Papers by Nicholas Graves
American journal of infection control, Jan 6, 2015
In the absence of a national health care-associated infection surveillance program in Australia, ... more In the absence of a national health care-associated infection surveillance program in Australia, differences between existing state-based programs were explored using an online survey. Only 51% of respondents who undertake surveillance have been trained, fewer than half perform surgical site infection surveillance prospectively, and only 41% indicated they risk adjust surgical site infection data. Widespread variation of surveillance methods highlights future challenges when considering the development and implementation of a national program in Australia.
Infection control and hospital epidemiology, Jan 26, 2015
OBJECTIVE Healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are... more OBJECTIVE Healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and cost among hospitalized patients. Little is known about their impact on post-discharge resource utilization. The purpose of this study was to estimate post-discharge healthcare costs and utilization attributable to positive MRSA cultures during a hospitalization. METHODS Our study cohort consisted of patients with an inpatient admission lasting longer than 48 hours within the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system between October 1, 2007, and November 30, 2010. Of these patients, we identified those with a positive MRSA culture from microbiology reports in the VA electronic medical record. We used propensity score matching and multivariable regression models to assess the impact of positive culture on post-discharge outpatient, inpatient, and pharmacy costs and utilization in the 365 days following discharge. RESULTS Our full cohort incl...
BMJ open, 2013
To summarise how costs and health benefits will change with the adoption of total laparoscopic hy... more To summarise how costs and health benefits will change with the adoption of total laparoscopic hysterectomy compared to total abdominal hysterectomy for the treatment of early stage endometrial cancer. Cost-effectiveness modelling using the information from a randomised controlled trial. Two hypothetical modelled cohorts of 1000 individuals undergoing total laparoscopic hysterectomy and total abdominal hysterectomy. Surgery costs; hospital bed days used; total healthcare costs; quality-adjusted life years; and net monetary benefits. For 1000 individuals receiving total laparoscopic hysterectomy surgery, the costs were $509 575 higher, 3548 hospital fewer bed days were used and total health services costs were reduced by $3 746 221. There were 39.13 more quality-adjusted life years for a 5 year period following surgery. The adoption of total laparoscopic hysterectomy is almost certainly a good decision for health services policy makers. There is 100% probability that it will be cost ...
Health Technology Assessment, 2014
Bloodstream infections resulting from intravascular catheters (catheter-BSI) in critical care inc... more Bloodstream infections resulting from intravascular catheters (catheter-BSI) in critical care increase patients' length of stay, morbidity and mortality, and the management of these infections and their complications has been estimated to cost the NHS annually £19.1-36.2M. Catheter-BSI are thought to be largely preventable using educational interventions, but guidance as to which types of intervention might be most clinically effective is lacking. To assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of educational interventions for preventing catheter-BSI in critical care units in England. Sixteen electronic bibliographic databases - including MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), EMBASE and The Cochrane Library databases - were searched from database inception to February 2011, with searches updated in March 2012. Bibliographies of systematic reviews and related papers were screened and experts contacted to identify any additional references. References were screened independently by two reviewers using a priori selection criteria. A descriptive map was created to summarise the characteristics of relevant studies. Further selection criteria developed in consultation with the project Advisory Group were used to prioritise a subset of studies relevant to NHS practice and policy for systematic review. A decision-analytic economic model was developed to investigate the cost-effectiveness of educational interventions for preventing catheter-BSI. Seventy-four studies were included in the descriptive map, of which 24 were prioritised for systematic review. Studies have predominantly been conducted in the USA, using single-cohort before-and-after study designs. Diverse types of educational intervention appear effective at reducing the incidence density of catheter-BSI (risk ratios statistically significantly < 1.0), but single lectures were not effective. The economic model showed that implementing an educational intervention in critical care units in England would be cost-effective and potentially cost-saving, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios under worst-case sensitivity analyses of < £5000/quality-adjusted life-year. Low-quality primary studies cannot definitively prove that the planned interventions were responsible for observed changes in catheter-BSI incidence. Poor reporting gave unclear estimates of risk of bias. Some model parameters were…
Objective. Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) surveillance programs are critical for infection... more Objective. Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) surveillance programs are critical for infection prevention. Australia does not have a comprehensive national HAI surveillance program. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of established international and Australian statewide HAI surveillance programs and recommend a pathway for the development of a national HAI surveillance program in Australia.
