Abstract
BackgroundThe New York City emergency department (ED) syndromic surveillance (SS) system provides near real-time data on the majority of ED visits. The utility of ED SS for injury surveillance has not been thoroughly evaluated. We created injury syndromes based on ED chief complaint information and evaluated their utility compared to administrative billing data.MethodsSix injury syndromes were developed: traffic-related injuries to pedal cyclists, pedestrians, and motor vehicle occupants; fall-related injuries; firearm-related injuries; and assault-related stabbings. Daily injury counts were compared for ED SS and the administrative billing data for years 2008–2010. We examined characteristics of injury trends and patterns between the two systems, calculating descriptive statistics for temporal patterns and Pearson correlation coefficients (r) for temporal trends. We also calculated proportions of demographic and geospatial patterns for both systems.ResultsAlthough daily volume of the injuries varied between the two systems, the temporal patterns were similar (all r values for daily volume exceeded 0.65). Comparisons of injuries by time of day, day of week, and quarter of year demonstrated high agreement between the two systems—the majority had an absolute percentage point difference of 2.0 or less. Distributions of injury by sex and age group also aligned well. Distribution of injury by neighborhood of residence showed mixed results—some neighborhood comparisons showed a high level of agreement between systems, while others were less successful.ConclusionsAs evidenced by the strong positive correlation coefficients and the small absolute percentage point differences in our comparisons, we conclude that ED SS captures temporal trends and patterns of injury-related ED visits effectively. The system could be used to identify changes in injury patterns, allowing for situational awareness during emergencies, timely response, and public messaging.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40621-015-0044-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The New York City emergency department (ED) syndromic surveillance (SS) system provides near real-time data on the majority of ED visits
One major issue with the chief complaint field is a high percentage of missing data for Staten Island hospitals; two of the three Staten Island hospitals currently provide chief complaint data for only 26% of ED visits
Since New York City (NYC) injury surveillance has traditionally relied upon Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) data for understanding counts, trends, and patterns, this evaluation was focused on understanding how ED SS compares to a known and familiar data source: SPARCS
Summary
The New York City emergency department (ED) syndromic surveillance (SS) system provides near real-time data on the majority of ED visits. We created injury syndromes based on ED chief complaint information and evaluated their utility compared to administrative billing data. Seil et al Injury Epidemiology (2015) 2:11 diagnoses and are often not available until a year or more after the visit. Both data sources provide secondary data collected for purposes not specific to public health surveillance. Use of ED SS for tracking trafficrelated injuries, falls, assault-related stabbings, and firearm-related injuries has yet to be evaluated
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