Rochester Epidemiology Project Data Exploration Portal

Introduction

The goal of this project was to develop an interactive, web-based tool to explore patterns of prevalence and co-occurrence of diseases using data from the expanded Rochester Epidemiology Project (E-REP) medical records-linkage system.

Methods

We designed the REP Data Exploration Portal (REP DEP) to include summary information for people who lived in a 27-county region of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin on January 1, 2014 (n = 694,506; 61% of the entire population). We obtained diagnostic codes of the International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition, from the medical records-linkage system in 2009 through 2013 (5 years) and grouped them into 717 disease categories. For each condition or combination of 2 conditions (dyad), we calculated prevalence by dividing the number of persons with a specified condition (numerator) by the total number of persons in the population (denominator). We calculated observed-to-expected ratios (OERs) to test whether 2 conditions co-occur more frequently than would co-occur as a result of chance alone.

Results

We launched the first version of the REP DEP in May 2017. The REP DEP can be accessed at http://rochesterproject.org/portal/. Users can select 2 conditions of interest, and the REP DEP displays the overall prevalence, age-specific prevalence, and sex-specific prevalence for each condition and dyad. Also displayed are OERs overall and by age and sex and maps of county-specific prevalence of each condition and OER.

Conclusion

The REP DEP draws upon a medical records-linkage system to provide an innovative, rapid, interactive, free-of-charge method to examine the prevalence and co-occurrence of 717 diseases and conditions in a geographically defined population.

Effect of the American Heart Association 2007 Guidelines on the Practice of Dental Prophylaxis for the Prevention of Infective Endocarditis in Olmsted County, Minnesota

OBJECTIVE

To determine the adherence of dental providers to the 2007 American Heart Association (AHA) infective endocarditis prevention guidelines regarding antibiotic drug administration before invasive dental procedures.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The study included all adults (≥18 years old) with a moderate-risk (MR) or high-risk (HR) cardiac condition who received dental care at participating dental offices from January 1, 2005, through June 1, 2015, in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Data collected included the date and type of dental procedure performed and receipt of antibiotic prophylaxis (AP).

RESULTS

A total of 1351 patients underwent 8854 dental visits at participating dental offices during the study period; 1236 patients had an MR cardiac condition and 115 had an HR condition. The percentage of visits in which antibiotic drugs were used for indicated dental procedures in the MR group declined from 64.6% before to 8.6% after publication of the 2007 AHA guidelines (P<.001); for the HR group, AP declined from 96.9% before to 81.3% after publication of the guidelines (P=.02).

CONCLUSION

In this historical cohort in Olmsted County there was a statistically significant reduction in AP in the MR group before invasive dental procedures. In addition, there was an unanticipated significant reduction in AP in the HR group after publication of the 2007 AHA guidelines. These findings can be used to provide feedback and education to medical and dental professionals who are involved in decision making regarding the use of dental prophylaxis for their patients.

Linking medical and dental health record data: a partnership with the Rochester Epidemiology Project

PURPOSE

The purpose of this project was to expand the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) medical records linkage infrastructure to include data from oral healthcare providers. The goal of this linkage is to facilitate research studies examining the role of oral health in overall health and quality of life.

PARTICIPANTS

Eight dental practices joined the REP between 2011 and 2015. The REP study team has linked oral healthcare information with medical record information from local healthcare providers for 31 750 participants who have resided in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Overall, 17 718 (56%) participants are women, 14 318 (45%) are 40 years of age or older and 26 090 (82%) are white.

FINDINGS TO DATE

A first study using this new information was recently completed. This resource was used to determine whether the 2007 guidelines from the American Heart Association affected prescription rates of antibiotics to patients with moderate-risk cardiac conditions prior to dental procedures. The REP infrastructure was used to identify a series of patients diagnosed with moderate-risk cardiac conditions by the local healthcare providers (n=1351), and to abstract antibiotic prescriptions from dental records both pre-2007 and post-2007. Antibiotic prescriptions prior to dental procedures declined from 62% to 7% following the change in guidelines.

FUTURE PLANS

Dental data from participating practitioners will be updated on an annual basis, and new dental data will be linked to patient medical records. In addition, we will continue to invite new dental practices to participate in the REP. Finally, we will continue to use this research infrastructure to investigate associations between oral and medical health, and will present findings at conferences and in the scientific literature.