User-defined outcomes of the Danish cardiovascular screening (DANCAVAS) trial: A post hoc analyses of a population-based, randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The Danish cardiovascular screening (DANCAVAS) trial, a nationwide trial designed to investigate the impact of cardiovascular screening in men, did not decrease all-cause mortality, an outcome decided by the investigators. However, the target group may have varied preferences. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether men aged 65 to 74 years requested a CT-based cardiovascular screening examination and to assess its impact on outcomes determined by their preferences.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

This is a post hoc study of the randomised DANCAVAS trial. All men 65 to 74 years of age residing in specific areas of Denmark were randomised (1:2) to invitation-to-screening (16,736 men, of which 10,471 underwent screening) or usual-care (29,790 men). The examination included among others a non-contrast CT scan (to assess the coronary artery calcium score and aortic aneurysms). Positive findings prompted preventive treatment with atorvastatin, aspirin, and surveillance/surgical evaluation. The usual-care group remained unaware of the trial and the assignments. The user-defined outcome was based on patient preferences and determined through a survey sent in January 2023 to a random sample of 9,095 men from the target group, with a 68.0% response rate (6,182 respondents). Safety outcomes included severe bleeding and mortality within 30 days after cardiovascular surgery. Analyses were performed on an intention-to-screen basis. Prevention of stroke and myocardial infarction was the primary motivation for participating in the screening examination. After a median follow-up of 6.4 years, 1,800 of 16,736 men (10.8%) in the invited-to-screening group and 3,420 of 29,790 (11.5%) in the usual-care group experienced an event (hazard ratio (HR), 0.93 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.88 to 0.98; p = 0.010); number needed to invite at 6 years, 148 (95% CI, 80 to 986)). A total of 324 men (1.9%) in the invited-to-screening group and 491 (1.7%) in the usual-care group had an intracranial bleeding (HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.35; p = 0.029). Additionally, 994 (5.9%) in the invited-to-screening group and 1,722 (5.8%) in the usual-care group experienced severe gastrointestinal bleeding (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1.11; p = 0.583). No differences were found in mortality after cardiovascular surgery. The primary limitation of the study is that exclusive enrolment of men aged 65 to 74 renders the findings non-generalisable to women or men of other age groups.

CONCLUSION

In this comprehensive population-based cardiovascular screening and intervention program, we observed a reduction in the user-defined outcome, stroke and myocardial infarction, but entail a small increased risk of intracranial bleeding.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN Registry number, ISRCTN12157806 https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12157806.

Danish men's experiences of cardiovascular screening and their views on preventive cardiovascular medication: A qualitative explorative nurse study

OBJECTIVES

This study explored Danish men's experience of participating in a screening program for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and their perceptions of preventive medication for CVD before and after participation in the screening program.

METHODS

An exploratory phenomenological-hermeneutical study. Fifteen men from a cardiovascular screening program for men aged 65-74 years participated. Semi-structured interviews were conducted before screening and one year later (2015-2017). The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Kvale and Brinkmann's approach to data analysis.

RESULTS

Two main themes were identified: (i) seeking confirmation and control of health: familiarity with CVD; understanding the screening program; confirmation of health; perception of preventive medication, and (ii) sense of own health and prevention: experiences with the screening program; accept or denial of diagnosis and preventive medication.

CONCLUSION

A minority of the men understood the nature of the diseases for which they were being examined. The invitation for screening and the outcome of the examinations must be communicated more skilfully. The health providers need to engage early in treatment after the screening and provide an individualised plan that addresses patients concerns and knowledge based on their needs.

Relevance of the Viborg Population Based Screening Programme (VISP) for Cardiovascular Conditions Among 67 Year Olds: Attendance Rate, Prevalence, and Proportion of Initiated Cardiovascular Medicines Stratified By Sex

OBJECTIVE

To report sex specific overall attendance rate, prevalence of screen detected cardiovascular conditions, proportion of unknown conditions before screening, and proportion initiating prophylactic medicine among 67 year olds in Denmark.

DESIGN

Cross sectional cohort study.

METHODS

Since 2014, all 67 year olds in Viborg, Denmark, have been invited to screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), carotid plaque (CP), hypertension, cardiac disease, and type 2 diabetes. Individuals with AAA, PAD, and or CP are recommended cardiovascular prophylaxis. Combining data with registries has facilitated estimation of unknown screen detected conditions. Up to August 2019, 5 505 had been invited; registry data were available for the first 4 826 who were invited.

RESULTS

The attendance rate was 83.7%, without sex difference. Screen detected prevalence was significantly lower among women than men: AAA, 5 (0.3%) vs. 38 (1.9%) (p < .001); PAD, 90 (4.5%) vs. 134 (6.6%) (p = .011); CP, 641 (31.8%) vs. 907 (44.8%) (p < .001); arrhythmia, 26 (1.4%) vs. 77 (4.2%) (p < .001); blood pressure ≥ 160/100 mmHg, 277 (13.8%) vs. 346 (17.1%) (p = .004); and HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol, 155 (7.7%) vs. 198 (9.8%) (p = .019), respectively. Pre-screening proportions of unknown conditions were particularly high for AAA (95.4%) and PAD (87.5%). AAA, PAD, and or CP were found in 1 623 (40.2%), of whom 470 (29.0%) received pre-screening antiplatelets and 743 (45.8%) lipid lowering therapy. Furthermore, 413 (25.5%) started antiplatelet therapy and 347 (21.4%) started lipid lowering therapy. Only smoking was significantly associated with all vascular conditions in multivariable analysis: odds ratios (ORs) for current smoking were AAA 8.11 (95% CI 2.27 - 28.97), PAD 5.60 (95% CI 3.61 - 8.67) and CP 3.64 (95% CI 2.95 - 4.47).

CONCLUSION

The attendance rate signals public acceptability for attending cardiovascular screening. Men had more screen detected conditions than women, but prophylactic medicine was started equally frequently in both sexes. Sex specific cost effectiveness follow up is warranted.

The impact of population screening for cardiovascular disease on quality of life

Aims

To examine the impact of population screening-generated events on quality of life: invitation, positive test result, initiation of preventive medication, enrolment in follow-up at the surgical department, and preventive surgical repair.

Methods and results

A difference-in-difference design based on data collected alongside two randomized controlled trials where general population men were randomized to screening for cardiovascular disease or to no screening. Repeated measurements of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were conducted up to 3 years after inclusion using all relevant scales of the EuroQol instrument: the anxiety/depression dimension, the EuroQol 5-dimension profile index (using Danish preference weights), and the visual analogue scale for global health. We compare the mean change scores from before to after events for groups experiencing vs. not experiencing the events. Propensity score matching is additionally used to provide both unmatched and matched results. Invitees reported to be marginally better off than non-invitees on all scales of the EuroQol. For events of receiving the test result, initiating preventive medication, being enrolled in surveillance, and undergoing surgical repair, we observed no impact on overall HRQoL but a minor impact of being enrolled in surveillance on emotional distress, which did not persist after matching.

Conclusion

The often-claimed detrimental consequences of screening to HRQoL could not be generally confirmed. Amongst the screening events assessed, only two possible consequences were revealed: a reassurance effect after a negative screening test and a minor negative impact to emotional distress of being enrolled in surveillance that did not spill over to overall HRQoL.

