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Occult liver disease burden: Analysis from a large general practitioners' database.

ABSTRACT: Cirrhosis represents the end stage of chronic liver disease, characterized by high mortality and morbidity. The prevalence of liver disease is difficult to assess, given its clinical latency up to the late stage.We aimed to assess the prevalence of unrecognized chronic liver disease and cirrhosis using surrogate indicators from medical records of family physicians.Medical records of 139,104 subjects, collected from 99 family physicians of the Veneto region, were used. Persistently high transaminases were used as indicators of occult chronic liver disease; thrombocytopenia, unrelated to haematological malignancies, was used as indicator of occult cirrhosis. Diagnosis of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis was assessed using ICD9-CM-1997 codes.Alteration of transaminases was found in 32.7% of the subjects, and among them only one-third had an already diagnosed liver disease. Patients with diagnosis of cirrhosis were 0.3%, while thrombocytopenia, indicator of occult cirrhosis, was detected in 1.3% of the remaining population. Patients with overt and occult cirrhosis showed a higher metabolic profile, with significantly higher prevalence of arterial hypertension, obesity and diabetes than the general population.A large proportion of patients with chronic liver disease is still undiagnosed. Surrogate biochemical indicators might be useful for disease recognition.

SUBMITTER: Martini A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5676552 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Occult liver disease burden: Analysis from a large general practitioners' database.

Martini Andrea A Ceranto Elena E Gatta Angelo A Angeli Paolo P Pontisso Patrizia P

United European gastroenterology journal 20170226 7

<h4>Background</h4>Cirrhosis represents the end stage of chronic liver disease, characterized by high mortality and morbidity. The prevalence of liver disease is difficult to assess, given its clinical latency up to the late stage.<h4>Objective</h4>We aimed to assess the prevalence of unrecognized chronic liver disease and cirrhosis using surrogate indicators from medical records of family physicians.<h4>Methods</h4>Medical records of 139,104 subjects, collected from 99 family physicians of the ...[more]

PMID: 29163964

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Limited data is available to describe clinical characteristics, long-term outcomes, healthcare resource use and the attributable costs of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in Germany. We aimed to examine demographic and clinical characteristics as well as healthcare resource use and related costs. METHODS:We conducted a retrospective cohort study based on the InGef database in patients with IMD between 2009 and 2015. Cases were identified based on hospital main discharge diagnoses of IMD. Demographics, clinical characteristics, 30-day and 1-year mortality as well as IMD-related complications and sequelae in IMD cases were examined. In addition, short and long-term costs and healthcare resource use in IMD cases were analyzed and compared to an age- and sex-matched control group without IMD. RESULTS:The study population comprised 164 IMD cases between 2009 and 2015. The mean length of the IMD-related hospitalization was 13 days and 38% of all cases presented with meningitis only, 35% with sepsis only, 16% with both and 11% with other IMD. The 30-day and one-year mortality were 4.3% and 5.5%, respectively. Approximately 13% of IMD cases had documented IMD-related complications at hospital discharge and 24% suffered from sequelae during follow-up. The IMD-related hospitalization was associated with mean costs of € 9,620 (standard deviation: € 22,197). The difference of mean costs between IMD cases and matched non-IMD controls were € 267 in the first month and € 1,161 from one month to one year after discharged from IMD-related hospitalization. During the later follow-up period, the mean overall costs and costs associated with individual healthcare sectors were also higher for IMD cases without reaching statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS:IMD resulted in severe complications and sequelae and was associated with extensive costs and increased healthcare resource use in Germany, especially in the first year after IMD diagnosis and due the IMD-related hospitalization.

Project description:BackgroundAlberta is considering capping daily fee-for-service physician billings, but little is known about high-volume practice in the province and its impact on patient health outcomes. In this initial study, we conducted a descriptive analysis of general practitioners' patient volumes and billing practices in relation to associated practitioner demographic characteristics.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective descriptive analysis of the associations of practitioner characteristics, including full-time versus non-full-time practice, provider sex, years in practice, geographic location and international medical graduate status, with high-volume (> 50 visits/d) practice using general practice billing data from 2011 to 2016. Use of general practitioner service codes was described and compared by general practitioner volume status, with adjustment for physician demographic characteristics and geographic parameters.ResultsWe included 3465 general practitioners practising fee-for-service in Alberta between 2011 and 2016, of whom 233 (6.7%) were identified as high-volume providers. Physicians who had been in practice longer (odds ratio [OR] 1.04 per year, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.05) and international medical graduates (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.40-2.54) were more likely to exceed 50 patient visits/day. Female physicians were less likely to exceed 50 patient visits/day (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.07-0.28). Rural practice location was negatively associated with high-volume practice (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.79-0.95) when we controlled for zone within the province. Zone 5 (North) was associated with high-volume practice (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.06-3.58). Less than full-time practice was prevalent (1836 providers [53.0%]). High-volume general practitioners billed fewer service codes requiring longer visits, except for the most highly remunerated code (patients with complex health issues).InterpretationThese results can inform policy-makers when considering payment system changes. Our next step is to examine the association of high-volume practice with outcomes important to patients, such as evidence of treatment failure (emergency department visits and hospital admissions) for conditions sensitive to primary care management.

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Occult liver disease burden: Analysis from a large general practitioners' database.

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Occult liver disease burden: Analysis from a large general practitioners' database.

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