Megan Bohensky

E12554 Background: Triple-negative breast cancer is a biologically aggressive disease that accounts for 15% of all breast cancers, of which around 4-5% are metastatic (mTNBC) at diagnosis. Notably, there is no standard of care for mTNBC in the first line (1L) setting. This, in addition to higher relapse rates and poor long-term survival, warrants evaluation of real-world treatment patterns, especially in the 1L setting, to better inform on clinical outcomes. Methods: This observational, retrospective, chart review study included a cohort of twenty-six mTNBC patients from six different sites Australia, who commenced 1L treatment between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2015. Medical records of eligible patients were abstracted using electronic case report forms after gaining relevant ethics approvals. Data on treatment patterns and clinical outcomes in the 1L setting were then collected from the index date until the end of data abstraction or death. The index date is defined as the date of initiation of 1L systemic therapy for mTNBC. Results: In the 1L setting, patients that received combination (52%) chemotherapy was slightly higher than single-agent (48%) chemotherapy. The commonest combination used was Carboplatin-Gemcitabine (12%), and the most common monotherapy was Nab-Paclitaxel (24%). The overall response rate and disease control rate were estimated to be 32% and 60% in the 1L setting. The median duration of treatment and the median time to next line of therapy were calculated to be 98 days and 12.45 (95% CI 2.79, 20.30) months respectively. Importantly, the median progression free survival (sensitivity analysis) and the median overall survival were estimated to be 3.17 (95% CI 1.91, 5.09) and 10.41 (95% CI 5.36, 16.53) months respectively. Conclusions: Chemotherapy is currently the mainstay of treatment for mTNBC. However, disease progression and chemo-related toxicities warrant stratified use of more efficacious and tolerable treatment options, especially in the 1L setting. Results from this study could be useful in comparing the efficacy and cost effectiveness of these emerging targeted and immuno-therapies outside the clinical trial setting.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and post-MI fatality compared with the general population. In a previous study examining post-MI treatment in RA compared with controls we noted that a higher proportion of the RA patients had experienced MI following a surgical procedure. The aim of this study was to compare the risk of MI and mortality at 6 weeks and 12 months following joint surgery in patients with RA compared with the general population. Individuals who had undergone joint surgery in Victoria, Australia between 1 July 2000 and 30 June 2007 were identified from routinely collected hospital administrative data. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine odds of 6 week and 12 month MI and mortality in RA versus non-RA patients with adjustment for age, sex, comorbidities, socioeconomic status, patient type and admission type. Subgroup analysis of total hip and knee arthroplasty episodes was undertaken. A total of 308,589 episodes of joint surgery occurred among 240,571 individuals, with 3654 (1.2 %) occurring among patients with RA. At 6 weeks post joint surgery the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for MI was 1.50 (95 % CI 0.96–2.33), all-cause death was 1.85 (95 % CI 1.09–3.13) and cardiovascular death was 1.90 (95 % CI 1.07–3.37). At 12 months post joint surgery the adjusted OR of MI was 1.70 (95 % CI 1.27–2.28), all-cause death was 2.18 (95 % CI 1.66–2.86) and cardiovascular death was 2.30 (95 % CI 1.65–3.22). On analysis of joint surgeries other than hip or knee arthroplasty, people with RA were at greater risk of MI within 6 weeks (adjusted OR 2.32; 95 % CI 1.24–4.34) and 12 months (adjusted OR 2.20; 95 % CI 1.47–3.30) compared to those without RA, but no difference in odds of short term mortality were found. Following an episode of joint surgery RA patients have a significantly increased risk of death at 6 weeks, and MI and death at 12 months, compared to the general population. The reasons for this remain to be elucidated but in the meantime RA patients should be considered at higher risk in the perioperative period.

Challenges in Clinical Data Linkage in Australia: Perspective of Spinal Cord Injury: 10.4018/IJBDAH.2016010102: Long term and comprehensive management of patients with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) within the Australian health system suffers from ineffective patient data

Clinical data linkage amongst patients with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a challenge, as the Australian Health System is fragmented and there is lack of coordination between multiple data custodians at the state and federal levels, private and public hospitals, and acute and allied health sectors. This is particularly problematic in chronic conditions such as SCI, where multiple data custodians collect data on patients over long periods of time. The author presents findings based on interviews with a range of data custodians for SCI categorized as clinical, statutory, and financial data custodians. It is found that data are kept in different silos, which are not coordinated, hence duplication exists and patient information that exists on many different databases is inconsistently updated. This chapter describes the importance of Clinical Data Linkage for healthcare in predicting disease trajectories for SCI and discusses how administrative and clinical data are collected and stored and some of the challenges in linking these datasets.

Introduction: To compare statin initiation and treatment non-adherence following a first acute myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease ( IRD) and the general population. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using a population-based linked database. Cases of first MI from July 2001 to June 2009 were identified based on International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10-AM) codes. Statin initiation and adherence was identified based on pharmaceutical claims records. Logistic regression was used to assess the odds of statin initiation by IRD status. Non-adherence was assessed as the time to first treatment gap using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: There were 18,518 individuals with an index MI over the time period surviving longer than 30 days, of whom 415 (2.2%) were IRD patients. The adjusted odds of receiving a statin by IRD status was significantly lower (OR =0.69, 95% CI: 0.55 to 0.86) compared to the general population. No association between IRD status and statin non-adherence was identified (hazard ratio (HR) =1.12, 95% CI: 0.82 to 1.52). Conclusions: Statin initiation was significantly lower for people with IRD conditions compared to the general population. Once initiated on statins, the proportion of IRD patients who adhered to treatment was similar to the general population. Given the burden of cardiovascular disease and excess mortality in IRD patients, encouraging the use of evidence-based therapies is critical for ensuring the best outcomes in this high risk group.

Background/Aim: To evaluate the frequency and geographical variation in knee arthroscopy for adults (>25 years) with a concomitant diagnosis of osteoarthritis.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of hospital separations involving an elective knee arthroscopy in public and private hospitals in Victoria, Australia. Participants included patients receiving knee arthroscopies with a diagnosis code indicating osteoarthritis (OA) from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. Records were excluded if the patient was under 25 years or their arthroscopy involved a ligament reconstruction. Crude rates per 100 000 population and negative binomial regression offset by total knee arthroscopy volume were used to analyse differences by region.Results: There were 9620 arthroscopic procedures meeting the inclusion criteria. There were 5500 (57.2%) admissions where the principal diagnosis was knee OA (gonarthrosis) and 3510 (36.5%) where the principal diagnosis indicated a mechanical derangement and there was a primary or associated diagnosis of OA. When we examined the incidence rate ratios (IRR) by region, after adjustment for relevant factors and accounting for the total knee arthroscopy volume within each region, we identified significant variation in knee arthroscopy rates for patients with OA. The region with the highest adjusted IRR was Barwon South Western (IRR: 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16–1.36) and the region with lowest adjusted incidence rate ratio was the Gippsland region (IRR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.80–0.98).Conclusions: We identified considerable geographical variation in arthroscopies for people with OA across Victoria. Further investigation is needed to understand whether this variation is a reflection of differences in OA prevalence, clinical decision‐making or access.