Standardized Cumulative Metrics of Excess Mortality to Monitor Health System Resilience Throughout COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Virus Resurgences.
Am J Epidemiol
; 193(3): 410-414, 2024 Feb 05.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37026399
Monitoring morbidity and mortality in resurgences of respiratory infections poses significant challenges, as shown by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For example, case fatality rates and deaths attributed to specific respiratory pathogens are known to suffer from significant biases undermining their comparability through time and space. As a result, it is difficult to evaluate the protective effect of public health interventions or quantify the impact of a resurgence on the general population through direct recording of COVID-19 related deaths. To overcome these limitations, more robust, less-biased metrics, such as all-cause deaths, have been proposed for monitoring the effect of an epidemic over a population and over time. More specifically, metrics of excess mortality over time, which have been used for influenza surveillance in the past, are increasingly considered important for COVID-19 surveillance. Here, we discuss excess mortality surveillance focusing on standardized single-point and standardized cumulative metrics that allow comparability of excess mortality through space and time. We explain why z score allows for comparison of excess mortality between countries and different periods, while cumulative z score allows assessment of excess mortality over long periods. Our commentary reiterates the importance of standardized statistics of excess mortality for COVID-19 surveillance as we move toward a coexistence with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that will allow drawing conclusions from best practices in different health systems and different periods.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Infecciones del Sistema Respiratorio
/
Gripe Humana
/
Resiliencia Psicológica
/
COVID-19
Tipo de estudio:
Guideline
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Am J Epidemiol
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos