Canadian Classification Of Health Interventions Research Articles

Mortality of Pediatric Surgical Lung Biopsies in Ontario, Canada, 2000-2019.

Rationale: Surgical lung biopsies are often required for the definitive diagnosis of nonmalignant pediatric diffuse lung diseases; however, the literature on mortality after surgical lung biopsy in pediatric patients is sparse. Objectives: To determine the 30-day postoperative mortality rate after surgical lung biopsies for nonmalignant lung disease in pediatric patients in Ontario, Canada, and to identify risk factors associated with mortality. Methods: We performed an observational cohort study using population-based health administrative data available from ICES in Ontario, Canada, from 2000 to 2019. Cases were identified using the Canadian Classification of Health Interventions. Inclusion criteria were first surgical lung biopsies between 2000 and 2019 and age <18 years. Individuals with lung cancer, lung transplant, or missing data were excluded. A multivariable logistic regression model with generalized estimating equation was used to estimate the 30-day odds of mortality after surgical lung biopsy and to identify patient characteristics associated with increased mortality while accounting for clustering by hospital. Results: We identified 1,474 pediatric patients who underwent surgical lung biopsy in Ontario between 2000 and 2019. The overall mortality rates decreased over the study duration from 6.6% (2000-2004) to 3.0% (2015-2019). The study cohort for multivariate analyses consisted of 1,342 patients who had complete data. The pediatric mortality 30 days after surgical lung biopsy was 5.1% but was <1% in elective cases. Risk factors for increased mortality included open surgical lung biopsy (vs. video-assisted) (odds ratio [OR], 13.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.76, 45.87; P < 0.001), nonelective procedure (OR, 11.74; 95% CI, 3.51, 39.27; P < 0.001), younger age (<3 mo) (OR, 6.04; 95% CI, 2.40, 15.22; P < 0.001), and higher comorbidity score (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.05, 1.26; P = 0.003). Conclusions: Pediatric mortality postsurgical lung biopsy is not insignificant, particularly in nonelective procedures. Other important risk factors to consider when pursuing pathologic diagnosis include surgical approach, younger age, and higher comorbidity.

Medico-Legal Cases in Breast Imaging in Canada: A Trend Analysis.

Purpose: Breast imaging accounts for a large proportion of medico-legal cases involving radiologists in several countries and may be a disincentive to breast imaging. As this has not been well studied in Canada, we evaluated the key medico-legal issues of breast imaging in Canada and their implications for health care providers and patient safety. Methods: In collaboration with Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA), we obtained information from the medico-legal repository, including civil-legal, medical regulatory authority (College) and hospital complaints occurring between 2002-2021. Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) codes were used for breast imaging and biopsy. Trend analysis was done comparing cases involving breast imaging/biopsy to all cases where a radiologist was named. Results: Radiologists were named in 3108 medico-legal cases, 188 (6%, 188/3108) of which were CCI coded for breast imaging or biopsy. Factors related to radiologists were most frequent (64%, 120/188), followed by team (23.4%, 44/188) and system (6.9%, 13/188). Equal representation of male and female radiologists was found (IRR = 1.22; 95% CI: .89, 1.56). In a 10-year test window from 2006 - 2015 we identified an increasing trend for all cases involving radiologists (P = 0,0128) but a decreasing trend for cases coded with breast imaging or biopsy (P = 0,0099). Conclusions: A significant decrease in cases involving breast imaging were found from 2006-2015, accounting for 6% of the medico-legal cases. The lower risk of breast imaging medico-legal issues may encourage more radiologists in breast imaging.

Mapping 3 procedure coding systems to the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI): coverage and challenges.

To study the coverage and challenges in mapping 3 national and international procedure coding systems to the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI). We identified 300 commonly used codes each from SNOMED CT, ICD-10-PCS, and CCI (Canadian Classification of Health Interventions) and mapped them to ICHI. We evaluated the level of match at the ICHI stem code and Foundation Component levels. We used postcoordination (modification of existing codes by adding other codes) to improve matching. Failure analysis was done for cases where full representation was not achieved. We noted and categorized potential problems that we encountered in ICHI, which could affect the accuracy and consistency of mapping. Overall, among the 900 codes from the 3 sources, 286 (31.8%) had full match with ICHI stem codes, 222 (24.7%) had full match with Foundation entities, and 231 (25.7%) had full match with postcoordination. 143 codes (15.9%) could only be partially represented even with postcoordination. A small number of SNOMED CT and ICD-10-PCS codes (18 codes, 2% of total), could not be mapped because the source codes were underspecified. We noted 4 categories of problems in ICHI-redundancy, missing elements, modeling issues, and naming issues. Using the full range of mapping options, at least three-quarters of the commonly used codes in each source system achieved a full match. For the purpose of international statistical reporting, full matching may not be an essential requirement. However, problems in ICHI that could result in suboptimal maps should be addressed.