Protocol for a cohort study to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of general population screening for cardiovascular disease: the Viborg Screening Programme (VISP)

INTRODUCTION

The prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is increasing. Furthermore, asymptomatic individuals may not receive timely preventive initiatives to minimise the risk of further CVD events. Paradoxically, 80% of CVD events are preventable by early detection, followed by prophylactic initiatives. Consequently, we introduced the population-based Viborg Screening Programme (VISP) for subclinical and manifest CVD, focusing on commonly occurring, mainly asymptomatic conditions, followed by prophylactic initiatives.The aim of the VISP was to evaluate the health benefits, harms and cost-effectiveness of the VISP from a healthcare sector perspective. Furthermore, we explored the participants' perspectives.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

From August 2014 and currently ongoing, approximately 1100 men and women from the Viborg municipality, Denmark, are annually invited to screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease, carotid plaque, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cardiac arrhythmia on their 67th birthday. A population from the surrounding municipalities without access to the VISP acts as a control. The VISP invitees and the controls are followed on the individual level by nationwide registries. The primary outcome is all-cause mortality, while costs, hospitalisations and deaths from CVD are the secondary endpoints.Interim evaluations of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness are planned every 5 years using propensity score matching followed by a Cox proportional hazards regression analysis by the 'intention-to-treat' principle. Furthermore, censoring-adjusted incremental costs, life-years and quality-adjusted life-years are estimated. Finally, the participants' perspectives are explored by semistructured face-to-face interviews, with participant selection representing participants with both negative and positive screening results.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The VISP is not an interventional trial. Therefore, approval from a regional scientific ethical committee is not needed. Data collection from national registries was approved by the Regional Data Protection Agency (record no. 1-16-02-232-15). We ensure patient and public involvement in evaluating the acceptability of VISP by adopting an interviewing approach in the study.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03395509.

Emergency department reorganisation introducing increased autonomy: A mixed effects approach to evaluate the effects of a national policy

BACKGROUND

In 2007, a Danish national policy to future-proof emergency department (ED) performance was launched. The policy included several recommendations for the management and organisation of care that essentially introduced greater ED autonomy. In this study, we evaluate the effects of increased ED autonomy on readmission, mortality and episode costs for two large patient groups.

METHOD

A non-randomised stepped wedge study-design where all EDs gradually implemented the policy at different steps during the study period (2008-2016). The timing and extent of policy implementation was determined from a retrospective cross-sectional survey of all 21 Danish EDs. This was linked to all episodes of hip fracture (n = 79,697) and erysipelas (n = 39,900) identified in the Nation Patient Registry and with episode-level outcomes. Mixed effect models were specified for the outcomes of 30-day readmission, 30-day mortality and episode costs, and adjusted for relevant ED- and episode-level heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Increased ED autonomy was associated with more readmissions (p<0.05) and higher episode costs (p<0.001) in hip fracture episodes. In erysipelas episodes, no general associations were found. When restricted to night-time admissions, increased ED autonomy was associated with poorer outcomes for erysipelas episodes and increased episode costs for both patient groups.

CONCLUSION

The intended policy effects were not found for these two patient groups; in fact, reorganisation appeared to have harmed hip fracture patients and increased episode costs. Uncertainty remains regarding the longer-term consequences.

Is the socioeconomic inequality in stroke prognosis changing over time and does quality of care play a role?

Introduction:

In a publicly financed healthcare system we aimed to study the development in socioeconomic disparity in ischemic stroke outcomes over time. In addition, we study whether the healthcare system affects these outcomes through the quality of early stroke care when adjustments are made for various patient characteristics incl. comorbidity and stroke severity.

Patients and methods:

Using nationwide, detailed individual-level register-data we analysed how income-related and education-related inequality in 30-day mortality and 30-day readmission risk developed between 2003 and 2018. In addition, focusing on income-related inequality, we applied mediation analyses to estimate the mediating role of quality of acute stroke care on 30-day mortality and 30-day readmission.

Results:

A total of 97,779 individual ischemic stroke patients were registered in Denmark with a first ever stroke in the study period. Three-point-seven percent died within 30 days of their index-admission and 11.5% were readmitted within 30 days of discharge. The income-related inequality in mortality remained virtually unchanged over time from an RR of 0.53 (95% CI: 0.38; 0.74) in 2003–06 to RR 0.69 (95% CI: 0.53; 0.89)) in 2015–18 when high income was compared to low income (Family income-time interaction: RR 1.00 (95% CI: 0.98–1.03)). A similar but less uniform trend was found for the education-related inequality in mortality (Education-time interaction: RR 1.00 (95% CI: 0.97–1.04)). The income-related disparity in 30-day readmission was smaller than in 30-day mortality and it diminished over time from 0.70 (95% CI: 0.58; 0.83) to 0.97 (95% CI: 0.87; 1.10). The mediation analysis showed no systematic mediating effect of quality of care on neither mortality nor readmission. However, it cannot be ruled out that residual confounding may have washed out some mediating effects.

Discussion and Conclusion:

The socioeconomic inequality in stroke mortality and re-admission risk has yet to be eliminated. Additional studies from different settings are warranted in order to clarify the impact of socioeconomic inequality of quality of acute stroke care.

Five-Year Outcomes of the Danish Cardiovascular Screening (DANCAVAS) Trial

BACKGROUND

Limited data suggest a benefit of population-based screening for cardiovascular disease with respect to the risk of death.

METHODS

We performed a population-based, parallel-group, randomized, controlled trial involving men 65 to 74 years of age living in 15 Danish municipalities. The participants were randomly assigned in a 1:2 ratio to undergo screening (the invited group) or not to undergo screening (the control group) for subclinical cardiovascular disease. Randomization was based on computer-generated random numbers and stratified according to municipality. Only the control group was unaware of the trial-group assignments. Screening included noncontrast electrocardiography-gated computed tomography to determine the coronary-artery calcium score and to detect aneurysms and atrial fibrillation, ankle-brachial blood-pressure measurements to detect peripheral artery disease and hypertension, and a blood sample to detect diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia. The primary outcome was death from any cause.

RESULTS

A total of 46,611 participants underwent randomization. After exclusion of 85 men who had died or emigrated before being invited to undergo screening, there were 16,736 men in the invited group and 29,790 men in the control group; 10,471 of the men in the invited group underwent screening (62.6%). In intention-to-treat analyses, after a median follow-up of 5.6 years, 2106 men (12.6%) in the invited group and 3915 men (13.1%) in the control group had died (hazard ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90 to 1.00; P = 0.06). The hazard ratio for stroke in the invited group, as compared with the control group, was 0.93 (95% CI, 0.86 to 0.99); for myocardial infarction, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.81 to 1.03); for aortic dissection, 0.95 (95% CI, 0.61 to 1.49); and for aortic rupture, 0.81 (95% CI, 0.49 to 1.35). There were no significant between-group differences in safety outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

After more than 5 years, the invitation to undergo comprehensive cardiovascular screening did not significantly reduce the incidence of death from any cause among men 65 to 74 years of age. (Funded by the Southern Region of Denmark and others; DANCAVAS ISRCTN Registry number, ISRCTN12157806.).

Impact of diabetes on long-term all-cause re-hospitalization after revascularization with percutaneous coronary intervention

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study was to investigate the incidence, cause and probability of re-hospitalization within 30 and 365 days after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with diabetes.

METHOD

Between January 2010 and September 2014, 2763 patients with diabetes were treated with PCI at two Hospitals in Western Denmark. Reasons for readmission within 30 and 365 days were identified.

RESULTS

Readmission risks for patients with diabetes were 58% within 365 days and 18% within 30 days. Reason for readmission was ischemic heart disease (IHD) in 725 patients (27%), and non-IHD-related reasons in 826 patients (31%). IHD-related readmission within 365 days was associated with female gender (OR 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1-1.5), and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, compared to stable angina at the index hospitalization (OR 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1-1.6). Among patients with diabetes, increased risk of readmission due to other reasons were age (OR 1.3, 95% CI: 1.2-1.5) and higher scores of modified Charlson Comorbidity index (CCI): CCI ≥3 (OR 3.6, 95% CI: 2.8-4.6).

CONCLUSION

More than half of the patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing PCI were readmitted within 1 year. Comorbidities were the strongest predictor for non-IHD-related readmission, but did not increase the risk for IHD-related readmissions.

