Building an active medical product safety surveillance system in Taiwan: Adaptation of the U.S. Sentinel System common data model structure to the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-101
Author(s):  
Kelly Huang ◽  
Fang‐Ju Lin ◽  
Huang‐Tz Ou ◽  
Chien‐Ning Hsu ◽  
Ling‐Ya Huang ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 232596712098680
Author(s):  
Jr-Yi Wang ◽  
Chen-Kun Liaw ◽  
Chi-Chang Huang ◽  
Tsan-Hon Liou ◽  
Hui-Wen Lin ◽  
...  

Background: Patients with adhesive capsulitis are evaluated for pain and progressive contracture of the glenohumeral joint. Whether endocrine, immune, or inflammatory processes are involved in its definite pathogenesis is still under debate. Some cross-sectional studies with a small sample size have noted that hyperlipidemia is a possible risk factor for frozen shoulders. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose was to conduct a longitudinal population-based study to investigate the risk of adhesive capsulitis among patients with hyperlipidemia. It was hypothesized that patients with hyperlipidemia would have a higher risk of adhesive capsulitis and that the use of statin drugs could reduce the rate. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan, the authors obtained the records of patients with hyperlipidemia who received a diagnosis between 2004 and 2005 and were followed up until the end of 2010. The control cohort comprised age- and sex-matched patients without hyperlipidemia. Propensity score matching was performed for the other comorbidities. A Cox multivariate proportional hazards model was applied to analyze the risk factors of adhesive capsulitis. The hazard ratio (HR) and adjusted HR were estimated between the study and control cohorts after adjustment for confounders. The effects of statin use on adhesive capsulitis risk were also analyzed. Results: The NHIRD records of 28,748 patients and 114,992 propensity score–matched controls were evaluated. A higher incidence rate of adhesive capsulitis was revealed in the hyperlipidemia cohort, with a crude HR of 1.70 (95% CI, 1.61-1.79; P < .001) and adjusted HR of 1.50 (95% CI, 1.41-1.59; P < .001). Patients with hyperlipidemia who used a statin still had higher crude and adjusted HRs compared with controls. Statin use did not exert protective effects on patients with hyperlipidemia. Conclusion: Patients with hyperlipidemia had a 1.5-fold higher risk of adhesive capsulitis than did healthy controls. Statin use did not provide protection against adhesive capsulitis in patients with hyperlipidemia.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000348942110412
Author(s):  
Ying-Ta Lai ◽  
Pin-Zhir Chao ◽  
Yu-Kang Chang ◽  
Yu-Chun Yen ◽  
Yu-Ting Shen ◽  
...  

Objective: Iatrogenic vocal fold paralysis is an important issue in laryngology, yet there are few population-based studies regarding the epidemiology. This study used a nationwide population-based claims database (the National Health Insurance Research Database) to investigate the epidemiology of iatrogenic unilateral and bilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP/BVFP) among the general adult population in Taiwan. Method: This study analyzed patients (20-90 years old) who underwent thyroid, parathyroid, thoracic, cardiac, or anterior cervical spine operations with vocal fold paralysis among adults in Taiwan from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2013. The codes for vocal fold paralysis were defined by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). Claims data in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database were used. Results: The most commonly performed operations which were related to vocal fold paralysis in Taiwan were, in descending order of frequency, thyroid, cervical spine, cardiac, thoracic (esophagectomy), and parathyroid operations. The operations that put laryngeal nerves at risk (ONRs) most commonly associated with a diagnosis of UVFP were, in descending order of frequency, thoracic, thyroid, parathyroid, cardiac, and cervical spine. For both UVFP and BVFP, the most commonly associated age group was 51 to 60. For both UVFP and BVFP, the more commonly associated sex was women. Increased length of stay was associated with a higher incidence of UVFP and BVFP. Charlson medical co-morbidity index (CCI) was not associated with UVFP but BVFP was associated with higher Charlson medical co-morbidity scores. Conclusions: Thyroid operations, age 51 to 60, longer hospital stays are associated with vocal fold paralysis. Overall women are more surgically affected than men. This is the first population-based study of iatrogenic vocal fold paralysis.


2002 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Y. Chen ◽  
W. C. Chie ◽  
C. Lan ◽  
M. C. Lin ◽  
J. S. Lai ◽  
...  