A Validation of Hysterectomy Procedural Codes in the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database.

The Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) is the main source of routinely collected data for gynaecologic surgery in Canada and is increasingly used for research. These data are prone to error as they were originally collected for administrative purposes, and they therefore should be validated for clinical research. The objective of this study was to validate hysterectomy codes from the DAD at a single institution. This was a retrospective observational study using an existing hospital database. We obtained a consecutive sample of all gynaecologic procedures performed at The Ottawa Hospital from April 2016 to March 2017 using the DAD. Patient data, including diagnosis, procedure type, concomitant procedure, and surgical approach, were reabstracted from records. These data were compared with the DAD Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) codes using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and κ coefficient with associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Of 1068 gynaecologic procedures, 639 hysterectomies were performed: 39.2% vaginally, 35.4% laparoscopically, and 25.4% abdominally. Median patient age was 46 years (IQR 41-54 y). The κ, sensitivity, specificity, and PPV for all hysterectomies were 0.92 (95% CI 0.90-0.95), 95.1% (95% CI 93.2-96.7), 97.9% (95% CI 96.6-99.3), and 98.5% (95% CI 97.6-99.5), respectively. The κ coefficients for vaginal, laparoscopic, and abdominal hysterectomy were 0.91 (95% CI 0.88-0.94), 0.92 (95% CI 0.89-0.95), and 0.92 (95% CI 0.89-0.95), respectively. Agreement for sub-total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingectomy with oophorectomy was excellent, with κ exceeding 0.80. The level of agreement for salpingectomy alone was poor, though specificity and PPV were high. Our study suggests that hysterectomy-associated CCI codes in CIHI's DAD have a high level of validity for clinical research purposes.

Mortality and cardiovascular events in adults with kidney failure after major non-cardiac surgery: a population-based cohort study

BackgroundPeople with kidney failure have a high incidence of major surgery, though the risk of perioperative outcomes at a population-level is unknown. Our objective was to estimate the proportion of people with kidney failure that experience acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or death within 30 days of major non-cardiac surgery, based on surgery type.MethodsIn this retrospective population-based cohort study, we used administrative health data to identify adults from Alberta, Canada with major surgery between April 1, 2005 and February 28, 2017 that had preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) < 15 mL/min/1.73m2 or received chronic dialysis. The index surgical procedure for each participant was categorized within one of fourteen surgical groupings based on Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) codes applied to hospitalization administrative datasets. We estimated the proportion of people that had AMI or died within 30 days of the index surgical procedure (with 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) following logistic regression, stratified by surgery type.ResultsOverall, 3398 people had a major surgery (1905 hemodialysis; 590 peritoneal dialysis; 903 non-dialysis). Participants were more likely male (61.0%) with a median age of 61.5 years (IQR 50.0–72.7). Within 30 days of surgery, 272 people (8.0%) had an AMI or died. The probability was lowest following ophthalmologic surgery at 1.9% (95%CI: 0.5, 7.3) and kidney transplantation at 2.1% (95%CI: 1.3, 3.2). Several types of surgery were associated with greater than one in ten risk of AMI or death, including retroperitoneal (10.0% [95%CI: 2.5, 32.4]), intra-abdominal (11.7% [8.7, 15.5]), skin and soft tissue (12.1% [7.4, 19.1]), musculoskeletal (MSK) (12.3% [9.9, 15.5]), vascular (12.6% [10.2, 15.4]), anorectal (14.7% [6.3, 30.8]), and neurosurgical procedures (38.1% [20.3, 59.8]). Urgent or emergent procedures had the highest risk, with 12.1% experiencing AMI or death (95%CI: 10.7, 13.6) compared with 2.6% (1.9, 3.5) following elective surgery.ConclusionsAfter major non-cardiac surgery, the risk of death or AMI for people with kidney failure varies significantly based on surgery type. This study informs our understanding of surgery type and risk for people with kidney failure. Future research should focus on identifying high risk patients and strategies to reduce these risks.

Evaluation of the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) in the coding of common surgical procedures.