Geographical Variation in the Management of Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease: A Nationwide Danish Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

Equal access for equal needs is a key goal for many healthcare systems but geographical variation research has shown that this is often not the case in areas other than vascular surgery. This study assessed the variation across specialised vascular centres of an entire healthcare system in the costs and outcomes for patients having first time revascularisation for peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

METHODS

This was a national study of all first time revascularisations performed in the Danish healthcare system between 2009 and 2014. Episodes were identified in the Danish Vascular Registry (n = 10 300) and data on one year follow up in terms of the costs of specialised healthcare (€) and amputation status were acquired from national registers. Generalised gamma and logit regressions were used to predict margins between centres while adjusting for population heterogeneity (age, sex, education, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, use of prophylactic pharmacological therapy, indication and type of revascularisation). Cost effectiveness frontiers were used to identify efficient providers and to illustrate the cost of reducing the system level risk of amputation.

RESULTS

For each of the indications of chronic limb threatening and acute limb ischaemia, the one year amputation risks varied from 11% to 16% across centres (p = .003, p = .006) whereas for intermittent claudication there was no significant difference across centres. The corresponding costs of care varied across centres for all indications (p = .027, p = .028, p = .030). Linking costs and outcomes, three of seven centres were observed to provide poorer quality at higher costs. Exponentially increasing costs to obtain the maximum reduction of the amputation risk were observed.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that there is substantial variation in the clinical management of peripheral arterial occlusive disease across the Danish healthcare system and that this results in very different levels of efficiency - on top of potentially unequal treatment for equal needs. Further research is warranted.

Organisational determinants and consequences of diagnostic discrepancy in two large patient groups in the emergency departments: a national study of consecutive episodes between 2008 and 2016

Background

Diagnostic discrepancy (DD) is a common phenomenon in healthcare, but little is known about its organisational determinants and consequences. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate this among selected emergency department (ED) patients.

Method

We conducted an observational study including all consecutive ED patients (hip fracture or erysipelas) in the Danish healthcare sector admitted between 2008 and 2016. DD was defined as a discrepancy between discharge and admission diagnoses. Episode and department statistics were retrieved from Danish registers. We conducted a survey among all 21 Danish EDs to gather information about organisational determinants. To estimate the results while adjusting for episode- and department-level heterogeneity, we used mixed effect models of ED organisational determinants and 30-day readmission, 30-day mortality and episode costs (2018-DKK) of DDs.

Results

DD was observed in 2308 (3.3%) of 69,928 hip fracture episodes and 3206 (8.5%) of 37,558 erysipelas episodes. The main organisational determinant of DD was senior physicians (nonspecific medical specialty) being employed at the ED (hip fracture: odds ratio (OR) 2.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.15–3.51; erysipelas: OR 3.29, 95% CI 2.65–4.07). However, 24-h presence of senior physicians (nonspecific medical specialty) (hip fracture) and availability of external senior physicians (specific medical specialty) (both groups) were negatively associated with DD. DD was associated with increased 30-day readmission (hip fracture, mean 9.45% vs 13.76%, OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.28–1.66, p < 0.001) and episode costs (hip fracture, 61,681 DKK vs 109,860 DKK, log cost 0.58, 95% CI 0.53–0.63, p < 0.001; erysipelas, mean 20,818 DKK vs 56,329 DKK, log cost 0.97, 95% CI 0.92–1.02, p < 0.001) compared with episodes without DD.

Conclusion

DD was found to have a negative impact on two out of three study outcomes, and particular organisational characteristics seem to be associated with DD. Yet, the complexity of organisations and settings warrant further studies into these associations.

Index-Based Inequality in Quality of Care: An Empirical Comparison of Apples and Pears

Purpose

Socioeconomic inequalities have been studied for decades using a variety of methods, but limited attention has been paid to the way methodological differences influence research findings. We aimed to compare index-based measures of socioeconomic inequality in quality of care.

Patients and Data

A national cohort of 110,848 unique stroke patients admitted to publicly funded hospitals in Denmark from 2004–2014 was studied. We used individual-level data from national registers and the Danish Stroke Registry. Quality of care was defined as fulfilment of process performance measures based on clinical guidelines recommendations (range 0–100%). Socioeconomic position was operationalised using information on disposable family income (continuous, DKK) and education (categorical, 7 levels).

Methods

Income- and education-related inequality in quality of care was assessed using concentration indices and the slope index of inequality. All indices were estimated both in absolute and relative terms.

Results

Income-related inequality appeared to be generally higher than education-related inequality. Depending on the choice of index, the inequality in quality of care increased by 5% or declined by up to 43% during the study period. Unlike the concentration indices the slope index of inequality was highly sensitive to changes in how the income and educational levels were operationalised.

Conclusion

Careful reporting and interpretation of inequality studies is warranted in order not to misguide decision makers. Unless the policy objective reflects an explicit focus on one specific type of inequality, the use of different inequality indices can lead to different conclusions.

Clinical Benefit, Harm, and Cost Effectiveness of Screening Men for Peripheral Artery Disease: A Markov Model Based on the VIVA Trial

OBJECTIVE

Although screening for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) seems obvious due to its two to three times increased mortality, high prevalence in the elderly, ease of detection, and relatively harmless prevention, the evidence is sparse.

METHODS

A Markov decision model was created to model the lifetime effectiveness and cost effectiveness of general population PAD screening and relevant intervention in 65 year old men. The model was informed by original estimates from the VIVA trial data except for ankle brachial systolic blood pressure index test accuracy, quality of life, and background mortality, which were adopted from the literature. A Markov model was designed for 65 year old men, who were distributed in the starting states of no/detected/undetected PAD. The main outcomes were life years, quality adjusted life years, and costs of healthcare.

RESULTS

Screening for PAD reduced the rates of amputations and stroke by 10.9% and 2.4%, respectively, while it increased the rates of revascularisation, acute myocardial infarction, and major bleeding by 5.5%, 7.1%, and 4.3% respectively. The overall life expectancy was increased by 14 days per invited subject. The cost per life year/quality adjusted life year was estimated at €16 717/€20 673. On the addition of low dose rivaroxaban reduced the costs per life year gained by 40%. If the model ran for only five follow up years, screening reduced relative mortality by 1.71%, suggesting PAD screening accounts for one fourth of the reported overall 7% relative mortality risk reduction of combined abdominal aortic aneurysm, PAD, and hypertension screening.

CONCLUSION

Screening of men for PAD is likely to be both clinically effective and cost effective in a lifetime perspective.

Instrumental variable-based assessment of the effect of psychotherapy on suicide attempts, health, and economic outcomes in schizophrenia

The literature on the effect of psychotherapy for schizophrenia is limited and characterized by small samples and possible bias from risk selection. We examined the effects of psychotherapy on suicide attempts and health and economic outcomes using an instrumental variable (IV) approach that exploits the variation in the propensities of hospital departments to prescribe psychotherapy. This was supplemented with naïve probit models as exogeneity could not be ruled out for all of the outcomes. The validity of the instrument was examined by distributional plots and various tests. The assumed randomness in referring patients to providers with high versus low propensities to psychotherapy appeared to be a critical aspect. Splitting the sample into homogeneous provider types did not substantially alter the results. Based on the IV results, we found no support for the effect of psychotherapy on suicide attempt, psychiatric readmission, assisted living, or labor market attachment. However, we cannot rule out smaller effects due to confidence intervals including the probit estimates. The main contribution of this study is new evidence on a broad range of outcomes and a large and representative population.

