation of VSMCs and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. In this study, we studied the pathological and vascular damage of renal LN, and the correlation between miR-145 expression in VSMCs and the vascular damages. Serum, urine, and renal biopsies were obtained from 41 patients with active LN. The serum and urinary VEGF levels were examined to confirm the renal damage of each patient. Biopsies were stained to observe the glomerular segmental lesions, sclerosis, and to evaluate the vascular damages. The expression of miR-145 was also examined to determine the correlation between its expression and the vascular damages. The expression of miR-145 was mainly detected in the renal VSMCs and the epithelial cells of glomerular proximal convoluted tubule. Nevertheless, the expression of miR-145 reduced as the tunicae media vasorum ratios increased, indicating the development of LN inhibits the expression of miR-145. Furthermore, our studies revealed no significant correlation among renal interstitial vascular damage, glomerular damage and severity classification of LN. Therefore, we suggest the damage of renal interstitial vascular should be considered as one of the factors to evaluate the severity of the LN.

National trends in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus hospitalization in the United States: 2000-2009

OBJECTIVE

In the setting of recent healthcare advances and emphasis on reduced spending, we aimed to characterize US trends in inpatient healthcare use and mortality for pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

METHODS

We performed a retrospective, serial, cross-sectional analysis of the national Kids' Inpatient Database (for 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009). We identified patients with SLE aged 2 to 21 years using an International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision (ICD-9) code of 710.0 listed as a discharge diagnosis. Using sampling weights, we estimated trends in hospitalization, inpatient mortality, procedure rates, and length of stay (LOS). We analyzed patient and hospital-specific risk factors for mortality and LOS, and compared those outcomes to those without SLE.

RESULTS

We identified 26,903 estimated pediatric SLE hospitalizations. The hospitalization rate of 8.6 (95% CI 7.6-9.6) per 100,000 population and mean LOS of 5.9 days (95% CI 5.6-6.2) were stable over time. We found a significant downward trend in mortality, decreasing from 1% to 0.6% (p = 0.04), which paralleled a less pronounced trend for those without SLE. The rate of dialysis, blood transfusions, and vascular catheterization procedures increased. Patients with SLE nephritis and non-white race were at risk for increased healthcare use and death.

CONCLUSION

Pediatric SLE hospitalization rate and LOS remained stable, but inpatient mortality decreased as the rate of common therapeutic procedures increased. More research is needed to understand the drivers of these relationships.

Update on differences between childhood-onset and adult-onset systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease and occurs worldwide in both children and adults. The estimated annual incidence among children is 2.22/100,000 and among adults is 23.2/100,000 in the United States. There is increasing understanding about differences in disease manifestations, medication use, and disease severity between those with childhood-onset SLE as compared with adult-onset SLE. Children have a more fulminant disease onset and course than adults with SLE, resulting in two to three times higher mortality. In future years, we anticipate more insight into the genetics between childhood-onset SLE and adult-onset SLE to help delineate the best therapies for both subsets of patients.

Biomarkers and updates on pediatrics lupus nephritis

Lupus nephritis is a common complication of systemic lupus erythematosus in children and adolescents. This article reviews the clinical relevance of lupus nephritis and its current treatment. The reader is introduced to novel biomarkers that are expected to improve the management of lupus nephritis in the future, and support the testing of novel medication regimens.