To evaluate the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) in the clinical and statistical use cases. We identified 300 most-performed surgical procedures as represented by their display names in an electronic health record. For comparison with existing coding systems, we coded the procedures in ICHI, SNOMED CT, International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10-PCS, and CCI (Canadian Classification of Health Interventions), using postcoordination (modification of existing codes by adding other codes), when applicable. Failure analysis was done for cases where full representation was not achieved. The ICHI encoding was further evaluated for adequacy to support statistical reporting by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Union (EU) categories of surgical procedures. After deduplication, 229 distinct procedures remained. Without postcoordination, ICHI achieved full representation in 52.8%. A further 19.2% could be fully represented with postcoordination. SNOMED CT was the best performing overall, with 94.3% full representation without postcoordination, and 99.6% with postcoordination. Failure analysis showed that "method" and "target" constituted most of the missing information for ICHI encoding. For all OECD/EU surgical categories, ICHI coding was adequate to support statistical reporting. One OECD/EU category ("Hip replacement, secondary") required postcoordination for correct assignment. In the clinical use case of capturing information in the electronic health record, ICHI was outperformed by the clinically oriented procedure coding systems (SNOMED CT and CCI), but was comparable to ICD-10-PCS. Postcoordination could be an effective and efficient means of improving coverage. ICHI is generally adequate for the collection of international statistics.

Using administrative data to determine rates of surgical site infections following spinal fusion and laminectomy procedures

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a serious and costly post-op complication. Generating SSI rates often requires labor-intensive methods, but increasing numbers of publications reported SSI rates using administrative data. Index laminectomy and spinal fusion procedures were identified using Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) procedure codes for inpatients and outpatients in the province of Alberta, Canada between 2008 and 2015. SSIs occurring in the year postsurgery were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Canada (ICD-10-CA) diagnosis and CCI procedure codes indicative of post-op infection. Rates of SSIs and case characteristics were reported. Over the 8-year study period, 21,222 index spinal procedures were identified of which 12,027 (56.7%) were laminectomy procedures, with 322 SSIs identified, an SSI rate of 2.7 per 100 procedures. Of the 9,195 (43.3%) fusion procedures, 298 were identified as an SSI, an SSI rate of 3.2 per 100 procedures. This study found SSI rates increased from 2008 and 2015, and rates were the highest in the 0-18 year age group. The rates reported in this study were similar to published SSI rates using traditional surveillance methods, suggesting administrative data may be a viable method for reporting SSI rates following spinal procedures. Further work is needed to validate SSIs identified using administrative data by comparing to traditional surveillance.

Using health administrative databases to identify mechanical ventilation in transported pediatric critically ill patients

RATIONALE: Accurate identification of children who received mechanical ventilation (MV) is important for operational decisions related to resource allocation and to provide valid population-level evaluations of critically ill children. OBJECTIVES The object of this study was to validate health administrative database codes for the identification of MV in children. METHODS Algorithms composed of hospital-based Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) and physician billing codes were validated against a reference dataset composed of critically ill pediatric patients transported to the pediatric critical care unit at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada between 2004 and 2012. MEASUREMENTS: Descriptive statistics, sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV, respectively) were obtained. MAIN RESULTS: Of 611 patients, 75% received MV, and of these, 94% received invasive MV only. For all types of MV (invasive and noninvasive), CCI and billing codes had a sensitivity of 85.6% and 87.8% and a specificity of 67.8% and 41.4%, respectively. The combination of CCI and billing codes yielded a sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 37.5% for MV. Invasive MV CCI codes had a sensitivity of 86.3% and specificity of 71.5%. When only noninvasive MV CCI codes were tested, the sensitivity was 40.2% and the specificity was 97.1%. The PPV was highest using the CCI codes alone for any MV (89%) and for invasive MV (88%). CONCLUSIONS The combination of CCI and billing codes yielded an excellent sensitivity for MV; however, there is a risk of overestimating MV as specificity was low for all algorithms.