Randomised trial of telephone counselling to improve participants' adherence to prescribed drugs in a vascular screening trial

A total of 1446 participants, 65- to 74-year-old men diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), peripheral arterial disease (PAD) or high blood pressure (HB) in the Viborg Vascular (VIVA) screening trial, were consecutively included and randomised to a telephone counselling (TC) or no TC 3 months after being screened positive. Data from VIVA were linked to data from Danish registers from 2007 to 2016. The primary outcome was a composite outcome of proportion of days covered by statin, antithrombotic drugs and antihypertensive agents and for each specific drug class at 6-month follow-up. The same outcomes were assessed at 12 and 60 months and considered secondary outcomes. Outcome measures are reported as risk differences (RD). There were no differences between the groups in relation to the composite of all three drug classes over 6 months of follow-up, RD = 4.1 (95% CI: -1.0; 9.1). A significant increase in redeemed statin prescriptions was observed in the intervention group at 6 months, RD = 9.8% (CI 95%: 0.5; 19.0). There was no intervention effect observed after 12 and 60 months. TC 3 months after screening improved adherence to statin at 6-month follow-up, but had no effect on the composite treatment, statins, antithrombotic or antihypertensive treatment over 60 months of follow-up.

Survival, Prevalence, Progression and Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: Results from Three Randomised Controlled Screening Trials Over Three Decades

Aim

The prevalence and mortality of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) has been reported to decline. The aim of this study is to compare survival, prevalence, and repair rate of AAA in Denmark in the 1990s, the 2000s and the 2010s – and to examine any change in factors known to influence the prevalence.

Methods

Baseline status and up to 5-year outcomes of 34,079 general population men aged 65–74 were obtained from three RCTs; the Viborg study (1994–1998, n=4,860), the Viborg Vascular (VIVA) trial (2008–2011, n=18,748), and the Danish Cardiovascular (DANCAVAS) trial (2015–2018, n=10,471). After the millennium (VIVA and DANCAVAS) men with AAA were further offered low dose aspirin and statins. Follow-up data were not available for the DANCAVAS trial yet.

Results

Across the three decades, the AAA prevalence was 3.8% (Reference), 3.3% (p<0.001) and 4.2% (p=0.882), the proportion of smokers were 62%, 42% and 34% (p<0.001) amongst men with AAA, but AAA risk associations with smoking increased during the decades suggesting increased tobacco consumption of smokers. In addition, the proportions of attenders with ischemic heart disease or stroke increased significantly. The aneurysmal progression rate in the 1990s was 2.90 vs 2.98 mm/year in the 2000s (p=0.91). The need for preventive AAA repair increased insignificantly in the 2000s (Age adj. HR= 1.29, 95% C.I.: 0.95; 1.71, p=0.10), and mortality of men with screen-detected AAA was lower in the 2000s compared to the 1990s (Age-adj. HR= 0.28, 95% C.I.: 0.22; 0.36, p<0.001).

Conclusion

The Danish prevalence of AAA today compares to the nineties. Unchanged aneurysmal progression rates combined with improved survival of men at risk of AAA leave them in longer time to develop an AAA, be diagnosed and to need later aneurysmal repair or experience rupture.

Clinical Trial Registrations

Viborg study: No possibility of registration in the nineties. VIVA: NCT00662480, URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00662480, DANCAVAS: ISRCTN12157806, URL: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12157806.

Rethinking rehabilitation after percutaneous coronary intervention: a protocol of a multicentre cohort study on continuity of care, health literacy, adherence and costs at all care levels (the CONCARDPCI)

INTRODUCTION

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) aims to provide instant relief of symptoms, and improve functional capacity and prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease. Although patients may experience a quick recovery, continuity of care from hospital to home can be challenging. Within a short time span, patients must adjust their lifestyle, incorporate medications and acquire new support. Thus, CONCARD^PCI will identify bottlenecks in the patient journey from a patient perspective to lay the groundwork for integrated, coherent pathways with innovative modes of healthcare delivery. The main objective of the CONCARD^PCI is to investigate (1) continuity of care, (2) health literacy and self-management, (3) adherence to treatment, and (4) healthcare utilisation and costs, and to determine associations with future short and long-term health outcomes in patients after PCI.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This prospective multicentre cohort study organised in four thematic projects plans to include 3000 patients. All patients undergoing PCI at seven large PCI centres based in two Nordic countries are prospectively screened for eligibility and included in a cohort with a 1-year follow-up period including data collection of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) and a further 10-year follow-up for adverse events. In addition to PROs, data are collected from patient medical records and national compulsory registries.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Approval has been granted by the Norwegian Regional Committee for Ethics in Medical Research in Western Norway (REK 2015/57), and the Data Protection Agency in the Zealand region (REG-145-2017). Findings will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and to patients through patient organisations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT03810612.

Case manager-assisted rehabilitation for lumbar spinal fusion patients: an economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial with two-year follow-up

OBJECTIVE

To examine the cost-effectiveness of case manager-assisted rehabilitation as an add-on to usual physical rehabilitation after lumbar spinal fusion, given the lack of any clinical benefits found on analysing the clinical data.

DESIGN

Economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial with two-year follow-up.

SETTING

Patients from the outpatient clinics of a university hospital and a general hospital.

SUBJECTS

A total of 82 lumbar spinal fusion patients.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients were randomized one-to-one to case manager-assisted rehabilitation programme as an add-on to usual physical rehabilitation or to usual physical rehabilitation.

MAIN MEASURES

Oswestry Disability Index and EuroQol 5-dimension. Danish preference weights were used to estimate quality-adjusted life years. Costs were estimated from micro costing and national registries. Multiple imputation was used to handle missing data. Costs and effects were presented with means (95% confidence interval (CI)). The incremental net benefit was estimated for a range of hypothetical values of willingness to pay per gain in effects.

RESULTS

No impact of case manager-assisted rehabilitation on the Oswestry Disability Index or estimate quality-adjusted life years was observed. Intervention cost was Euros 3984 (3468; 4499), which was outweighed by average reductions in inpatient resource use and sickness leave. A cost reduction of Euros 1716 (-16,651; 20,084) was found in the case manager group. Overall, the probability for the case manager-assisted rehabilitation programme being cost-effective did not exceed a probability of 56%, regardless of willingness to pay. Sensitivity analysis did not change the conclusion.

CONCLUSION

This case manager-assisted rehabilitation programme was unlikely to be cost-effective.

Does adding case management to standard rehabilitation affect functional ability, pain, or the rate of return to work after lumbar spinal fusion? A randomized controlled trial with two-year follow-up

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effect of a case manager-assisted rehabilitation programme as an add-on to usual physical rehabilitation in patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion.

DESIGN

A randomized controlled trial with a two-year follow-up.

SETTINGS

Outpatient clinics of a university hospital and a general hospital.

SUBJECTS

In total, 82 patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion.

INTERVENTIONS

The patients were randomized one-to-one to case manager-assisted rehabilitation (case manager group) or no case manager-assisted rehabilitation (control group). Both groups received usual physical rehabilitation. The case manager-assisted rehabilitation programme included a preoperative meeting with a case manager to determine a rehabilitation plan, postsurgical meetings, phone meetings, and voluntary workplace visits or roundtable meetings.

MAIN MEASURES

Primary outcome was the Oswestry Disability Index. Secondary outcomes were back pain, leg pain, and return to work.

RESULTS

Of the 41 patients in the case manager group, 49% were men, with the mean age of 46.1 (±8.7 years). In the control group, 51% were male, with the mean age of 47.4 (±8.9 years). No statistically significant between-group differences were found regarding any outcomes. An overall group effect of 4.1 points (95% confidence interval (CI): -1.8; 9.9) was found on the Oswestry Disability Index, favouring the control group. After two years, the relative risk of return to work was 1.18 (95% CI: 0.8; 1.7), favouring the case manager group.

CONCLUSION

The case manager-assisted rehabilitation programme had no effect on the patients' functional disability or back and leg pain compared to usual physical rehabilitation. The study lacked power to evaluate the impact on return to work.

Socioeconomic Status And Acute Stroke Care: Has The Inequality Gap Been Closed?

Purpose

Socioeconomic inequality in stroke care occurs even in countries with free access to health care. We aimed to investigate the association between socioeconomic status and guideline-recommended acute care in Denmark during the last decade.

