Changing definitions and classifications of hematologic malignancies (HMs) complicate incidence comparisons. HAEMACARE classified HMs into groupings consistent with the latest World Health ...Organization classification and useful for epidemiologic and public health purposes. We present crude, age-specific and age-standardized incidence rates for European HMs according to these groupings, estimated from 66 371 lymphoid malignancies (LMs) and 21 796 myeloid malignancies (MMs) registered in 2000-2002 by 44 European cancer registries, grouped into 5 regions. Age-standardized incidence rates were 24.5 (per 100 000) for LMs and 7.55 for MMs. The commonest LMs were plasma cell neoplasms (4.62), small B-cell lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphatic leukemia (3.79), diffuse B-cell lymphoma (3.13), and Hodgkin lymphoma (2.41). The commonest MMs were acute myeloid leukemia (2.96), other myeloproliferative neoplasms (1.76), and myelodysplastic syndrome (1.24). Unknown morphology LMs were commonest in Northern Europe (7.53); unknown morphology MMs were commonest in Southern Europe (0.73). Overall incidence was lowest in Eastern Europe and lower in women than in men. For most LMs, incidence was highest in Southern Europe; for MMs incidence was highest in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Differences in diagnostic and registration criteria are an important cause of incidence variation; however, different distribution of HM risk factors also contributes. The quality of population-based HM data needs further improvement.
Population-based information on the survival of patients with myeloid malignancies is rare mainly because some entities were not recognized as malignant until the publication of the third revision of ...the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology and World Health Organization classification in 2000. In this study we report the survival of patients with myeloid malignancies, classified by updated criteria, in Europe. We analyzed 58,800 cases incident between 1995 to 2002 in 48 population-based cancer registries from 20 European countries, classified into HAEMACARE myeloid malignancy groupings. The period approach was used to estimate 5-year relative survival in 2000-2002. The relative overall survival rate was 37%, but varied significantly between the major groups: being 17% for acute myeloid leukemia, 20% for myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms, 31% for myelodysplastic syndromes and 63% for myeloproliferative neoplasms. Survival of patients with individual disease entities ranged from 90% for those with essential thrombocythemia to 4% for those with acute myeloid leukemia with multilineage dysplasia. Regional European variations in survival were conspicuous for myeloproliferative neoplasms, with survival rates being lowest in Eastern Europe. This is the first paper to present large-scale, European survival data for patients with myeloid malignancies using prognosis-based groupings of entities defined by the third revision of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology/World Health Organization classifications. Poor survival in some parts of Europe, particularly for treatable diseases such as chronic myeloid leukemia, is of concern for hematologists and public health authorities.
The European Cancer Registry-based project on hematologic malignancies (HAEMACARE), set up to improve the availability and standardization of data on hematologic malignancies in Europe, used the ...European Cancer Registry-based project on survival and care of cancer patients (EUROCARE-4) database to produce a new grouping of hematologic neoplasms (defined by the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, Third Edition and the 2001/2008 World Health Organization classifications) for epidemiological and public health purposes. We analyzed survival for lymphoid neoplasms in Europe by disease group, comparing survival between different European regions by age and sex.
Incident neoplasms recorded between 1995 to 2002 in 48 population-based cancer registries in 20 countries participating in EUROCARE-4 were analyzed. The period approach was used to estimate 5-year relative survival rates for patients diagnosed in 2000-2002, who did not have 5 years of follow up.
The 5-year relative survival rate was 57% overall but varied markedly between the defined groups. Variation in survival within the groups was relatively limited across European regions and less than in previous years. Survival differences between men and women were small. The relative survival for patients with all lymphoid neoplasms decreased substantially after the age of 50. The proportion of 'not otherwise specified' diagnoses increased with advancing age.
This is the first study to analyze survival of patients with lymphoid neoplasms, divided into groups characterized by similar epidemiological and clinical characteristics, providing a benchmark for more detailed analyses. This Europe-wide study suggests that previously noted differences in survival between regions have tended to decrease. The survival of patients with all neoplasms decreased markedly with age, while the proportion of 'not otherwise specified' diagnoses increased with advancing age. Thus the quality of diagnostic work-up and care decreased with age, suggesting that older patients may not be receiving optimal treatment.
