Reliability of administrative data to identify sexually transmitted infections for population health: a systematic review
Introduction International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes in administrative health data are used to identify cases of disease, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), for population health research. The purpose of this review is to examine the extant literature on the reliability o...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2019-12-01
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| Series: | BMJ Health & Care Informatics |
| Online Access: | https://informatics.bmj.com/content/26/1/e100074.full |
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| author | Brian E Dixon Saurabh Rahurkar Yenling Ho Janet N Arno |
| author_facet | Brian E Dixon Saurabh Rahurkar Yenling Ho Janet N Arno |
| author_sort | Brian E Dixon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes in administrative health data are used to identify cases of disease, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), for population health research. The purpose of this review is to examine the extant literature on the reliability of ICD codes to correctly identify STIs.Methods We conducted a systematic review of empirical articles in which ICD codes were validated with respect to their ability to identify cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Articles that included sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of ICD codes were the target. In addition to keyword searches in PubMed and Scopus databases, we further examined bibliographies of articles selected for full review to maximise yield.Results From a total of 1779 articles identified, only two studies measured the reliability of ICD codes to identify cases of STIs. Both articles targeted PID, a serious complication of chlamydia and gonorrhoea. Neither article directly assessed the validity of ICD codes to identify cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea or syphilis independent of PID. Using ICD codes alone, the positive predictive value for PID was mixed (range: 18%–79%).Discussion and conclusion While existing studies have used ICD codes to identify STI cases, their reliability is unclear. Further, available evidence from studies of PID suggests potentially large variation in the accuracy of ICD codes indicating the need for primary studies to evaluate ICD codes for use in STI-related public health research. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ee2c1ace5cc84bd9ae9dcb8c2c231f0f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2632-1009 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Health & Care Informatics |
| spelling | doaj-art-ee2c1ace5cc84bd9ae9dcb8c2c231f0f2025-08-20T02:11:16ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Health & Care Informatics2632-10092019-12-0126110.1136/bmjhci-2019-100074Reliability of administrative data to identify sexually transmitted infections for population health: a systematic reviewBrian E Dixon0Saurabh Rahurkar1Yenling Ho2Janet N Arno3Department of Epidemiology, Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USACenter for Biomedical Informatics, Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, USADepartment of Epidemiology, Indiana University Richard M Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indianapolis, Indiana, USADivision of Infectious Diseases, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USAIntroduction International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes in administrative health data are used to identify cases of disease, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), for population health research. The purpose of this review is to examine the extant literature on the reliability of ICD codes to correctly identify STIs.Methods We conducted a systematic review of empirical articles in which ICD codes were validated with respect to their ability to identify cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis or pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Articles that included sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of ICD codes were the target. In addition to keyword searches in PubMed and Scopus databases, we further examined bibliographies of articles selected for full review to maximise yield.Results From a total of 1779 articles identified, only two studies measured the reliability of ICD codes to identify cases of STIs. Both articles targeted PID, a serious complication of chlamydia and gonorrhoea. Neither article directly assessed the validity of ICD codes to identify cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea or syphilis independent of PID. Using ICD codes alone, the positive predictive value for PID was mixed (range: 18%–79%).Discussion and conclusion While existing studies have used ICD codes to identify STI cases, their reliability is unclear. Further, available evidence from studies of PID suggests potentially large variation in the accuracy of ICD codes indicating the need for primary studies to evaluate ICD codes for use in STI-related public health research.https://informatics.bmj.com/content/26/1/e100074.full |
| spellingShingle | Brian E Dixon Saurabh Rahurkar Yenling Ho Janet N Arno Reliability of administrative data to identify sexually transmitted infections for population health: a systematic review BMJ Health & Care Informatics |
| title | Reliability of administrative data to identify sexually transmitted infections for population health: a systematic review |
| title_full | Reliability of administrative data to identify sexually transmitted infections for population health: a systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Reliability of administrative data to identify sexually transmitted infections for population health: a systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reliability of administrative data to identify sexually transmitted infections for population health: a systematic review |
| title_short | Reliability of administrative data to identify sexually transmitted infections for population health: a systematic review |
| title_sort | reliability of administrative data to identify sexually transmitted infections for population health a systematic review |
| url | https://informatics.bmj.com/content/26/1/e100074.full |
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