Design

We conducted a nationwide, population-based study. We used household income, employment status, and education as markers of socioeconomic status and adjusted the results for relevant clinical covariates. We used weighted linear regression models to analyse empirical log odds of performance measure fulfillment at patient level.

Setting

Public hospitals in Denmark.

Participants

A total of 110,848 consecutive stroke patients discharged between 2004 and 2014.

Intervention(s)

Acute stroke care according to clinical guidelines.

Main outcome measure(s)

Guideline-recommended care was defined in two ways based on clinical performance measures: the percentage of fulfilled measures used throughout the study period (m=8) (model 1) and the percentage of fulfilled measures used at the time of discharge (m=8 to 16) (model 2).

Results

Compared with high family income, low income was negatively associated with the guideline-recommended care; odds ratios (95% CI) were 0.89 (0.85–0.93) in model 1 and 0.81 (0.77–0.85) in model 2. Low family income was negatively associated with fulfillment of 14 of the 16 performance measures. In general, the percentage of performance measures fulfilled increased over time from 70% (95% CI 63–76) to 85% (95% CI 83–87).

Conclusion

Socioeconomic inequality in guideline-recommended stroke care remains despite overall improvements in a setting with free access to care and systematic monitoring of health care quality.

High quality of care did not imply increased hospital spending- nationwide cohort study among hip fracture patients

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether fulfilment of process performance measures reflecting national guidelines is associated with in-hospital costs among hip fracture patients.

DESIGN

Nationwide, population-based follow-up study.

SETTING

Public hospitals in Denmark.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 20 458 patients 65 years or older admitted with a hip fracture between 2010 and 2013.

INTERVENTION

Quality of care defined as fulfilment of process performance measures reflecting recommendations from national clinical guidelines, which previously have been shown to be associated with lower mortality and readmission risk. The measures included systematic pain assessment; mobilisation within 24 h post-operatively; assessment of basic mobility before admission and discharge; and receiving a rehabilitation programme before discharge, anti-osteoporotic medication and fall prevention.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Total costs defined as the sum of hospital costs used for treating the individual patients according to the Danish Reference Cost Database.

RESULTS

Within the index admission, fulfilling 50 to >75% of the performance measures was associated with lower adjusted costs (EUR 2643) than was fulfilling 0-50% of these measures (EUR 3544). The lower costs were mainly due to savings on further treatment and fewer bed days. Mobilisation within 24 h after surgery and assessment for need of anti-osteoporotic medication were associated with the largest cost differences, corresponding to adjusted cost differences of EUR 3030 and EUR 3538, respectively. The cost difference was lower when all costs related to hospitalisation within the first year were considered.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that high quality of care does not imply higher hospital spending and may be associated with cost savings.

Do Non-participants at Screening have a Different Threshold for an Acceptable Benefit-Harm Ratio than Participants? Results of a Discrete Choice Experiment

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to investigate non-participants' preferences for cardiovascular disease screening programme characteristics and whether non-participation can be rationally explained by differences in preferences, decision-making styles and informational needs between non-participants and participants.

METHODS

We conducted a discrete choice experiment at three screening sites between June and December 2017 among 371 male non-participants and 830 male participants who were asked to trade different levels of five key programme characteristics (chance of health benefit, risk of overtreatment, risk of later regret, screening duration and screening location). Data were analysed using a multinomial mixed-logit model. Health benefit was used as a payment vehicle for estimation of marginal substitution rates.

RESULTS

Non-participants were willing to accept that 0.127 (95% confidence interval 0.103-0.154) fewer lives would be saved to avoid overtreatment of one individual, whilst participants were willing to accept 0.085 (95% confidence interval 0.077-0.094) fewer lives saved. This translates into non-participants valuing health benefits 7.9 times higher than overtreatment. The corresponding value of participants is 11.8. Similarly, non-participants had higher requirements than participants for advanced technology and a quicker screening duration. With regard to their participation decision, 64% of the non-participants felt certain about their choice compared with 89% among participants.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that non-participants have different preferences than participants at screening as they express relatively more concern about overtreatment and have higher requirements for a high-tech screening programme. Non-participants also report to be more uncertain about their participation decision and more often seek additional information to the standard information provided in the invitation letter. Further studies on informational needs and effective communication strategies are warranted to ensure that non-participation is a fully informed choice.

Baseline findings of the population-based, randomized, multifaceted Danish cardiovascular screening trial (DANCAVAS) of men aged 65–74 years

Background

The challenge of managing age-related diseases is increasing; routine checks by the general practitioner do not reduce cardiovascular mortality. The aim here was to reduce cardiovascular mortality by advanced population-based cardiovascular screening. The present article reports the organization of the study, the acceptability of the screening offer, and the relevance of multifaceted screening for prevention and management of cardiovascular disease.

Methods

Danish men aged 65–74 years were invited randomly (1 : 2) to a cardiovascular screening examination using low-dose non-contrast CT, ankle and brachial BP measurements, and blood tests.

Results

In all, 16 768 of 47 322 men aged 65–74 years were invited and 10 471 attended (uptake 62·4 per cent). Of these, 3481 (33·2 per cent) had a coronary artery calcium score above 400 units. Thoracic aortic aneurysm was diagnosed in the ascending aorta (diameter 45 mm or greater) in 468 men (4·5 per cent), in the arch (at least 40 mm) in 48 (0·5 per cent) and in the descending aorta (35 mm or more) in 233 (2·2 per cent). Abdominal aortic aneurysm (at least 30 mm) and iliac aneurysm (20 mm or greater) were diagnosed in 533 (5·1 per cent) and 239 (2·3 per cent) men respectively. Peripheral artery disease was diagnosed in 1147 men (11·0 per cent), potentially uncontrolled hypertension (at least 160/100 mmHg) in 835 (8·0 per cent), previously unknown atrial fibrillation confirmed by ECG in 50 (0·5 per cent), previously unknown diabetes mellitus in 180 (1·7 per cent) and isolated severe hyperlipidaemia in 48 men (0·5 per cent).

In all, 4387 men (41·9 per cent), excluding those with potentially uncontrolled hypertension, were referred for additional cardiovascular prevention. Of these, 3712 (35·5 per cent of all screened men, but 84·6 per cent of those referred) consented and were started on medication.

Conclusion

Multifaceted cardiovascular screening is feasible and may optimize cardiovascular disease prevention in men aged 65–74 years. Uptake is lower than in aortic aneurysm screening.

Adherence to Prescribed Drugs Among 65-74 Year Old Men Diagnosed with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm or Peripheral Arterial Disease in a Screening Trial: A VIVA Substudy

OBJECTIVE

Adherence to antiplatelet and statin therapy in participants diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) or peripheral arterial disease (PAD) was examined in a vascular screening trial.

METHODS

This was a population based cohort study. The study population consisted of 65-74 year old men diagnosed with AAA or PAD in the Viborg Vascular (VIVA) multifaceted screening trial for CVD. Data from the VIVA screening cohort were linked to data from Danish registers from 2007 to 2016. Initiation of antiplatelet and statin treatment was measured within 120 days after screening. Persistence was defined as no treatment gap >100 days between two prescription renewals after screening. A proportion of days covered ≥80% over five years of follow up was used as a categorical cut off for adherence.

RESULTS

Among the 18,748 screened participants, 618 with AAA and 2051 with PAD were identified. Among non-users at baseline, 65% and 62% initiated antiplatelet and statin treatment, 57% and 59% persisted with antiplatelet and statin use, and 60% and 57% were adherent, respectively. Among users at baseline, 73% and 69% had filled an antiplatelet or statin prescription, respectively, within 120 days after screening. Further, 79% and 73% persisted with their antiplatelet and statin treatment, and 89% and 83% were adherent, respectively.