PloS one, 2014
Working through a depressive illness can improve mental health but also carries risks and costs f... more Working through a depressive illness can improve mental health but also carries risks and costs from reduced concentration, fatigue, and poor on-the-job performance. However, evidence-based recommendations for managing work attendance decisions, which benefit individuals and employers, are lacking. Therefore, this study has compared the costs and health outcomes of short-term absenteeism versus working while ill ("presenteeism") amongst employed Australians reporting lifetime major depression. Cohort simulation using state-transition Markov models simulated movement of a hypothetical cohort of workers, reporting lifetime major depression, between health states over one- and five-years according to probabilities derived from a quality epidemiological data source and existing clinical literature. Model outcomes were health service and employment-related costs, and quality-adjusted-life-years (QALYs), captured for absenteeism relative to presenteeism, and stratified by occupa...
PLoS ONE, 2009
Given escalating rates of chronic disease, broad-reach and cost-effective interventions to increa... more Given escalating rates of chronic disease, broad-reach and cost-effective interventions to increase physical activity and improve dietary intake are needed. The cost-effectiveness of a Telephone Counselling intervention to improve physical activity and diet, targeting adults with established chronic diseases in a low socio-economic area of a major Australian city was examined. A cost-effectiveness modelling study using data collected between February 2005 and November 2007 from a cluster-randomised trial that compared Telephone Counselling with a "Usual Care" (brief intervention) alternative. Economic outcomes were assessed using a state-transition Markov model, which predicted the progress of participants through five health states relating to physical activity and dietary improvement, for ten years after recruitment. The costs and health benefits of Telephone Counselling, Usual Care and an existing practice (Real Control) group were compared. Telephone Counselling compared to Usual Care was not cost-effective ($78,489 per quality adjusted life year gained). However, the Usual Care group did not represent existing practice and is not a useful comparator for decision making. Comparing Telephone Counselling outcomes to existing practice (Real Control), the intervention was found to be cost-effective ($29,375 per quality adjusted life year gained). Usual Care (brief intervention) compared to existing practice (Real Control) was also cost-effective ($12,153 per quality adjusted life year gained). This modelling study shows that a decision to adopt a Telephone Counselling program over existing practice (Real Control) is likely to be cost-effective. Choosing the 'Usual Care' brief intervention over existing practice (Real Control) shows a lower cost per quality adjusted life year, but the lack of supporting evidence for efficacy or sustainability is an important consideration for decision makers. The economics of behavioural approaches to improving health must be made explicit if decision makers are to be convinced that allocating resources toward such programs is worthwhile. This paper uses data collected in a previous clinical trial registered at the Australian Clinical Trials Registry, Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: Anzcrt.org.au ACTRN012607000195459.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2008
Recent decades have seen the global emergence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA... more Recent decades have seen the global emergence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), causing substantial health and economic burdens on patients and health-care systems. This epidemic has occurred at the same time that policies promoting higher patient throughput in hospitals have led to many services operating at, or near, full capacity. A result has been limited ability to scale services according to fl uctuations in patient admissions and available staff , and hospital overcrowding and understaffi ng. Overcrowding and understaffi ng lead to failure of MRSA control programmes via decreased health-care worker hand-hygiene compliance, increased movement of patients and staff between hospital wards, decreased levels of cohorting, and overburdening of screening and isolation facilities. In turn, a high MRSA incidence leads to increased inpatient length of stay and bed blocking, exacerbating overcrowding and leading to a vicious cycle characterised by further infection control failure. Future decision making should use epidemiological and economic evidence to evaluate the eff ect of systems changes on the incidence of MRSA infection and other adverse events.