Rare cancers pose challenges for diagnosis, treatments, and clinical decision making. Information about rare cancers is scant. The RARECARE project defined rare cancers as those with an annual ...incidence of less than six per 100 000 people in European Union (EU). We updated the estimates of the burden of rare cancers in Europe, their time trends in incidence and survival, and provide information about centralisation of treatments in seven European countries.
We analysed data from 94 cancer registries for more than 2 million rare cancer diagnoses, to estimate European incidence and survival in 2000–07 and the corresponding time trends during 1995–2007. Incidence was calculated as the number of new cases divided by the corresponding total person-years in the population. 5-year relative survival was calculated by the Ederer-2 method. Seven registries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the Navarra region in Spain) provided additional data for hospitals treating about 220 000 cases diagnosed in 2000–07. We also calculated hospital volume admission as the number of treatments provided by each hospital rare cancer group sharing the same referral pattern.
Rare cancers accounted for 24% of all cancers diagnosed in the EU during 2000–07. The overall incidence rose annually by 0.5% (99·8% CI 0·3–0·8). 5-year relative survival for all rare cancers was 48·5% (95% CI 48·4 to 48·6), compared with 63·4% (95% CI 63·3 to 63·4) for all common cancers. 5-year relative survival increased (overall 2·9%, 95% CI 2·7 to 3·2), from 1999–2001 to 2007–09, and for most rare cancers, with the largest increases for haematological tumours and sarcomas. The amount of centralisation of rare cancer treatment varied widely between cancers and between countries. The Netherlands and Slovenia had the highest treatment volumes.
Our study benefits from the largest pool of population-based registries to estimate incidence and survival of about 200 rare cancers. Incidence trends can be explained by changes in known risk factors, improved diagnosis, and registration problems. Survival could be improved by early diagnosis, new treatments, and improved case management. The centralisation of treatment could be improved in the seven European countries we studied.
The European Commission (Chafea).
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS) was designed to assess staff views on patient safety culture in hospital. This study examines ...psychometrics of the Italian translation of the HSOPS for use in territorial prevention facilities.
After minimal adjustments and pre-test of the Italian version, a qualitative cross-sectional study was carried out.
Departments of Prevention (DPs) of four Local Health Authorities in Northern Italy.
Census of medical and non-medical staff (n. 479).
Web-based self-administered questionnaire.
Descriptive statistics, internal reliability, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and intercorrelations among survey composites.
Initial CFA of the 12 patient safety culture composites and 42 items included in the original version of the questionnaire revealed that two dimensions (Staffing and Overall Perception of Patient Safety) and nine individual items did not perform well among Italian territorial Prevention staff. After dropping those composites and items, psychometric properties were acceptable (comparative fit index = 0.94; root mean square error of approximation = 0.04; standardized root mean square residual = 0.04). Internal consistency for each remaining composite met or exceeded the criterion 0.70. Intercorrelations were all statistically significant.
Psychometric analyses provided overall support for 10 of the 12 initial patient safety culture composites and 33 of the 42 initial composite items. Although the original instrument was intended for US Hospitals, the Italian translation of the HSOPS adapted for use in territorial prevention facilities performed adequately in Italian DPs.
Aircraft noise may cause several non-auditory health effects, including annoyance, sleep disorders, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and impaired cognitive skills in children.
To perform a ...cross-sectional study among adult residents near the Orio al Serio International Airport (BGY), Italy to investigate the association between aircraft noise, annoyance, sleep disorders, blood pressure levels, and prevalence of hypertension.
Residential addresses of subjects aged 45-70 years were geocoded and classified in three groups according to noise levels: <60 (Reference), 60-65 (Zone A), and 65-75 dBA (Zone B). A sample of subjects was invited to undergo a personal interview and blood pressure measurements. Multiple linear and robust Poisson regression models were used to analyze quantitative and categorical variables, respectively.
Between June and September 2013, we enrolled 400 subjects (166 in the Reference Zone, 164 in Zone A, and 70 in Zone B). Compared to the Reference Zone, we found elevated adjusted annoyance scores (day and night) in Zone A (+2.7) and Zone B (+4.0) (p<0.001) and about doubled proportions of severely annoyed subjects (p<0.001). Reported sleep disorders in the previous month were also more frequent in Zones A and B. Sleep disorders in general were 19.9% in the Reference Zone, 29.9% in Zone A, and 35.7% in Zone B (p<0.001).
