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Shahid Akhtar,1 Birgitte Berg,2 Johan Medina,3 Maya Nicole Gonczi,4 Sophie Hamilton,5 Emily Hildebrand,4 Nicky Kelepouris,6 Jesper Skov Neergaard,7 Claus Sværke,8 Gitte Ter-Borch,2 Niklas Kahr Rasmussen3 1Devices & Digital Health, Novo Nordisk A/S, Søborg, Denmark; 2Clinical Operations, Obesity, Liver Diseases & Devices, Novo Nordisk A/S, Søborg, Denmark; 3Medical & Science, Devices & Digital Health, Novo Nordisk A/S, Søborg, Denmark; 4Human Factors, Research Collective, Tempe, AZ, USA; 5Rare Endocrine Rare Renal Diseases, Novo Nordisk Inc, Plainsboro, NJ, USA; 6Rare Endocrine Disorders, Novo Nordisk Inc, Plainsboro, NJ, USA; 7Safety Surveillance, Cardiovascular Disease, Novo Nordisk A/S, Søborg, Denmark; 8Global Development, Novo Nordisk A/S, Søborg, DenmarkCorrespondence: Shahid Akhtar, Medical & Science, Devices & Digital Health, Novo Nordisk A/S, Vandtårnsvej 108– 110, Søborg, DK-2860, Denmark, Email SAHT@novonordisk.comPurpose: Adherence to growth hormone treatment is known to affect growth outcomes. Both device preference and ease of use have been shown to affect treatment adherence. In this study, we assessed device preference and ease of use with two long-acting growth hormones, somapacitan (Sogroya®, Novo Nordisk A/S) and somatrogon (Ngenla®, Pfizer).Patients and Methods: In a randomized, crossover study conducted between September 20 and November 2, 2023, we recruited 33 adolescents with a growth-related disorder, and 37 caregivers, at six locations in the United States. Each participant was trained in the use of both devices and asked to perform a simulated injection. Device training time, preparation and injection time, and injection completeness were recorded. Participants also completed the Device Handling and Preference Questionnaire (DHPAQ) to indicate their device preference and ease of use opinions. Following conclusion of the “standard” visit, 10 adolescents and 10 caregivers were randomly selected to participate in a sub-study to validate the relevance, comprehensiveness, and comprehension of the DHPAQ.Results: The majority of participants (84.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 74;92) preferred the somapacitan device to the somatrogon device (p

Karoline Skov Dalgaard,1 Henrik Gammelager,1 Claus Sværke,1 Tamás Kurics,1 Karynsa Cetin,2 Christian Fynbo Christiansen1 1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 2Center for Observational Research, Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, USA Objective: Skeletal-related events (SREs) among patients with bone metastases from lung cancer may be associated with considerable use of health care resources. We analyzed in- and outpatient hospital contacts in relation to SREs among all Danish lung cancer patients with bone metastases. Methods: For this cohort study, we used the Danish Cancer Registry and the Danish National Registry of Patients to identify all persons diagnosed with first-time lung cancer and bone metastases from 2003 through 2009 in Denmark. We followed these patients until December 31, 2010, for the development of SREs (spinal cord compression; pathological or osteoporotic fracture, surgery to bone; or conventional external radiation therapy). We examined the number of inpatient hospitalizations, inpatient bed-days, hospital outpatient clinic visits, and emergency room visits within three time periods: a pre-SRE period (90-day period prior to the diagnostic period), a SRE diagnostic period (14-day period prior to the SRE), and a post-SRE period (90-day period after the SRE). Results: We identified 1,146 patients with lung cancer, bone metastases, and ≥1 subsequent SRE among 28,443 patients with incident lung cancer. Over 75% of patients with SREs (n=852) had more than one SRE. The number of hospital bed-days was high in the post-SRE period compared to the pre-SRE period, as illustrated by patients with multiple SREs who had 10.7 (95% confidence interval, 10.4–10.9) hospital bed-days per 100 person-days in the pre-SRE period and 28.2 (95% confidence interval, 27.8–28.6) bed-days per 100 person-days in the post-SRE period. Conclusion: SREs secondary to bone metastases in lung cancer patients are associated with a substantial number of hospital contacts and hospital bed-days. Keywords: hospital services, lung neoplasm, utilization

