Publications by authors named "David A Cromwell"
Background: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) reported adjuvant trastuzumab-based treatment improved overall survival (OS) among patients with HER2-positive early invasive breast cancer (EIBC). Few RCTs included older patients or those with comorbidity/frailty. This study aimed to determine whether the effect of adjuvant trastuzumab-based treatment on survival outcomes varies by patient age and fitness, using national data from routine care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aim of this study was to investigate the illness trajectories of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) after revascularization and estimate the independent risks of major amputation and death (from any cause) and their interaction.
Methods: Data from Hospital Episode Statistics Admitted Patient Care were used to identify patients (≥50 years of age) who underwent lower limb revascularization for PAD in England from April 2013 to March 2020. A Markov illness-death model was developed to describe patterns of survival after the initial lower limb revascularization, if and when patients experienced major amputation, and survival after amputation.
Introduction: Delays exist at each stage of the chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) care pathway, but there is little known about patient factors influencing delay to diagnosis of CLTI. This study explores the experiences and perceptions of patients recently diagnosed with CLTI.
Methods: A qualitative interview study was conducted.
Background: This study assessed the influence of age, co-morbidity and frailty on 5-year survival outcomes after breast conservation surgery (BCS) with radiotherapy (RT) versus mastectomy (with or without RT) in women with early invasive breast cancer.
Methods: Women aged over 50 years with early invasive breast cancer diagnosed in England (2014-2019) who had breast surgery were identified from Cancer Registry data. Survival estimates were calculated from a flexible parametric survival model.
Background: Delayed referral of patients with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) from the community to vascular services may increase risk of amputation due to delayed revascularisation. Lack of appropriate guidance for clinicians in the community may contribute to this problem. This documentary analysis investigated referral guidance available to primary care clinicians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Patients in the community with suspected Chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) should be urgently referred to vascular services for investigation and management. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) allows identification of influences on health professional behaviour in order to inform future interventions. Here, the TDF is used to explore primary care clinicians' behaviours with regards to recognition and referral of CLTI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the peri-operative mortality rate for intact and ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair in 10 countries and to compare practice and outcomes over a six year period by age, sex, and geographic location.
Methods: This VASCUNET study used prospectively collected data from vascular registries in 10 countries on primary repair of intact and ruptured AAAs undertaken between January 2014 and December 2019. The primary outcome was peri-operative death (30 day or in hospital).
Background: Delays in the pathway from first symptom to treatment of chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) are associated with worse mortality and limb loss outcomes. This study examined the processes used by vascular services to provide urgent care to patients with suspected CLTI referred from the community.
Methods: Vascular surgery units from various regions in England were invited to participate in a process mapping exercise.
Introduction: Older women with early invasive breast cancer (EIBC) are more likely to receive a mastectomy compared with younger women. This study assessed factors associated with receiving a mastectomy among older women with EIBC, with a particular focus on comorbidity and frailty.
Materials And Methods: Women diagnosed with EIBC (stages I-IIIa) aged ≥50 years from 2014 to 2019 in English and Welsh NHS organisations who received breast surgery were identified from cancer registration datasets linked to routine hospital data.
Background: Multiple drug treatments are approved for invasive breast cancer (IBC). We investigated uptake of NICE-recommended oncological drugs and variation by age, comorbidity burden and geographical region.
Methods: Women (aged 50+ years) diagnosed with IBC from 2014 to 2019, were identified from England Cancer Registry data and drug utilisation from Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy data.
Background: Chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) is a condition associated with significant risks of lower limb loss and mortality, which increase with delays in management. Guidance recommends urgent referral and assessment, but delays are evident at every stage of the CLTI patient pathway. This study uses qualitative methods to explore hospital clinicians' experiences and perceptions of the existing CLTI pathway.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Endocrine therapy (ET) is a widely used treatment for breast cancer. In the UK, use is typically initiated in secondary care, with subsequent treatment in primary care. Evaluating use of ET depends on data sources containing accurate and complete information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The average age of the surgical population continues to increase, as does prevalence of long-term diseases. However, outcomes amongst multi-morbid surgical patients are not well described.
Methods: We included adults undergoing non-obstetric surgical procedures in the English National Health Service between January 2010 and December 2015.
