Key Articles and Guidelines in the Management of Heart Failure: 2018 Update.

Heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospitalizations in the United States, with >1 million admissions yearly and a 25% risk of readmissions within 1 month. In order to assist clinicians, we provide an update of the heart failure bibliography that was published in Pharmacotherapy in 2008, which followed the original bibliography published in 2004. A significant number of clinical trials and observational studies have been conducted since the early 1980s to guide management of heart failure patients.

Association Between Wait Time for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement and Early Postprocedural Outcomes.

Background Rapid growth in transcatheter aortic valve replacement ( TAVR ) demand has translated to inadequate access, reflected by prolonged wait times. Increasing wait times are associated with important adverse outcomes while on the wait-list; however, it is unknown if prolonged wait times influence postprocedural outcomes. Our objective was to determine the association between TAVR wait times and postprocedural outcomes.

Pilot study of the ability to probabilistically link clinical trial patients to administrative data and determine long-term outcomes.

Background: Clinical trials are important but extremely costly. Utilization of routinely collected administrative data may simplify and enhance clinical trial data collection.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of use of administrative databases in Ontario, Canada, for long-term clinical trial follow-up, specifically (a) to determine whether limited patient identifiers held by the Canadian Cancer Trials Group can be used to probabilistically link with individuals in the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences databases and if so, (b) the level of concordance between the two data sets.

Cardiovascular Outcomes and All-Cause Mortality in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Overlap Syndrome).

Rationale: The combined impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on cardiovascular outcomes remains controversial.

Objectives: We determined whether the combined presence of COPD and severe OSA defined by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) or degree of nocturnal hypoxemia is associated with increased hazards of cardiovascular events and mortality.

Methods: Prospectively collected data from adults with suspected OSA who underwent sleep study between 1994 and 2010 were linked to provincial administrative data to determine a presence of COPD and composite outcome.

Albuminuria, Reduced Kidney Function, and the Risk of ST - and non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction.

Background Chronic kidney disease is a recognized independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but whether the risks of ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction ( STEMI ) and non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction ( NSTEMI ) differ in the chronic kidney disease population is unknown. Methods and Results Using administrative data from Ontario, Canada, we examined patients ≥66 years of age with an outpatient estimated glomerular filtration rate ( eGFR ) and albuminuria measure for incident myocardial infarction from 2002 to 2015. Adjusted Fine and Gray subdistribution hazard models accounting for the competing risk of death were used.

Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap in Women. Incidence and Risk Factors.

Rationale: Women with asthma are at a high risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma and COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS) as they age, which is a condition associated with a high mortality rate, low quality of life, and high healthcare costs. However, factors influencing the development of ACOS remain unclear.

Objectives: To quantify the risk of developing COPD in women in Ontario with asthma and identify factors that are associated with increased risk.

End-of-Life Strategies among Patients with Advanced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Rationale: The burden of advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is high globally; however, little is known about how often end-of-life strategies are used by this population.

Objectives: To describe trends in the use of end-of-life care strategies by people with advanced COPD in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: A population-based repeated cross-sectional study examining end-of-life care strategies in individuals with advanced COPD was conducted.

Cardiovascular and Neuropsychiatric Events after Varenicline Use for Smoking Cessation.

Rationale: Varenicline aids in smoking cessation but has also been associated with serious adverse events.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the risks of cardiovascular and neuropsychiatric events after varenicline receipt in a real-world setting.

Methods: A population-based, self-controlled risk interval study using linked universal health administrative data from the diverse, multicultural population of Ontario, Canada, was conducted.

Quality of Diabetes Care for Individuals with Comorbid Chronic Psychotic Illness: A Sex-Based Analysis.

Background: Diabetes is common among individuals with chronic psychotic illness, yet they receive lower quality of diabetes care than those without psychosis. Men usually receive higher quality diabetes care than women, but whether this holds true in chronic psychotic illness populations is unknown. We aimed to determine whether quality of diabetes care differs between men and women with chronic psychotic illness.

The Final 30 Days of Life: A Study of Patients With Gastrointestinal Cancer in Ontario, Canada.

Background: Studies have reported overly aggressive end-of-life care (EOLC) in many cancers. We investigate trends in, and factors associated with, aggressive EOLC among patients who died of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: All patients with primary cause of death from esophageal, gastric, colon, and anorectal cancer from January 2003 to December 2013 were identified through the Ontario Cancer Registry, and information was collected from linked databases.

Mortality and Health Service Use Following Acute Myocardial Infarction Among Persons with HIV: A Population-Based Study.

People with HIV have higher rates of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than HIV-negative individuals. We compared mortality risk and health service use following AMI among people with and without HIV between January 1, 2002, and March 31, 2015. We conducted a population-based study using Ontario's administrative databases.

Determinants of Home Death in Patients With Cancer: A Population-Based Study in Ontario, Canada.

Aim: To determine factors associated with home death in patients with cancer in Ontario, particularly to assess the association between death at home and (1) patients' rural/urban residence and (2) neighborhood income in urban areas.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in Ontario (2003-2010) using linked administrative databases. In order to account for clustering phenomenon, multivariable generalized estimating equation model was used to evaluate factors associated with home death.

Forecasting Hospitalization and Emergency Department Visit Rates for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. A Time-Series Analysis.

