Existing Data Sources in Clinical Epidemiology: Database of Community Acquired Infections Requiring Hospital Referral in Eastern Denmark (DCAIED) 2018–2021

Abstract

Infectious diseases are major health care challenges globally and a prevalent cause of admission to emergency departments. Epidemiologic characteristics and outcomes based on population level data are limited. The Database of Community Acquired Infections in Eastern Denmark (DCAIED) 2018–2021 was established with the aim to explore and estimate the population characteristics, and outcomes of patients suffering from community acquired infections at the emergency departments in the Capital Region and the Zealand Region of Denmark using data from electronic medical records. Adult patients (≥18 years) presenting to the emergency department with suspected or confirmed infection are included in the cohort. Presence of sepsis and organ failure are assessed using modified criteria from the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). During the inclusion period from January 2018 to January 2022, 2,241,652 adult emergency department visits have been registered. Of these, 451,825 were unique encounters of which 60,316 fulfilled criteria of suspected infection and 28,472 fulfilled sepsis criteria and 8,027 were defined as septic shock. The database covers the entire Capital and Zealand Region of Denmark with an uptake area of 2.6 million inhabitants and includes demographic, laboratory and outcome indicators, with complete follow-up. The database is well-suited for epidemiological research for future national and international collaborations.

Keywords:

• emergency department
• infectious diseases
• sepsis
• shock
• database
• epidemiology
• community acquired

Abbreviations

AVPU, alert, verbal, pain, unresponsive; CCI, Charlson Comorbidity Index; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; CPR, civil registration number; ED, emergency department; DHMA, Danish Health and Medicines Authority; GCS, Glasgow Coma Score; EMR, electronic medical records; ICU, intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range; ICD-9-CM, International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification; ICD-10-CM, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification; MAP, mean arterial pressure; MEWS, Modified Early Warning Score; NEWS, National Early Warning Score; qSOFA, quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; RCT, randomized controlled trial; SEPSIS-3, The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock; SIRS, Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.

Disclosure

Professor Morten H Bestle reports personal fees from AM-Pharma B.V.; grants from Sygeforsikringen danmark and Novo Nordisk Foundation; contract research for AM-Pharma B.V. and Inotrem, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.