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Hip replacement (HR) is a very effective procedure for chronic hip diseases especially in elderly. The aims of this study were: 1) to describe the typology of HRs; 2) to assess short and long term outcomes; 3) to evaluate the relationship between both individual and hospital characteristics with the outcomes. Regional hospital discharge data and mortality register were used. The study population included residents of the Lazio region, over 17 years of age, who underwent HR in any private or public hospital in Italy. We used logistic regression analysis to examine in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality, 90-day mortality. Cox regression analysis was run to investigate revision and 3-5 year mortality. Out of 8159 HRs, 69.5% were total hip replacements (THR) conducted predominantly on females over 70 years of age. We observed 262 in-hospital deaths (7.4% endoprothesis, 1.4% THR). Thirty and 90-day mortality also showed a different pattern among the two procedures (endoprothesis 8.0% and 15.8%, THR 1.3% and 2.2%). At the end of the follow-up, 21% of patients had died and 204 revisions had been carried out (1.4% endoprothesis, 3.0% THR). Overall, 1898 patients (23.3%) had a revision or died. The main short and long term mortality risk factors were: age, male gender and comorbidities. Hospital volume was not associated with a significant mortality risk. For endoprothesis, waiting time before surgery longer than 7 days was associated with a 30-day mortality risk of 2.83. The present study prompted us to test methodologies to evaluate quality levels in orthopaedic surgery units throughout the region using information systems. Further studies are needed to better understand the variability in the characteristics of care that emerged in Lazio hospitals.

Unlabelled: We aimed at describing the epidemiology of femur fracture in elderly hospitalized for femur fracture in Lazio (Italy), and evaluating the association between patient's and hospital characteristics on in-hospital mortality. We conducted a population- and hospital-based study (Lazio region: 5.233.233 inhabitants) among people 65+ years aged., Source of Data: regional hospital register 2002-2003; ICD-9-CM codes for patients' selection 820 e 821. Direct standardization (rate x 1000) and logistic regression analysis (OR, 95% CI) were performed. Overall hospitalization rate in elderly was 7.5%o (10.l%o females vs. 3.9%0 males). 12.033 patients with femur fractures were enrolled in the study period; 21,6% were not treated surgically: in comparison with those who underwent surgery, they were males, residents out of Rome, older and with worst health status. In-hospital mortality rate was 7,97%. In-hospital mortality determinants were: male gender (OR=0.56), older age (85+, OR=3.30), living out of Rome (OR=0.50), comorbidities (Charlson 'index 3: OR=4.44), "others and unspecified parts of femur" as site of fracture (OR=1.84), admission to a private hospital (OR=O. 79) and a surgical treatment (OR=0.20). In conclusion, this study showed the effect of selected individual characteristics on in hospital mortality and suggested a role of early surgical treatment and access to private sector. Regional hospital information systems represent useful tools to address epidemiological impact of hip fracture and its health care resources utilization.

The use of hospital discharge abstracts in estimating the outcome of hospital care represents an ongoing interest in public health. However standardized methodologies are still not available. We carried out a retrospective study to estimate the association between demographic and clinical characteristics and in-hospital mortality after stroke by using administrative data from the Hospital Information System in Lazio Region. We also assessed the relationship between the presence of neurology services and the outcome. We found 12,781 incident episodes of stroke (main diagnosis ICD-9: 430-431-434-436) (49.3% male, mean age = 74 years) admitted in 126 hospitals in the Lazio region for the period 1999-2000. From the hospital discharge abstracts we collected patient demographic and clinical data. The hospitals were classified in centres with and without neurology services. Admissions to hospitals with neurology services were evaluated as predictors of in-hospital mortality after adjustment for gender, age, residence, education, source of admission, type of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease and history of atrial fibrillation. In-hospital mortality (within 30 day) was 25.1%. Female gender, advanced age, residence in Rome, urgent transport, kidney disease and history of atrial fibrillation were associated with an increased risk. Hemorrhagic stroke (ICD-9 = 430-431) had a worse outcome than ischemic stroke (ICD-9 = 434) and acute undefined cerebrovascular disease (ICD-9 = 436). Patients admitted to hospitals with neurology services showed a significantly decreased risk (OR = 0.88, IC95% = 0.79-0.98), particularly in occlusion of cerebral artery (ICD-9 = 434) and in undefined cerebrovascular disease (ICD-9 = 436). Demographic and clinical variables are associated with the outcome of hospitalised stroke patients. Admissions of acute stroke patients in specialized hospitals seem to play a role in reducing the risk of in-hospital mortality.

Introduction: Medical records have an important role in the communication among different care providers and in forensic medicine. In Italy, information on completeness and correctness of medical records is scanty, whereas future hospital accreditation could take into account their quality as a proxy of good medical practice., Purpose: We performed a retrospective study in order to assess the quality of medical records in the Lazio region., Methods: From all 37009 hospital discharges for five different diseases in 123 hospitals (acute myocardial infarction (AMI), coronary artery bypass surgery, pneumonia, cerebrovascular disorders, breast surgery), registered in the Regional Hospital Information System, we selected a random sample of 2022 (5.5% of the total). Ten physicians, previously trained, reviewed the relative medical charts and filled in "ad hoc" questionnaires., Results: A total of 1960 (97% of the target) charts were reviewed. Organization and structure of data recording strongly varied. Important differences were found across the diseases for various items: presence of anamnesis 98.1% (range: from 95.6% for breast surgery to 100% for AMI); presence of physical examination 92.7% (range: from 88.1% for breast surgery to 98.5% for AMI), completeness of the daily medical records was good in 70.8% (range: from 34.2% for pneumonia to 93.9% for cerebrovascular disorders). Variability among different type of hospitals was also observed, being teaching hospitals and some private hospitals more accurate., Conclusions: Quality of medical records tended to vary across different type of hospitals and different diseases. Actions for improving the quality should be undertaken as a priority. Efforts have to be done in restructuring charts, creating guidelines and training caregivers. The development and application of computer based health information systems should help solving these problems.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the most important cause of long-term disability in Italy and other developed countries, heavily influencing quality of life and costs of health care. In spite of the widespread occurrence of the disease and its relevant impact in Italy, there is neither a national nor a regional surveillance system of cerebrovascular diseases. A regional surveillance system for stroke has two important aims: to help to interpret the geographical and temporal trends of the disease for health care planning and resource allocation and to allow close monitoring of the quality of stroke services. Age-standardized mortality rates for cerebrovascular diseases in the Lazio region (5,242,709 inhabitants) in the period 1998-99 were 69.4 for males and 59.4 for females per 100,000 inhabitants. In the year 2000, about 3% of all hospital discharges were for cerebrovascular diseases with a hospitalisation rate of 4.36 per 1000 inhabitants. The mean length of stay is 12 days (median of 9 days) and in-hospital death is 15.4%. The admission rate for cerebrovascular diseases to emergency departments is 3.40 per 1000 inhabitants. The goal of the Lazio Regional Health Authority is to implement a surveillance system for stroke based both on current data (mortality and discharge data) and on information collected in a registry for quality assessment of stroke care. The first step of the study is to develop a regional register of acute stroke using an 'ad hoc' data sheet integrated in the computer-based patient record system of clinical and administrative data (GIPSE) operating in all emergency departments in the region.