Validation of Algorithms Used to Identify Red Blood Cell Transfusion Related Admissions in Veteran Patients with End Stage Renal Disease.

Background: The goal of this study was to compare the performance of several database algorithms designed to identify red blood cell (RBC) Transfusion Related hospital Admissions (TRAs) in Veterans with end stage renal disease (ESRD).

Methods: Hospitalizations in Veterans with ESRD and evidence of dialysis between 01/01/2008 and 12/31/2013 were screened for TRAs using a clinical algorithm (CA) and four variations of claims-based algorithms (CBA 1-4). Criteria were implemented to exclude patients with non-ESRD-related anemia (e.

The Impact of Delayed Hepatitis C Viral Load Suppression on Patient Risk: Historical Evidence from the Veterans Administration.

Background: The high cost of new hepatitis C (HCV) treatments has resulted in "watchful waiting" strategies being developed to safely delay treatment, which will in turn delay viral load suppression (VLS).

Objective: To document if delayed VLS adversely impacted patient risk for adverse events and death.

Methods: 187,860 patients were selected from the Veterans Administration's (VA) clinical registry (CCR), a longitudinal compilation of electronic medical records (EMR) data for 1999-2010.

The risk of long-term morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic hepatitis C: results from an analysis of data from a Department of Veterans Affairs Clinical Registry.

Importance: The impact of viral load suppression, genotype, race, and other factors on the risk of late-stage liver-related events in patients with hepatitis C (HCV) has been assessed previously using data from small observational cohorts or clinical trials. Data from large real-world practice samples are needed to improve risk factor estimates for late-stage liver events and death in HCV.

Objective: To describe the natural history of HCV in real-world clinical practice.