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2004
Background. The economics of universal antenatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening sho... more Background. The economics of universal antenatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening should be explored if mother-to-child transmission of HIV occurs, the health-service infrastructure for universal screening exists, and optimal risk-reducing treatments can be supplied.
Journal of Hospital Infection, 2008
The aim of this study was to estimate the economic costs of healthcare-acquired surgical site inf... more The aim of this study was to estimate the economic costs of healthcare-acquired surgical site infection (HA-SSI) and show how they are distributed between the in-hospital and post-discharge phases of care and recovery. A quantitative model of the epidemiology and economic consequences of HA-SSI was used, with data collected from a prospective cohort of surgical patients and other relevant sources. A logical model structure was specified and data applied to model parameters. A hypothetical cohort of 10 000 surgical patients was evaluated. We found that 111 cases of infection would be diagnosed in hospital and 784 cases would first appear after discharge. Of the total costs incurred, either 31% or 67% occurred during the hospital phase, depending on whether production losses incurred after discharge were included. Most of the costs incurred by the hospital sector arose from lost bed-days and only a small proportion arose from variable costs. We discuss the issues relating to the size of these costs and provide data on where they are incurred. These results can be used to inform subsequent cost-effectiveness analyses that evaluate the efficiency of programmes to reduce the risks of HA-SSI.
Journal of Hospital Infection, 2001
Between April 1994 and May 1995 4000 adult patients admitted to selected specialties of a distric... more Between April 1994 and May 1995 4000 adult patients admitted to selected specialties of a district general hospital were recruited to this study. Hospital-acquired infections presenting during the in-patient stay were identified using previously validated methods of surveillance, and information on daily resource use by both infected and uninfected patients was recorded and estimates of their cost derived. Linear regression modelling techniques were used to estimate how much of the observed variation in resource use and costs could be explained by the presence of an infection. Complete in-patient data sets were obtained for 3980 patients. Of these, 309 patients (7.8%; 95% CI; 7.0, 8.6) presented with one or more hospital-acquired infections during the in-patient period. Infected patients, on average, incurred hospital costs 2.9 (regression model estimate: 2.8; 95% CI; 2.6, 3.0) times higher than uninfected patients, equivalent to an additional pound3154 (regression model estimate pound2917). Both the incidence and the economic impact varied with site of infection and with admission specialty. Estimates of the burden of hospital-acquired infections occurring in adult patients admitted to similar specialties at NHS hospitals in England were derived from the results of this study. An estimated 320 994 (95% CI; 288 071, 353 916) patients per annum acquire one or more infections which present during the in-patient period, and these infections cost the hospital sector an estimated 930.62 million pounds (95% CI; 780.26 pounds; 1080.97 million pounds) per annum. The results presented represent the gross economic benefits that might accrue if these infections are prevented. Further research is required to establish the net benefits of prevention.
The Journal of Arthroplasty, 2010
Routine postsurgery assessment of primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) is recommended in many cou... more Routine postsurgery assessment of primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) is recommended in many countries. Whether the benefits of this activity are justified by the costs is not known. We used a decision-analytic Markov model to compare the costs and health outcomes of 3 different follow-up strategies after primary THA. If there is no routine follow-up of patients for 7 years after primary THA, there would be cost savings between AU$6.5 and $11.9 million and gains of between 1.8 and 8.8 quality-adjusted life years. Policy makers should investigate less resource-intensive alternatives to common routine postsurgical assessment.
Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, 2003
Objective:To model the economic costs of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in New Zealand, by t... more Objective:To model the economic costs of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in New Zealand, by type of HAI.Design:Monte Carlo simulation model.Setting:Auckland District Health Board Hospitals (DHBH), the largest publicly funded hospital group in New Zealand supplying secondary and tertiary services. Costs are also estimated for predicted HAIs in admissions to all hospitals in New Zealand.Patients:All adults admitted to general medical and general surgical services.Method:Data on the number of cases of HAI were combined with data on the estimated prolongation of hospital stay due to HAI to produce an estimate of the number of bed days attributable to HAI. A cost per bed day value was applied to provide an estimate of the economic cost. Costs were estimated for predicted infections of the urinary tract, surgical wounds, the lower and upper respiratory tracts, the bloodstream, and other sites, and for cases of multiple sites of infection. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken for input...
Healthcare Infection, 2012
ABSTRACT
Healthcare Infection, 2009
Abstract The objective of the present study was to predict the economic consequences of healthcar... more Abstract The objective of the present study was to predict the economic consequences of healthcare-acquired infections arising among admissions to Australian acute care hospitals. A quantitative algorithm informed by epidemiological and economic data was developed. ...
Infection control and hospital epidemiology : the official journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America, 2011
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
American Journal of Infection Control, 2008
Background: Bloodstream infection related to a central venous catheter is a substantial clinical ... more Background: Bloodstream infection related to a central venous catheter is a substantial clinical and economic problem. To develop policy for managing the risks of these infections, all available evidence for prevention strategies should be synthesized and understood. Methods: We evaluate evidence for short-term antimicrobial-coated central venous catheters in lowering rates of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) in the adult intensive care unit. Evidence was appraised for inclusion against predefined criteria. Data extraction was by 2 independent reviewers. Thirty-four studies were included in the review. Antiseptic, antibiotic, and heparin-coated catheters were compared with uncoated catheters and one another. Metaanalysis was used to generate summary relative risks for CRBSI and catheter colonization by antimicrobial coating. Results: Externally impregnated chlorhexidine/silver sulfadiazine catheters reduce risk of CRBSI relative to uncoated catheters (RR, 0.66; 95% CI: 0.47-0.93). Minocycline and rifampicin-coated catheters are significantly more effective relative to CHG/SSD catheters (RR, 0.12; 95% CI: 0.02-0.67). The new generation chlorhexidine/silver sulfadiazine catheters and silver, platinum, and carboncoated catheters showed nonsignificant reductions in risk of CRBSI compared with uncoated catheters. Conclusion: Two decades of evidence describe the effectiveness of antimicrobial catheters in preventing CRBSI and provide useful information about which catheters are most effective. Questions surrounding their routine use will require supplementation of this trial evidence with information from more diverse sources. (Am J Infect Control 2008;36:104-17.)
BMJ open, Jan 29, 2015
To determine the cost-effectiveness of the MobileMums intervention. MobileMums is a 12-week progr... more To determine the cost-effectiveness of the MobileMums intervention. MobileMums is a 12-week programme which assists mothers with young children to be more physically active, primarily through the use of personalised SMS text-messages. A cost-effectiveness analysis using a Markov model to estimate and compare the costs and consequences of MobileMums and usual care. This study considers the cost-effectiveness of MobileMums in Queensland, Australia. A hypothetical cohort of over 36 000 women with a child under 1 year old is considered. These women are expected to be eligible and willing to participate in the intervention in Queensland, Australia. The model was informed by the effectiveness results from a 9-month two-arm community-based randomised controlled trial undertaken in 2011 and registered retrospectively with the Australian Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12611000481976). Baseline characteristics for the model cohort, treatment effects and resource utilisation were all informed ...
The Medical journal of Australia
To estimate the effect of day of the week on the odds of being discharged alive from an intensive... more To estimate the effect of day of the week on the odds of being discharged alive from an intensive care unit (ICU). A longitudinal analysis of risk of discharge by day of the week. 4569 patients admitted to the ICU of St Thomas' Hospital, London, from 2002 to 2006. The odds of being discharged alive were lowest on the weekend and literally climbed during the week. Our results show a frightening pattern of discharge from an ICU ward, most likely caused by a complex web of specialist availability and patient demand.
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Papers by Nicholas Graves