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Assessing the accuracy of the International Classification of Diseases codes to identify abusive head trauma: a feasibility study
  1. Rachel P Berger1,
  2. Sharyn Parks2,
  3. Janet Fromkin1,
  4. Pamela Rubin1,
  5. Peter J Pecora3
  1. 1Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
  2. 2National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  3. 3Casey Family Programs, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Rachel P Berger, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, 4401 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, USA; Rachel.berger{at}chp.edu

Abstract

Objective To assess the accuracy of an International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code-based operational case definition for abusive head trauma (AHT).

Methods Subjects were children <5 years of age evaluated for AHT by a hospital-based Child Protection Team (CPT) at a tertiary care paediatric hospital with a completely electronic medical record (EMR) system. Subjects were designated as non-AHT traumatic brain injury (TBI) or AHT based on whether the CPT determined that the injuries were due to AHT. The sensitivity and specificity of the ICD-based definition were calculated.

Results There were 223 children evaluated for AHT: 117 AHT and 106 non-AHT TBI. The sensitivity and specificity of the ICD-based operational case definition were 92% (95% CI 85.8 to 96.2) and 96% (95% CI 92.3 to 99.7), respectively. All errors in sensitivity and three of the four specificity errors were due to coder error; one specificity error was a physician error.

Conclusions In a paediatric tertiary care hospital with an EMR system, the accuracy of an ICD-based case definition for AHT was high. Additional studies are needed to assess the accuracy of this definition in all types of hospitals in which children with AHT are cared for.

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