CONCLUSION

In a vascular screening trial, six of every 10 non-users initiated preventive treatment; among these, the adherence rate was 57-60%. Among users at baseline, the five year adherence to antiplatelet and statin treatment exceeded 80%. The effectiveness of screening initiatives might be improved by measures to improve the fulfilment of preventive medication.

Cost Analysis of Community Based Family Support of Patients with Severe Mental Illness

Community-based family support is a new option to patients with severe mental illness in which the patient and a volunteer family meet on a regular basic. This study examined whether this support could reduce patients' use of psychiatric services. This matched case-control study included 86 patients with severe mental illness. 40 patients were offered the intervention: community-based family support intervention. Patients' use of psychiatric hospital services was followed from 2 years before to 2 years after the intervention using a difference-in-difference analytical approach. Although community-based family support seemed to reduce hospital admission, the reduction in cost did not compensate the cost of the programme. However, this does not rule out the potential cost effectiveness, and future studies should assess the clinical benefits and cost effectiveness of community-based family support. The present study does not provide sufficient basis for recommending the general implementation of community-based family support.

Does free choice of hospital conflict with equity of access to highly specialized hospitals? A case study from the Danish health care system

Equity of access to health care is a central objective of European health care systems. In this study, we examined whether free choice of hospital, which has been introduced in many systems to strengthen user rights and improve hospital competition, conflicts with equity of access to highly specialized hospitals. We chose to carry out a study on 134,049 women who had uncomplicated pregnancies from 2005 to 2014 in Denmark because of their homogeneity in terms of need, the availability of behavioral data, and their expected engagement in choice of hospital. Multivariate logistic regression was used to link the dependent variable of bypassing the nearest non-highly specialized public hospital in order to "up-specialize", with independent variables related to socioeconomic status, risk attitude, and choice premises, using administrative registries. Overall, 16,426 (12%) women were observed to bypass the nearest hospital to up-specialize. Notably, high education level was significantly associated with up-specialization, with an odds ratio of 1.50 (95% CI: 1.40-1.60, p < 0.001) compared to low education group. This confirms our hypothesis that there is a socioeconomic gradient in terms of exercising the right to a free choice of hospital, and so the results indicate that the policy exacerbates inequity of access to health care.

Cost-effectiveness of population-based vascular disease screening and intervention in men from the Viborg Vascular (VIVA) trial

Background

Population-based screening and intervention for abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral artery disease and hypertension was recently reported to reduce the relative risk of mortality among Danish men by 7 per cent. The aim of this study was to investigate the cost-effectiveness of vascular screening versus usual care (ad hoc primary care-based risk assessment) from a national health service perspective.

Methods

A cost-effectiveness evaluation was conducted alongside an RCT involving all men from a region in Denmark (50 156) who were allocated to screening (25 078) or no screening (25 078) and followed for up to 5 years. Mobile nurse teams provided screening locally and, for individuals with positive test results, referrals were made to general practices or hospital-based specialized centres for vascular surgery. Intention-to-treat-based, censoring-adjusted incremental costs (2014 euros), life-years and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated using Lin's average estimator method. Incremental net benefit was estimated using Willan's estimator and sensitivity analyses were conducted.

Results

The cost of screening was estimated at €148 (95 per cent c.i. 126 to 169), and the effectiveness at 0·022 (95 per cent c.i. 0·006 to 0·038) life-years and 0·069 (0·054 to 0·083) QALYs, generating average costs of €6872 per life-year and €2148 per QALY. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of €40 000 per QALY, the probabilities of cost-effectiveness were 98 and 99 per cent respectively. The probability of cost-effectiveness was 71 per cent when all the sensitivity analyses were combined into one conservative scenario.

Conclusion

Vascular screening appears to be cost-effective and compares favourably with current screening programmes.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of fining non-attendance at public hospitals: a randomised controlled trial from Danish outpatient clinics

OBJECTIVES

Fines have been proposed as means for reducing non-attendance in healthcare. The empirical evidence of the effect of fines is however limited. The objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of fining non-attendance at outpatient clinics.

DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

1:1 randomised controlled trial of appointments for an outpatient clinic, posted to Danish addresses, between 1 May 2015 and 30 November 2015. Only first appointment for users was included. Healthcare professionals and investigators were masked.

INTERVENTION

A fine of DKK250 (€34) was issued for non-attendance. Users were informed about the fine in case of non-attendance by the appointment letter, and were able to reschedule or cancel until the appointment. A central administration office administered the fine system.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The main outcome measures were non-attendance of non-cancelled appointments, fine policy administration costs, net of productivity consequences and probability of fining non-attendance being cost-effective over no fining for a range of hypothetical values of reduced non-attendance.

RESULTS

All of the 6746 appointments included were analysed. Of the 3333 appointments randomised to the fine policy, 130 (5%) of non-cancelled appointments were unattended, and of the 3413 appointments randomised to no-fine policy, 131 (5%) were unattended. The cost per appointment of non-attendance was estimated at DKK 56 (SE 5) in the fine group and DKK47 (SE 4) in the no-fine group, leading to a non-statistically significant difference of DKK10 (95% CI -9 to 22) per appointment attributable to the fine policy. The probability of cost-effectiveness remained around 50%, irrespective of increased values of reduced non-attendance or various alternative assumptions used for sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

At a baseline level of around 5%, fining non-attendance does not seem to further reduce non-attendance. Future studies should focus on other means for reduction of non-attendance such as nudging or negative reinforcement.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN61925912.

Shared care versus hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation: a cost-utility analysis based on a randomised controlled trial

Background

Changes in the organisation of chronic healthcare, an increased awareness of costs and challenges of low adherence in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) call for the exploration of more flexible CR programmes as alternatives to hospital-based CR (H-CR). A model of shared care cardiac rehabilitation (SC-CR) that included general practitioners and the municipality was developed. The aim of this study was to analyse the cost utility of SC-CR versus H-CR.

Methods

The cost-utility analysis was based on a randomised controlled trial of 212 patients who were allocated to SC-CR or H-CR and followed up for 12 months. A societal cost perspective was applied that included the cost of intervention, informal time, healthcare and productivity loss. Costing was based on a microcosting approach for the intervention and on national administrative registries for the other cost categories. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were based on the EuroQol 5-Dimensions measurements at baseline, after 4 months and after 12 months. Conventional cost-effectiveness methodology was employed to estimate the net benefit of SC-CR.

Results

The average cost of SC-CR was 165.5 kDKK and H-CR 163 kDKK. Productivity loss comprised 74.1kDKK and 65.9 kDKK. SC-CR cost was an additional 2.5 kDKK (95% CI −38.1 to 43.1) ≈ (0.33; −5.1 to 5.8 k€) and a QALY gain of 0.02 (95% CI −0.03 to 0.06). The probability that SC-CR would be cost-effective was 59% for a threshold value of willingness to pay of 300 kDKK (k€40.3).

Conclusion

CR after shared care model and H-CR are comparable and similar in socioeconomic terms.

Trial registration number

NCT01522001; Results.

A population-based screening study for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in Danish postmenopausal women: acceptability and prevalence

BACKGROUND

Reducing women's cardiovascular risk and the economic costs associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes (DM) continues to be a challenge. Whether a multifaceted CVD screening programme is beneficial as a preventive strategy in women remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of CVD and DM as well as the acceptability toward screening and preventive actions.

METHODS

An observational study was performed among all women born in 1936, 1941, 1946 and 1951 living in Viborg Municipality, Denmark, from October 2011. In total, 1984 were invited to screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), carotid plaque (CP), hypertension (HT), atrial fibrillation (AF), DM and dyslipidaemia. Participants with positive tests were offered prophylactic intervention including follow-up consultations in case of AAA, PAD and/or CP. Participants with AAA ≥ 50 mm were referred to specialists in vascular surgery. Women with AF or potential familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) were referred to cardiology work-up.

