NATIONAL DEATH INDEX : DATA MATCHING FOR SURVIVAL DATA ANALYSIS OF HEART SURGERY. J A Fuller*, B F Buxton and J Tatoulis. Epworth Heart Surgery Project, Victorian Heart Centre, Epworth Hospital, Richmond, Vic. Survival data analysis provides a valuable means of assessing results of heart surgery. Previously we have studied post-operative long term survival of patients by follow up consultation, telephone enquiry, and computer generated questionnaire. These methods are both time consuming and expensive, and when the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare offered an access to the national Death Index we felt that this may provide a simple solution. After satisfying ethical requirements, details of 20,913 cardiac operations were sent to the AIHW. Data matching with the NDI confirmed the previously recognized deaths, and revealed an additional 3952 possible deaths.
Some of the NDI data lacks the exact date of birth, and where this was the case some inaccuracies in patient identification were found when several patients were contacted with a spot check telephone call. The additional NDI deaths will be further investigated with a computerized questionnaire to assist in establishing the veracity of the NDI findings. The ability to access the NDI greatly enhances the power of survival data analysis . The results will be presented along with an upgrade of survival data analysis for various categories or cardiac surgery. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
 |