2276 A Validation of Hysterectomy Procedural Codes in the Canadian Institutes for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database

Study Objective The Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) is the main source of routinely-collected for gynecologic surgery in Canada and increasingly used for research. As these data were originally collected for healthcare administrative purposes, they are prone to error and should be validated for clinical research. The objective was to validate hysterectomy codes from the CIHI-DAD at a single institution. Design Retrospective consecutive sample Setting The Ottawa Hospital (TOH), Ontario, Canada Patients or Participants We obtained a consecutive sample of all gynecologic procedures performed at TOH between April 2016 and March 2017 using the CIHI-DAD at the Ottawa Hospital. Patient data including diagnosis, procedure type, and surgical approach, were reabstracted from charts. Reabstracted chart data were compared to CIHI-DAD Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) codes using sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value (PPV, NPV) and kappa coefficient with associated 95% confidence intervals (CI). Interventions N/A Measurements and Main Results Of 1079 gynecologic procedures, 649 hysterectomies were performed, including 23.3% vaginally, 17.1% laparoscopically, and 14.9% abdominally. The median patient age was 46 years (Range:41-54). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and kappa, with associated 95% confidence intervals, for all hysterectomies was 94.8% (92.8-96.4%), 88.4% (85.0-91.3%), 92.5% (90.2-94.4%), 91.8% (88.7-94.3%) and 0.84 (0.80-0.87), respectively. For vaginal hysterectomy, sensitivity=88.8% (84.3-92.5%), specificity=99.2% (98.3-99.7%), PPV=97.0% (93.8-98.9%), NPV=96.7% (95.3-97.8%), and kappa=0.91(0.87-0.94). For laparoscopic hysterectomy, sensitivity=91.3% (86.3-95.0%), specificity=92.8% (91.0-94.4), PPV=72.4% (66.2-78.1%), NPV=98.1% (97.0-98.9%), and kappa=0.79 (0.71-0.81). For abdominal hysterectomy, sensitivity=96.9% (93.9-99.0%), specificity=94.9% (93.2-96.2%), PPV=76.8% (70.4-82.5%), NPV=99.4% (98.7-99.8%), and kappa=0.83 (0.78-0.87). Conclusion Our study suggests a high level of validity for hysterectomy CCI codes in the CIHI-DAD for clinical research purposes.

P104: Can patients suffering traumatic cardiac arrest be identified using the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) database?

Introduction: Trauma is a common cause of mortality across all age groups and is projected to become the third greatest contributor to global disease burden. Recent studies have demonstrated that survival from traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) is more favourable than once believed and further research on this population is being encouraged. Currently, it is unclear whether existing databases, such as the National Ambulatory Care Reporting system (NACRS), which includes all emergency department visits, could be used to identify TCAs for population-based studies. We aimed to determine the accuracy of NACRS administrative codes in identifying TCA patients. Methods: This retrospective validation study used data acquired from NACRS and our institutional Patient Care System. We identified a number of International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision (ICD-10) diagnostic, procedural and cause of injury codes that we hypothesized would be consistent with TCA. NACRS was subsequently searched for patients meeting the diagnostic code criteria (January 1 - December 31, 2015). The following inclusion criteria were: an eligible ICD-10 diagnostic code or a qualifying Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) procedure code and an eligible ICD-10 external cause of injury code. Electronic medical records for these patients were then reviewed to determine whether true TCAs had occurred. Results: Eighty-five patients met the inclusion criteria and one was excluded from analysis due to inaccessible health records, leaving 84 patients eligible for chart review. Overall, 55% (n = 46) of patients were found to have true TCA, 35% (n = 29) sustained a cardiac arrest of non-traumatic etiology and 11% (n = 9) were considered “unclear” (i.e. could not determine whether it was a true TCA based on the medical records). We found that true TCA patients were most accurately identified using a combination of ICD-10 CA cardiac arrest and external cause of injury codes (Positive predictive value: 70.6%, 95% CI 46.9-86.7). Conclusion: TCA patients were identified with moderate accuracy using the NACRS database. Further efforts to integrate specific data fields for TCA cases within existing population databases and trauma registries is necessary to facilitate future studies focused on this patient population.

A VALIDATION OF HYSTERECTOMY PROCEDURAL CODES IN THE CANADIAN INSTITUTES FOR HEALTH INFORMATION DISCHARGE ABSTRACT DATABASE