RESULTS

Among those invited, 1474 (74.3%) attended screening, but the attendees' share decreased with increasing age groups (p < 0.001). AAA was diagnosed in 10 (0.7%) women, PAD in 101 (6.9%) and CP in 602 (40.8%). The percentage of women with these conditions rose with increasing age group (p < 0.05). Unconfirmed potential HT was observed in 94 (6.4%), unknown AF in 6 (0.4%), DM in 14 (1%) and potential FH in 35 (2.4%). None of these findings differed across age groups. Among the 631 women diagnosed with AAA, PAD and/or CP, 182 (28.8%) were already in antiplatelet and 223 (35.3%) in lipid-lowering therapy prior to screening. Antiplatelet therapy was initiated in 215 (34.1%) and lipid-lowering therapy in 191 (30.3%) women. Initiation of antiplatelet and lipid-lowering therapy was further recommended to 134 (21.2%) and 141 (22.4%) women, respectively, who hesitated to follow the recommendation.

CONCLUSIONS

The study recorded an acceptable total attendance rate, even though a significantly lower attendance rate was observed in the eldest women. The identified hesitation towards prophylactic therapy may affect the rationale and effectiveness of CVD screening, and hesitation seems a critical issue that should be addressed in the design of future screening programmes.

An interview-based study of nonattendance at screening for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in older women: Nonattendees' perspectives

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

This study explored nonattendees' perspectives on a screening programme for cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus among women aged 60-77 years.

BACKGROUND

Nonattendance in screening is a common concern and has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Whether nonattendees need targeted information to participate in screening is unknown. Thus, it is important to explore the reasons for nonattendance, particularly as nonattendees' perspectives have not been fully explored.

DESIGN

An interview study.

METHODS

The data were obtained through semistructured interviews with 10 women sampled from a population who declined to participate in a women's screening programme for cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. Additionally, reflective notes on the interview context were documented. The data were collected in 2013. Kvale and Brinkmann's method for data analysis was applied.

RESULTS

All informants found the screening offer personally irrelevant, but this belief was changeable. The informants' perceptions of screening were based on subjective health and risk beliefs, personal knowledge of diseases and the screening programme, and distrust in the healthcare system.

CONCLUSION

Personal experiences, beliefs and self-protective strategies influence individuals' subjective interpretations of a screening programme's relevance. The perception that screening is irrelevant seems to be rooted in nonattendees' personal health-related assessment and knowledge. Consequently, whether nonattendance is determined by an informed decision is questionable. Negative experiences with the healthcare system led to hesitation towards screening in general.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

This study is relevant to healthcare workers as well as decision-makers from a screening and preventive perspective. The findings highlight important issues that should be addressed to encourage invitees to accept screening invitations and to facilitate informed decision-making about screening participation.

Pregnant women's choice of birthing hospital: A qualitative study on individuals' preferences

OBJECTIVE

To investigate pregnant women's decision making in relation to their choice of birthing hospital and, in particular, their priorities regarding hospital characteristics.

METHODS

The focus of this study was the choice of birthing hospital among pregnant women. A qualitative interview design was used and women were recruited during their first pregnancy-related visit to a general practitioner. The interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide, and a thematic analysis of the data was carried out.

RESULTS

Women made their hospital choice decision independently and they relied extensively on their own or peers' experiences. Travel distance played a role, but some women were willing to incur longer travel times to give birth at a specialized hospital in order to try to reduce the risks (in case of unexpected events). The women associated the presence of specialized services and staff that were more qualified and experienced with increased safety. Other priorities included continuity of care (i.e., being seen by the same midwife) as well as service availability, which in this case referred to the possibility of a water birth and postnatal hoteling services.

CONCLUSIONS

The choice of hospital provider appears to be strongly influenced by experience, whether personal experience or the experience of peers. However, there appears to be room for more information to be provided on safety and service attributes as an instrument for making an informed decision.

Population screening and intervention for vascular disease in Danish men (VIVA): a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is the only cardiovascular disease targeted by population screening. In this study, we test the effect of screening and subsequent intervention for abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease, and hypertension combined.

METHODS

In this randomised controlled trial, we randomly allocated (1:1) all men aged 65-74 years living in the Central Denmark Region to screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease, and hypertension, or to no screening. We based allocation on computer-generated random numbers from 1 to 100 in blocks of 1067 to 4392, stratified by 19 municipalities. Only the non-screening group and the investigator assessing outcomes were masked. We invited participants who were found to have abdominal aortic aneurysm or peripheral arterial disease back for confirmation and eventual initiation of relevant pharmacological therapy. We further offered participants with abdominal aortic aneurysm annual control or surgical repair. We referred participants with suspected hypertension to their general practitioner. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, assessed 5 years after randomisation, analysed in all randomly allocated participants except for those who had incorrect person identification numbers. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00662480.

FINDINGS

Between Oct 8, 2008, and Jan 11, 2011, we randomly allocated 50 156 participants, with 25 078 (50%) each in the screening and non-screening groups. Four (<1%) participants in the screening group were lost to follow-up. After a median follow-up of 4·4 years (IQR 3·9-4·8), 2566 (10·2%) of 25 074 participants in the screening group and 2715 (10·8%) of 25 078 in the non-screening group had died. This finding resulted in a significant hazard ratio of 0·93 (95% CI 0·88-0·98; p=0·01), an absolute risk reduction of 0·006 (0·001-0·011), and a number needed to invite of 169 (89-1811). Incidences of diabetes (3995 per 100 000 person-years in the screening group vs 4129 per 100 000 person-years in the non-screening group), intracerebral haemorrhage (146 vs 140), renal failure (612 vs 649), cancer (3578 vs 3719), or 30 day mortality after cardiovascular surgery (44·57 vs 39·33) did not differ between groups.

INTERPRETATION

The observed reduction of mortality risk from abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease, and hypertension has never been seen before in the population screening literature and can be linked primarily to initiation of pharmacological therapy. Health policy makers should consider implementing combined screening whether no screening or isolated abdominal aortic aneurysm screening is currently offered.

FUNDING

The 7th European Framework Programme, Central Denmark Region, Viborg Hospital, and the Danish Council for Independent Research.

Autonomy to health care professionals as a vehicle for value-based health care? Results of a quasi-experiment in hospital governance

Health care systems increasingly aim to create value for money by simultaneous incentivizing of quality along with classical goals such as activity increase and cost containment. It has recently been suggested that letting health care professionals choose the performance metrics on which they are evaluated may improve value of care by facilitating greater employee initiative, especially in the quality domain. There is a risk that this strategy leads to loss of performance as measured by the classical goals, if these goals are not prioritized by health care professionals. In this study we investigate the performance of eight hospital departments in the second largest region of Denmark that were delegated the authority to choose their own performance focus during a three-year test period from 2013 to 2016. The usual activity-based remuneration was suspended and departments were instructed to keep their global budgets and maintain activity levels, while managing according to their newly chosen performance focuses. Our analysis is based on monthly observations from two years before to three years after delegation. We collected data for 32 new performance indicators chosen by hospital department managements; 11 new performance indicators chosen by a centre management under which 5 of the departments were organised; and 3 classical indicators of priority to the central administration (activity, productivity, and cost containment). Interrupted time series analysis is used to estimate the effect of delegation on these indicators. We find no evidence that this particular proposal for giving health care professionals greater autonomy leads to consistent quality improvements but, on the other hand, also no consistent evidence of harm to the classical goals. Future studies could consider alternative possibilities to create greater autonomy for hospital departments.