We found a strong association between aircraft noise levels, annoyance, and sleep disorders among adult residents near the Orio al Serio International Airport. We found no relationship with blood pressure levels and prevalence of hypertension.
INTRODUCTIONThe IRIS-2 project (2019) expanded the application of the HSOPSC in Romanian hospitals, yet applied, for the first time in the country, in 2014 (IRIS-1). The aim is an update on patient ...safety culture for staff, by geographic region and overall, by year of survey. MATERIALS AND METHODSA cross-sectional study was carried out in voluntary staff in four hospitals in four regions (n. 1,121 staff) and compared with a previous study based on six hospitals in four regions (n. 969 staff). The instrument was the Romanian version of the HSOPSC with 31 items and 9 dimensions. Statistics to analyze trend were computed using "R". Results No significant differences between the proportion of positive response (PPRs) by dimension were observed in IRIS-2 with respect to IRIS-1, with two exceptions: significantly lower PPR for "teamwork across hospital units" (65% versus 73%) and significantly higher PPR for "frequency of events reporting" (65% versus 59%). Four dimensions were well developed and five dimensions needed to be improved. The poorest PPRs were for the "teamwork across hospital units", the "frequency of event reporting" and the "non punitive response to error" dimensions. Besides, one outcome indicator changed through time: the proportion of the staff who did not report any event was significantly lower (64% versus 73%) and the proportion of the staff who reported "1-2 events" was significantly higher (21% versus 15%). CONCLUSIONDespite some small progress related to the frequency of events reporting, there is room for further patient safety culture improvement.
The Republic of Moldova is a small ex-soviet country in the Central Eastern European group of states, whose official language is Romanian. In countries with limited resources, quality improvement in ...healthcare and patient safety are very challenging. This study aims to identify which areas of the patient safety culture (PSC) need prompt intervention.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in three Moldovan healthcare settings, using the Romanian translation of the US Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture HSOPSC. Descriptive statistics were carried out, based on the responses from n. 929 staff. Percentages of positive responses (PPRs) by item (41 items) and composite (12 PSC areas) were computed.
Most respondents were nurses (53%), followed by doctors (35%). The main work areas were: primary care (27%), medical specialties (20%), gynecology and obstetrics (16%), and general surgery (11%). The highest composite PPRs were for: teamwork within units (80%), feedback & communication about error, organizational learning-continuous improvement and supervisor/manager expectations & actions promoting patient safety (78%), and management support for patient safety (75%). The lowest composites were for: frequency of events reported (57%), non-punitive response to errors (53%), communication openness (51%) and staffing (37%).
Our results suggest that staffing issues should be tackled to provide safe care. Staff avoid to openly report adverse events and/or discuss errors, likely because a poor understanding of the potential of these events for learning and because of fear of blame or punitive actions. Future research should check psychometrics of the Romanian version of the HSOPSC applied to Moldovan staff.
We analysed the mortality trends (1986–2009) for all cancers combined and selected cancers in adult Romanians by three age groups (15–49, 50–69 and older than 70 years of age) in comparison with 11 ...other European countries. We extracted mortality data from the WHO database and grouped the countries into four regions: central and eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary), Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), western and northern Europe (Austria, the Netherlands and Finland), and southern Europe (Croatia and Slovenia). Mortality rates were agestandardized against the standard European population. Significant changes in mortality trends were identified by Joinpoint regression and annual percentage changes (APCs) were calculated for periods with uniform trends. Cancer mortality in Romania was among the lowest in Europe in 1986, but was higher than most countries by 2009. Despite the declining mortality (APC) in younger Romanians for all cancers combined (men–1.5% from 1997, women–1.2% 1997–2004 and–3.8% 2004–2009), male lung cancer (–2.8% from 1997), female breast (–3.5% from 1999) and cervical (–5.4% from 2004) cancers, mortality has increased in middle-aged and elderly patients for most cancers analysed. The exception was declining stomach cancer mortality in most Romanians, except elderly men. For most cancers analysed, mortality declined in the Baltic countries in young and middle-aged patients, and in western and northern countries for all ages. Lung cancer mortality in women increased in all countries except Latvia. We urge immediate steps to reverse the alarming increase in cancer mortality among middle-aged and elderly Romanians.
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