Rationale: Knowing trends in and forecasting hospitalization and emergency department visit rates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can enable health care providers, hospitals, and health care decision makers to plan for the future.

Objectives: We conducted a time-series analysis using health care administrative data from the Province of Ontario, Canada, to determine previous trends in acute care hospitalization and emergency department visit rates for COPD and then to forecast future rates.

Methods: Individuals aged 35 years and older with physician-diagnosed COPD were identified using four universal government health administrative databases and a validated case definition.

ADHD Treatment in Primary Care: Demographic Factors, Medication Trends, and Treatment Predictors.

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and characteristics of youth with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Ontario, Canada, and to determine the predictors of psychotropic medication prescriptions in youth with ADHD.

Method: This is a cross-sectional retrospective chart abstraction of more than 250 000 medical records from youth aged 1 to 24 years in a large geographical region in Ontario, Canada, linked to population-based health administrative data. A total of 10 000 charts were randomly selected and manually reviewed using predetermined criteria for ADHD and comorbidities.

Does Primary Care Model Effect Healthcare at the End of Life? A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Comprehensive primary care may enhance patient experience at end of life.

Objective: To examine whether belonging to different models of primary care is associated with end-of-life healthcare use and outcomes.

Design: Retrospective population cohort study, using health administrative databases to describe health services and costs in the last six months of life across three primary care models: enrolled to a physician remunerated mainly by capitation, with incentives for comprehensive care and access in some to allied health practitioners (Capitation); remunerated mainly from fee-for-service (FFS) with smaller incentives for comprehensive care (Enhanced FFS); and not enrolled, seeing physicians remunerated solely through FFS (Traditional FFS).

Ambient Temperature and the Risk of Renal Colic: A Population-Based Study of the Impact of Demographics and Comorbidity.

Purpose: To examine the impact of ambient temperature on the incidence of emergency department (ED) admissions for acute renal colic and the potential influence demographics and comorbid conditions may have on this.

Methods: We conducted a population-based time series analysis using linked healthcare databases in Ontario, Canada, which included all residents, aged ≥19 years, who were admitted to an ED from April 2002 to December 2013. The primary outcome was daily number of renal colic emergency department admissions.

Stroke recurrence among South Asians with diabetes in Ontario, Canada.

Background South Asians have more vascular risk factors, earlier cardiovascular disease onset, and higher stroke mortality than non-South Asians. However, ethnic differences in long-term outcomes post-stroke in diabetics are unclear. Aims We compared cardiovascular outcome risk after first ischemic stroke between South Asian and non-South Asian diabetics.

Progression from Asthma to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Is Air Pollution a Risk Factor?

Rationale: Individuals with asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap syndrome (ACOS), have more rapid decline in lung function, more frequent exacerbations, and poorer quality of life than those with asthma or COPD alone. Air pollution exposure is a known risk factor for asthma and COPD; however, its role in ACOS is not as well understood.

Objectives: To determine if individuals with asthma exposed to higher levels of air pollution have an increased risk of ACOS.

Risk of Nephrectomy in Previous Living Kidney Donors.

Background: For patients with a solitary kidney, such as living kidney donors, the surgical treatment of renal tumors may result in loss of function of the remaining kidney.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, matched cohort study to determine the long-term risk of partial or total nephrectomy in previous living kidney donors compared to healthy nondonors. We reviewed the predonation charts for all living kidney donors in Ontario, Canada between 1992 and 2010 and linked this information to provincial healthcare databases.

End-of-Life Cancer Care: Temporal Association between Homecare Nursing and Hospitalizations.

Objectives: Most cancer patients want to die at home, but scaleable models to achieve this are not well researched. Our objective was to investigate the temporal association of homecare nursing, especially by generalist nurses, with reduced end-of-life hospitalizations.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective Canadian cohort study of end-of-life cancer decedents during 2004-2009 in Ontario (ON), Nova Scotia (NS), and British Columbia (BC), which have homecare systems that use generalist nurses to provide end-of-life care.

The Effect of Patient Neighborhood Income Level on the Purchase of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Treatment among Patients with Sleep Apnea.

Rationale: The cost of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment for patients with low socioeconomic status may be an important barrier to successful treatment of obstructive sleep apnea under a copayment health care system.

Objectives: We evaluated an association between patient neighborhood income level and the purchase of a CPAP device under a cost-sharing health care insurance system.

Methods: All adults who underwent a first diagnostic sleep study at St.

The economic impact of Clostridium difficile infection: a systematic review.

Objectives: With Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) on the rise, knowledge of the current economic burden of CDI can inform decisions on interventions related to CDI. We systematically reviewed CDI cost-of-illness (COI) studies.

Methods: We performed literature searches in six databases: MEDLINE, Embase, the Health Technology Assessment Database, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry, and EconLit.

Inflammatory bowel disease in immigrants to Canada and their children: a population-based cohort study.

Objectives: The risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) contributed by the environment can be elucidated by assessing the risk in migrants from low prevalence to Western countries. The incidence of IBD in immigrants to Canada and their Canadian-born children was compared with nonimmigrants.

Methods: A population-based cohort of IBD patients derived from health administrative data was linked to immigration data to determine the standardized incidence of IBD in immigrants to Ontario, Canada, by region of birth between 1994 and 2010.