Henrik Gammelager,1 Claus Sværke,1 Sven Erik Noerholt,2 Bjarne Neumann-Jensen,3 Fei Xue,4 Cathy Critchlow,4 Johan Bergdahl,5 Ylva Trolle Lagerros,5 Helle Kieler,5 Grethe S Tell,6 Vera Ehrenstein11Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 2Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 3Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; 4Center for Observational Research, Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; 5Center for Pharmacoepidemiology, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; 6Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayBackground: Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is an adverse effect of drugs that suppress bone turnover – for example, drugs used for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The Danish National Registry of Patients (DNRP) is potentially valuable for monitoring ONJ and its prognosis; however, no specific code for ONJ exists in the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision (ICD-10), which is currently used in Denmark. Our aim was to estimate the positive predictive value (PPV) of an algorithm to capture ONJ cases in the DNRP among women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.Methods: We conducted this cross-sectional validation study in the Central and North Denmark Regions, with approximately 1.8 million inhabitants. In total, 54,956 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis were identified from June 1, 2005 through May 31, 2010. To identify women potentially suffering from ONJ, we applied an algorithm based on ICD-10 codes in the DNRP originating from hospital-based departments of oral and maxillofacial surgery (DOMS). ONJ was adjudicated by chart review and defined by the presence of exposed maxillofacial bone for 8 weeks or more, in the absence of recorded history of craniofacial radiation therapy. We estimated the PPV for the overall algorithm and for each separate ICD-10 code used in the algorithm.Results: Charts were obtained and reviewed for all 60 women with an ICD-10 code potentially representing ONJ. Nineteen potential ONJ cases were confirmed, corresponding to an overall PPV of 32% (95% confidence interval: 20%–45%).Conclusion: Among women with postmenopausal osteoporosis, only about one-third of the potential ONJ cases identified by our ICD-10 based algorithm were confirmed by medical chart review, despite the restriction to patients treated at DOMS. To capture true ONJ cases among women with postmenopausal osteoporosis, alternative approaches are needed.Keywords: bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw, International Classification of Diseases, osteonecrosis of the jaw, osteoporosis, registries, validity

Marie Louise Svendsen,1 Henrik Gammelager,1 Claus Sværke,1 Mellissa Yong,2 Victoria M Chia,2 Christian F Christiansen,1 Jon P Fryzek1 1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 2Center for Observational Research, Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA Objective: Skeletal-related events (SREs) among women with breast cancer may be associated with considerable use of health-care resources. We characterized inpatient and outpatient hospital visits in a national population-based cohort of Danish women with SREs secondary to breast cancer and bone metastases. Methods: We identified first-time breast cancer patients with bone metastases from 2003 through 2009 who had a subsequent SRE (defined as pathologic fracture, spinal cord compression, radiation therapy, or surgery to bone). Hospital visits included the number of inpatient hospitalizations, length of stay, number of hospital outpatient clinic visits, and emergency room visits. The number of hospital visits was assessed for a pre-SRE period (90 days prior to the diagnostic period), a diagnostic period (14 days prior to the SRE), and a post-SRE period (90 days after the SRE). Patients who experienced more than one SRE during the 90-day post-SRE period were defined as having multiple SREs and were followed until 90 days after the last SRE. Results: We identified 569 women with SREs secondary to breast cancer with bone metastases. The majority of women had multiple SREs (73.1%). A total of 20.9% and 33.4% of women with single and multiple SREs died in the post-SRE period, respectively. SREs were associated with a large number of hospital visits in the diagnostic period, irrespective of the number and type of SREs. Women with multiple SREs generally had a higher number of visits compared to those with a single SRE in the post-SRE period, eg, median length of hospitalization was 5 days (interquartile range 0–15) for women with a single SRE and 13 days (interquartile range 4–30) for women with multiple SREs. Conclusion: SREs secondary to breast cancer and bone metastases were associated with substantial use of hospital resources. Keywords: breast neoplasms, bone metastases, skeletal-related events, hospital services, utilization