This study aims to describe the national incidence rate and characteristics of lower limb amputations (LLA) in 1997 from an island-wide database of the national health insurance programme in Taiwan. Some 117,647 discharge records from a sampled database (1 in 20) of the National Health Insurance Research Database were analysed. This study included records (n=171) containing LLA procedures. The LLA procedure rates were obtained by multiplying the number of identified procedures by 20 as the numerator and mid-year total population of Taiwan in 1997 as the denominator. Each procedure was further analysed according to the demographic characteristics of the patients, cause and level of amputation. Summarised gender ratios of LLA procedure rates were obtained by Poisson regression analysis. The crude LLA procedure rate was 18.1 per 100,000 population per year and the crude major LLA procedure rate was 8.8 per 100,000 population per year in Taiwan in 1997. The major cause of LLA procedures was peripheral vascular disease (72%), and the toe was most frequently amputated (48%). The LLA procedure rates, which increased logarithmically with age of patients, were significantly higher in men with a summarised male to female rate ratio of 1.65. The age-standardised LLA procedure rate in Taiwan was lower than that reported in the United States, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (Leeds, Middlesborough, and Newcastle), but higher than Spain, Italy, and Japan. The trend of an increasing proportion of PVD-related LLA procedures will prompt the health professionals to develop strategies for LLA prevention.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 232
Author(s):  
Seidu Sofo ◽  
Emmanuel Thompson

<p>Maternal mortality (MMR) is the second largest cause of female deaths in Ghana. Yet, many households cannot afford the cost of skilled delivery The study utilized the Panel Data Model to examine the impact of the fee-free delivery (FDP) and the National Health Insurance Policy (NIP) exemptions on MMR in Ghana. The Demographic and Health Survey reports on Ghana from 2002 to 2009 served as the main data source. Data were analyzed using Panel data model with within group fixed effects estimator. MMR declined significantly over the period studied. Both FDP and NIP positively impacted MMR at a 5% level of significance. In addition, skilled delivery was a significant predictor of MMR. Stakeholders would do well to ensure NIP is adequately funded in order to sustain the decline in MMR.</p><p> </p><p><strong><br /></strong></p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rai-Fu Chen ◽  
Kuei-Chen Cheng ◽  
Yu-Yin Lin ◽  
I-Chiu Chang ◽  
Cheng-Han Tsai

BACKGROUND Unscheduled emergency department return visits (EDRVs) are key indicators for monitoring the quality of emergency medical care. A high return rate implies that the medical services provided by the emergency department (ED) failed to achieve the expected results of accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Older adults are more susceptible to diseases and comorbidities than younger adults, and they exhibit unique and complex clinical characteristics that increase the difficulty of clinical diagnosis and treatment. Older adults also use more emergency medical resources than people in other age groups. Many studies have reviewed the causes of EDRVs among general ED patients; however, few have focused on older adults, although this is the age group with the highest rate of EDRVs. OBJECTIVE This aim of this study is to establish a model for predicting unscheduled EDRVs within a 72-hour period among patients aged 65 years and older. In addition, we aim to investigate the effects of the influencing factors on their unscheduled EDRVs. METHODS We used stratified and randomized data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database and applied data mining techniques to construct a prediction model consisting of patient, disease, hospital, and physician characteristics. Records of ED visits by patients aged 65 years and older from 1996 to 2010 in the National Health Insurance Research Database were selected, and the final sample size was 49,252 records. RESULTS The decision tree of the prediction model achieved an acceptable overall accuracy of 76.80%. Economic status, chronic illness, and length of stay in the ED were the top three variables influencing unscheduled EDRVs. Those who stayed in the ED overnight or longer on their first visit were less likely to return. This study confirms the results of prior studies, which found that economically underprivileged older adults with chronic illness and comorbidities were more likely to return to the ED. CONCLUSIONS Medical institutions can use our prediction model as a reference to improve medical management and clinical services by understanding the reasons for 72-hour unscheduled EDRVs in older adult patients. A possible solution is to create mechanisms that incorporate our prediction model and develop a support system with customized medical education for older patients and their family members before discharge. Meanwhile, a reasonably longer length of stay in the ED may help evaluate treatments and guide prognosis for older adult patients, and it may further reduce the rate of their unscheduled EDRVs.


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