Robot-assisted surgery in a broader healthcare perspective: a difference-in-difference-based cost analysis of a national prostatectomy cohort

OBJECTIVE

To estimate costs attributable to robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) as compared with open prostatectomy (OP) and laparoscopic prostatectomies (LP) in a National Health Service perspective.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Register-based cohort study of 4309 consecutive patients who underwent prostatectomy from 2006 to 2013 (2241 RALP, 1818 OP and 250 LP). Patients were followed from 12 months before to 12 months after prostatectomy with respect to service use in primary care (general practitioners, therapists, specialists etc) and hospitals (inpatient and outpatient activity related to prostatectomy and comorbidity). Tariffs of the activity-based remuneration system for primary care and the Diagnosis-Related Grouping case-mix system for hospital-based care were used to value service use. Costs attributable to RALP were estimated using a difference-in-difference analytical approach and adjusted for patient-level and hospital-level risk selection using multilevel regression.

RESULTS

No significant effect of RALP on resource-use was observed except for a marginally lower use of primary care and fewer bed days as compared with OP (not LP). The overall cost consequence of RALP was estimated at an additional €2459 (95% CI 1377 to 3540, p=0.003) as compared with OP and an additional €3860 (95% CI 559 to 7160, p=0.031) as compared with LP, mainly due to higher cost intensity during the index admissions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study from the Danish context, the use of RALP generates a factor 1.3 additional cost when compared with OP and a factor 1.6 additional cost when compared with LP, on average, based on 12 months follow-up. The policy interpretation is that the use of robots for prostatectomy should be driven by clinical superiority and that formal effectiveness analysis is required to determine whether the current and eventual new purchasing of robot capacity is best used for prostatectomy.

Health care cost consequences of using robot technology for hysterectomy: a register-based study of consecutive patients during 2006-2013

The objective of this study is to examine the costs attributable to robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy from a broad healthcare sector perspective in a register-based longitudinal study. The population in this study were 7670 consecutive women undergoing hysterectomy between January 2006 and August 2013 in public hospitals in Denmark. The interventions in the study were total and radical hysterectomy performed robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy (RALH), total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH), or open abdominal hysterectomy (OAH). Service use in the healthcare sector was evaluated 1 year before to 1 year after the surgery. Tariffs of the activity-based remuneration system and the diagnosis-related grouping case-mix system were used for valuation of primary and secondary care, respectively. Costs attributable to RALH were estimated using a difference-in-difference analytical approach and adjusted using multivariate linear regression. The main outcome measure was costs attributable to OAH, TLH, and RALH. For benign conditions RALH generated cost savings of € 2460 (95% CI 845; 4075) per patient compared to OAH and non-significant cost savings of € 1045 (95% CI -200; 2291) when compared with TLH. In cancer patients RALH generated cost savings of 3445 (95% CI 415; 6474) per patient when compared to OAH and increased costs of € 3345 (95% CI 2348; 4342) when compared to TLH. In cancer patients undergoing radical hysterectomy, RALH generated non-significant extra costs compared to OAH. Cost consequences were primarily due to differences in the use of inpatient service. There is a cost argument for using robot technology in patients with benign disease. In patients with malignant disease, the cost argument is dependent on comparator.

Development of a Robust Mammalian Cell-based Assay for Studying Recombinant α4 β1/3 δ GABAA Receptor Subtypes

δ-Containing GABA_A receptors are located extrasynaptically and mediate tonic inhibition. Their involvement in brain physiology positions them as interesting drug targets. There is thus a continued interest in establishing reliable recombinant expression systems for δ-containing GABA_A receptors. Inconveniently, the recombinant expression of especially α₄ β_1/3 δ receptors has been found to be notoriously difficult, resulting in mixed receptor populations and/or stoichiometries and differential pharmacology depending on the expression system used. With the aim of developing a facile and robust 96-well format cell-based assay for extrasynaptic α₄ β_1/3 δ receptors, we have engineered and validated a HEK293 Flp-In™ cell line stably expressing the human GABA_A δ-subunit. Upon co-transfection of α₄ and β_1/3 subunits, at optimized ratios, we have established a well-defined system for expressing α₄ β_1/3 δ receptors and used the fluorescence-based FLIPR Membrane Potential (FMP) assay to evaluate their pharmacology. Using the known reference compounds GABA and THIP, ternary α₄ β_1/3 δ and binary α₄ β_1/3 receptors could be distinguished based on potency and kinetic profiles but not efficacy. As expected, DS2 was able to potentiate only δ-containing receptors, whereas Zn²⁺ had an inhibitory effect only at binary receptors. By contrast, the hitherto reported δ-selective compounds, AA29504 and 3-OH-2'MeO6MF, were non-selective. The expression system was further validated using patch clamp electrophysiology, in which the superagonism of THIP was confirmed. The established FMP assay set-up, based on transient expression of human α₄ and β_1/3 subunits into a δ-subunit stable HEK293 Flp-In™ cell line, portrays a simple 96-well format assay as a useful supplement to electrophysiological recordings on δ-containing GABA_A receptors.

The cost-quality relationship in European hospitals: a systematic review

Objective To determine the relationship between cost and quality in European hospitals. Methods Juran's cost-quality curve served as a theoretical framework, linked to basic efficiency concepts. Based on systematic database searches, citation searches and cross-referencing, we identify 1093 empirical studies. After exclusion of studies from outside Europe (699), non-hospital settings (10 studies), lack of a cost parameter (194) or a quality parameter (27 studies), 22 studies (28 analyses) were assessed for direction of association and methodological heterogeneity. Results There was evidence of positive, negative, two-directional and no association between cost and quality. We examined whether diagnosis, procedure, type of quality measure and specification of the econometric model could explain the inconsistent evidence, but no clear explanation is identified. Despite the significant policy relevance, evidence on the relationship between costs and quality is limited. The literature is characterized by substantial methodological heterogeneity and lack of explicit definitions of the chosen cost and quality parameters, the econometric model and the underlying hypothesis for the cost-quality relationship. Conclusion It has been more than 60 years since Juran introduced the idea of failure costs, which implied that the marginal costs of quality could be non-constant. It seems imperative to acknowledge this idea in future studies.

Health-related Quality of Life in Patients with Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression

OBJECTIVE

Improvements in cancer treatment have resulted in an increased number of patients with metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC). Because patients with MSCC often have a limited expected survival time, maintenance of a high functional level and quality of life are important. However, there is limited information about health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with MSCC. The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of routine assessment of HRQoL based on the Euroqol-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaire in a cohort of patients consecutively admitted for evaluation of acute symptoms of MSCC.

METHODS

From 1 January to 31 December 2011, 544 patients diagnosed with acute symptoms of MSCC were consecutively enrolled in a cohort study. All patients were evaluated through a centralized referral system at one treatment facility. Data were prospectively registered, the variables age, sex, primary oncologic diagnosis, Tokuhashi Revised score, EQ-5D score and treatment modality being recorded on admission. The study patients were treated conservatively with radiotherapy alone or with surgery and subsequent radiotherapy. The EQ-5D questionnaire was administered on admission (baseline) and 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks after admission. Response rates, completion rates and HRQoL scores were analyzed by relevant subgroups. Response rates were based on all questionnaires returned regardless of whether or not they had been completed, whereas completion rates were based on fully completed questionnaires (i.e., containing responses to all five questions.

RESULTS

The mean age was 65 years (range, 20-95 years); 57% of the patients were men. The overall response rate to the Euroqol-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaires was 84% and the overall completion rate 72%. At baseline, mean EQ-5D scores were significantly lower for patients treated with surgery and subsequent radiotherapy 0.28 (95% CI, 0.19-0.36) than for those treated with radiotherapy alone 0.42 (95% CI, 0.38-0.46). At the one-year follow-up, the mean EQ-5D scores had improved to 0.71 (95% CI, 0.64-0.77) for patients treated with surgery and subsequent radiotherapy and 0.63 (95% CI, 0.56-0.70) for patients treated with radiotherapy alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Measurement of HRQoL in patients consecutively admitted for evaluation of acute symptoms of MSCC is feasible and detects significant changes over time between treatment modalities and different strata of expected survival.