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Validity of Hospital Discharge Data for Identifying Infants with Cardiac Defects

Journal of Perinatology volume 25, pages 737–742 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To examine validity of the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes in discharge data for identifying infants with cardiac defects according to surveillance guidelines.

STUDY DESIGN:

Retrospective medical record review of infants born in 2001 at one hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Infants were identified using ICD-9-CM codes from hospital discharge data, and keywords in medical records.

RESULTS:

Of 2697 children, ICD-9-CM codes identified 66 infants coded with cardiac defects; physician review confirmed 24 had cardiac defects. Only 35 of 85 (41.2%) ICD-9-CM codes accurately reflected the cardiac defect diagnoses. Additional case finding located four infants with five cardiac defects. Sensitivity of ICD-9-CM codes for identifying these infants was 0.857, predictive value positive was 0.364.

CONCLUSIONS:

ICD-9-CM codes from hospital discharge data identified most infants with cardiac defects, but many were false positives. ICD-9-CM codes were inaccurate for specific cardiac defects.

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Acknowledgements

This report was supported in part by a cooperative agreement for the development and improvement of population-based birth defects surveillance programs and the integration of surveillance data with public health programs, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Cooperative Agreement U50-CCU521124, and an appointment to the Applied Epidemiology Program administered by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Cooperative Agreement U60-CCU007277.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Minnesota Department of Health, CDC/CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellow (B.K.F.), St. Paul, MN, USA

    Barbara Kathleen Frohnert MPH

  2. Hennepin County Medical Center (R.C.L.), Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Richard Charles Lussky MD, FAAP

  3. Environmental Health Division (M.A.A., Minnesota Department of Health, D.M.S., M.C.F.), St. Paul, MN, USA

    Maureen Anne Alms RN, PHN, Daniel Michael Symonik PhD, MS & Myron Clifford Falken PhD, MPH

  4. Medical Geneticist (N.J.M.), Children's Hospital & Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Nancy J Mendelsohn MD

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  1. Barbara Kathleen Frohnert MPH
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  2. Richard Charles Lussky MD, FAAP
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  6. Myron Clifford Falken PhD, MPH
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Frohnert, B., Lussky, R., Alms, M. et al. Validity of Hospital Discharge Data for Identifying Infants with Cardiac Defects. J Perinatol 25, 737–742 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211382

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