Estimating the contribution of respiratory pathogens to acute exacerbations of COPD using routine data.

Objectives: To characterise microbiology testing and results associated with emergency admissions for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD), and determine the accuracy of ICD-10 codes in retrospectively identifying laboratory-confirmed respiratory pathogens in this setting.

Methods: Using person-level data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank in Wales, we extracted emergency admissions for COPD from 1/12/2016 to 30/11/2018 and undertook linkage of admissions data to microbiology data to identify laboratory-confirmed infection. We further used these data to assess the accuracy of pathogen-specific ICD-10 codes.

Defining clinical subtypes of adult asthma using electronic health records: Analysis of a large UK primary care database with external validation.

Introduction: Asthma is one of the commonest chronic conditions in the world. Subtypes of asthma have been defined, typically from clinical datasets on small, well-characterised subpopulations of asthma patients. We sought to define asthma subtypes from large longitudinal primary care electronic health records (EHRs) using cluster analysis.

Identifying COPD in routinely collected electronic health records: a systematic scoping review.

Although routinely collected electronic health records (EHRs) are widely used to examine outcomes related to COPD, consensus regarding the identification of cases from electronic healthcare databases is lacking. We systematically examine and summarise approaches from the recent literature. MEDLINE EBSCOhost was searched for COPD-related studies using EHRs published from January 1, 2018 to November 30, 2019.

Predicting asthma-related crisis events using routine electronic healthcare data: a quantitative database analysis study.

Background: There is no published algorithm predicting asthma crisis events (accident and emergency [A&E] attendance, hospitalisation, or death) using routinely available electronic health record (EHR) data.

Aim: To develop an algorithm to identify individuals at high risk of an asthma crisis event.

Design And Setting: Database analysis from primary care EHRs of people with asthma across England and Scotland.

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the incidence and mortality of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: national interrupted time series analyses for Scotland and Wales.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing national lockdowns have dramatically changed the healthcare landscape. The pandemic's impact on people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains poorly understood. We hypothesised that the UK-wide lockdown restrictions were associated with reductions in severe COPD exacerbations.

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on emergency asthma admissions and deaths: national interrupted time series analyses for Scotland and Wales.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on people with asthma is poorly understood. We hypothesised that lockdown restrictions were associated with reductions in severe asthma exacerbations requiring emergency asthma admissions and/or leading to death.

Methods: Using data from Public Health Scotland and the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank in Wales, we compared weekly counts of emergency admissions and deaths due to asthma over the first 18 weeks in 2020 with the national averages over 2015-2019.

Association of socioeconomic deprivation with asthma care, outcomes, and deaths in Wales: A 5-year national linked primary and secondary care cohort study.

Background: Socioeconomic deprivation is known to be associated with worse outcomes in asthma, but there is a lack of population-based evidence of its impact across all stages of patient care. We investigated the association of socioeconomic deprivation with asthma-related care and outcomes across primary and secondary care and with asthma-related death in Wales.

Methods And Findings: We constructed a national cohort, identified from 76% (2.