Background: Surgical mortality indicators should be risk-adjusted when evaluating the performance of organisations. This study evaluated the performance of risk-adjustment models that used English hospital administrative data for 30-day mortality after neurosurgery.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study used Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2018.
Background: Patients with diabetes and peripheral arterial disease are at increased risk of minor amputation. The aim of study was to assess the rate of re-amputations and death after an initial minor amputation, and to identify associated risk factors.
Methods: Data on all patients aged 40 years and over with diabetes and/or peripheral arterial disease, who underwent minor amputation between January 2014 and December 2018, were extracted from Hospital Episode Statistics.
Objective: Anaemia is common among patients undergoing surgery, but its association with post-operative outcomes in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is unclear. The aim of this observational population based study was to examine the association between pre-operative anaemia and one year outcomes after surgical revascularisation for PAD.
Methods: This study used data from the National Vascular Registry, linked with an administrative database (Hospital Episode Statistics), to identify patients who underwent open surgical lower limb revascularisation for PAD in English NHS hospitals between January 2016 and December 2019.
Background: High-quality surgical care is vital to deliver the excellent outcomes patients deserve following surgical treatment. Quality improvement collaboratives (QICs) are based on a multicentre model for improving healthcare. They are increasingly used but their effectiveness in the context of surgical services is unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit (NOGCA) captures patient data from diagnosis to end of primary treatment for all patients with oesophagogastric (OG) cancer in England and Wales. This study assessed changes in patient characteristics, treatments received, and outcomes for OG cancer surgery for the period 2012-2020, and examined which factors may have led to changes in clinical outcomes over this time.
Methods: Patients diagnosed with OG cancer between April 2012 and March 2020 were included.
Objectives: We evaluated the error detection performance of the DetectDeviatingCells (DDC) algorithm which flags data anomalies at observation (casewise) and variable (cellwise) level in continuous variables. We compared its performance to other approaches in a simulated dataset.
Study Design And Setting: We simulated height and weight data for hypothetical individuals aged 2-20 years.
Objective: There is limited information on changes in the patterns of care and outcomes for patients who had vascular procedures after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this population based study was to examine the patterns of care and outcomes for vascular lower limb procedures in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Lower limb revascularisations and major amputations performed from January 2019 to April 2021 in the UK and entered in the National Vascular Registry were included in the study.
Background: Evaluating uptake of oncological treatments, and subsequent outcomes, depends on data sources containing accurate and complete information about cancer drug therapy (CDT). This study aimed to evaluate the consistency of CDT information in the Hospital Episode Statistics Admitted Patient Care (HES-APC) and Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) datasets for early invasive breast cancer (EIBC).
Methods: The study included women (50 + years) diagnosed with EIBC in England from 2014 to 2019 who had surgery within six months of diagnosis.
Purpose: Patterns of surgical care, outcomes, and quality of care can be assessed using hospital administrative databases but this requires accurate and complete data. The aim of this study was to explore whether the quality of hospital administrative data was sufficient to assess pituitary surgery practice in England.
Methods: The study analysed Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data from April 2013 to March 2018 on all adult patients undergoing pituitary surgery in England.
Background: Many studies evaluating care in hospitals in England use the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) administrative database. The aim of this study was to explore whether the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) system used by HES supported the evaluation of care received by patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) who had revascularisation.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study used records on patients who had revascularisation for PAD between 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2019 in England, collected prospectively in the National Vascular Registry (NVR) and linked to HES.
Objectives: Postoperative mortality is a widely used quality indicator, but it may be unreliable when procedure numbers and/or mortality rates are low, due to insufficient statistical power. The objective was to investigate the statistical validity of postoperative 30-day mortality as a quality metric for neurosurgical practice across healthcare providers.
Design: Retrospective cohort study.
Background: Vascular services in England are organized into regional hub-and-spoke models, with hubs performing arterial surgery. This study examined time to revascularization for chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) within and across different care pathways, and its association with postrevascularization outcomes.
Methods: Three inpatient and four outpatient care pathways were identified for patients with CLTI undergoing revascularization between April 2015 and March 2019 using Hospital Episode Statistics data.