Objectives The Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) is the main source of routinely-collected data for gynecologic surgery in Canada and are increasingly used for research. As these data were originally collected for healthcare administrative purposes, like billing or surveillance, they are prone to error and should be validated prior to their use for clinical research. The objective of this study was to validate hysterectomy codes from the CIHI-DAD at a single institution. Methods We obtained a consecutive sample of all gynecologic procedures performed from April 2016 to March 2017 using the CIHI-DAD at The Ottawa Hospital. Patient data, including diagnosis, procedure type, and surgical approach, were reabstracted from charts. Reabstracted chart data were then compared to CIHI-DAD Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) codes using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and kappa coefficient with associated 95% confidence intervals. Results Of 1079 gynecologic procedures, 649 hysterectomies were performed, including 23.3% vaginally, 17.1% laparoscopically, and 14.9% abdominally. The median patient age was 46years (interquartile range:41-54). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and kappa, with associated 95% confidence intervals, for all hysterectomies was94.8%(92.8-96.4%), 88.4%(85.0-91.3%), 92.5%(90.2-94.4%), 91.8%(88.7-94.3%) and 0.84(0.80-0.87%), respectively. For vaginal hysterectomy, sensitivity=88.8%(84.3-92.5%), specificity=99.2%(98.3-99.7%), PPV=97.0%(93.8-98.9%), NPV=96.7%(95.3-97.8%), and kappa=0.91(0.87-0.94). For laparoscopic hysterectomy, sensitivity=91.3%(86.3-95.0%), specificity=92.8%(91.0-94.4%), PPV=72.4%(66.2-78.1%), NPV=98.1%(97.0-98.9%), and kappa=0.79(0.71-0.81). For abdominal hysterectomy, sensitivity= 96.9%(93.9-99.0%), specificity=94.9%(93.2-96.2%), PPV=76.8%(70.4-82.5%), NPV=99.4%(98.7-99.8%), and kappa=0.83 (0.78-0.87). Conclusions Our study suggests a high level of validity for hysterectomy CCI codes in the CIHI-DAD for clinical research purposes.

Validation of abdominal aortic aneurysm repair codes in Ontario administrative data

To determine the positive predictive values (PPV) of Ontario administrative data codes for the identification of open (OSR) and endovascular (EVAR) repairs of elective (eAAA) and ruptured (rAAA) abdominal aortic aneurysms. We randomly identified 319 eAAA and rAAA repairs at two Toronto hospitals between April 2003 and March 2015, using administrative health data in Ontario, Canada. International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes I71.3 and I71.4, were used to identify rAAA and eAAA patients, respectively. A blinded retrospective chart review was conducted and served as the gold standard comparator. Re-abstracted records were compared to Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) and Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) codes in the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database (CIHI-DAD) and OHIP databases. We calculated the PPV and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of individual and combined procedure and billing codes for elective and ruptured OSR and EVAR (eOSR, eEVAR, rOSR, and rEVAR). Permutation of codes allowed identification of eOSR with 95% PPV (95% CI 88, 98), eEVAR with 96% PPV (95% CI 90, 99), rOSR with 87% PPV (95% CI 79, 93) and rEVAR with 91% PPV (95% CI 59, 100). Diagnostic, procedure and billing code combinations allow identification of eOSR, eEVAR, rOSR and rEVAR patients in Ontario administrative data with a high degree of certainty.

Validation of mechanical ventilation coding in hospital discharge abstracts: a population data linkage study

IntroductionMechanical ventilation (MV) is an important intervention used in critically ill patients. Accurately identifying MV use in Hospital Discharge Abstracts will be extremely useful in population-based research. Although Canadian Institute for Health Information collects information on MV for all hospitalization, its validity in intensive care unit (ICU) patients is unknown.&#x0D; Objectives and ApproachWe validated MV use within ICU patients in Hospital Discharge Abstracts. Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) ICU database prospectively collects use of MV by trained nurses. All patients admitted to a WRHA ICU (82 beds) between April 1, 2000 and March 31, 2012 were identified in Hospital Discharge Abstracts. MV was identified in Hospital Discharge Abstracts through International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9-CM), prior to 2004, while Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) were used 2004 onwards. Agreement between the WRHA database (gold standard) and Hospital Discharge Abstracts for invasive ventilation, non-invasive ventilation or neither was calculated at ICU encounter level.&#x0D; ResultsThere were 54,680 WRHA ICU admission during the study period. The linking of these two sources was highly successful with accurate identification exceeding 99%. There were 26,083 mechanical ventilations (25,387 invasive; 696 non-invasive) from the Hospital Discharge Abstracts and 30,455 (28,315 invasive; 4,554 non-invasive) from the CIC data. Hospital Discharge Abstracts had a sensitivity of 82.8%, specificity of 96.4%, Positive Predictive Value (PPV) of 96.7%, and Negative Predictive Value (NPV) of 81.7% for identifying mechanical ventilation. For invasive ventilation, Sensitivity was 85.5%, Specificity was 95.6%, PPV was 95.4% and NPV was 86.0%. Validation of non-invasive ventilation was poor in sensitivity (9.38%) and PPV (61.35%): with specificity 99.5% and NPV 92.36%.&#x0D; Conclusion/ImplicationsHospital Abstracts data are a good source to identity mechanically ventilated patients for ICU containing hospital stays especially invasive mechanical ventilations. Future research needs to explore the poor agreement with non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

Abstract 92: Immediate Breast Reconstruction in Alberta: A Canadian Perspective

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to assess the variations in immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) in the province of Alberta, Canada. More specifically, we sought to determine the rate of IBR and to understand the wait time differences that exist between urban and rural hospital settings and trends in reconstruction type. METHODS: A patient database was created using a provincial cancer registry database cross referenced with the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System and the Discharge Abstract Database. Appropriate mastectomy and breast reconstruction codes were identified using procedure codes outlined in the Canadian Classification of Health Interventions. Women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive carcinomas between the fiscal years 2005–2015 were included. Immediate breast reconstruction patients were then identified and patient demographic data, breast reconstruction details, and geographical information were obtained. Rural and urban populations were defined using Canada Statistical Guidelines for further analysis. RESULTS: In the ten-year time period examined, 9,373 breast cancer patients underwent mastectomy in Alberta. There were 1,568 (16.7%) patients with delayed reconstruction, 547 (5.8%) patients with immediate reconstruction and 7,258 (77.5%) patients without breast reconstruction. Compared to women not undergoing reconstruction, IBR patients were significantly younger (48.4 vs. 62.7, p<0.001). Fewer women undergoing IBR required RT (60/547, 11.0%) compared to women who did not undergo reconstruction (2166/7258, 29.8%, p<0.001) and AJCC staging tended to be lower in women undergoing IBR. There were 76 (2.8%) women living in rural and 471 (6.7%) in urban areas who underwent IBR. Average age of rural and urban women were similar (49.1 vs. 48.3, p=0.05). Time from breast cancer diagnosis to mastectomy and reconstruction was an average of 14.7 for rural women vs. 14.5 weeks for urban women (p=0.9) and both waited similar times for flap or implant-based reconstruction. In relation to type, implant-based reconstruction was more common in both patient populations (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Differences in breast reconstruction patterns based on demographic factors have been described in the literature. This study of a large North American patient population highlights such differences. Younger women with better prognostic factors who live in urban settings have higher rates of immediate breast reconstruction. Knowledge of this can help us to mitigate these disparities by improving access to immediate breast reconstruction for certain populations. J.P. Stone: None. S. Sarmiento: None. J. Bu: None. D. Bhat: None. C. Temple-Oberle: None.

Coding Accuracy for Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery: St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton.

Coding accuracy is an important factor in ensuring hospitals receive adequate reimbursement from the government for healthcare services rendered. A retrospective review of 100 charts, the purpose of this study was to determine the degree of coding accuracy from the surgeon perspective, for outpatient procedures performed for ophthalmic services at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton from July to December 2016. Using ICD-10-CA, Canadian Classification of Health Interventions, Quality-Based Procedures criteria where applicable, and the 3M Coding and Reimbursement system, this paper reveals three primary sources of coding errors and presents recommendations to increase accuracy of reimbursement for the benefit of both the Ministry of Health and hospital organizations.

Epidemiology of Cardiac Arrest During Hospitalization for Delivery in Canada: A Nationwide Study.

Cardiac arrest in pregnancy is a rare and devastating condition with high mortality and morbidity. The objective of this study was to generate information about maternal cardiac arrest in Canada by examining the frequency, temporal incidence, associated conditions, potential etiologies, and survival rates. This retrospective population-based study used hospitalization data from the discharge abstract database of the Canadian Institute for Health Information relating to obstetric deliveries in Canada from April 1, 2002, to March 31, 2015. The data were accessed through the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC) Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System. Cases of cardiac arrest were identified using the diagnostic and intervention codes from the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and the Canadian Classification of Health Interventions, respectively. Data on patient demographics, medical and obstetrical conditions, and potential etiologies of cardiac arrest were collected. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify conditions associated with cardiac arrest. There were 286 cases of maternal cardiac arrest among 3,568,597 hospitalizations for delivery during the 13-year period. A total of 204 (71.3%) women survived to hospital discharge (95% confidence interval, 65.7%-76.5%). There was no significant variation in the incidence of cardiac arrest or survival from arrest over time or across provinces. Among the pre-existing conditions, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, malignancy, and diseases of the respiratory and nervous system were found to be significantly associated with cardiac arrest. Among the obstetrical conditions, placental abnormalities and polyhydramnios were associated with cardiac arrest. The common potential etiologies included postpartum hemorrhage, heart failure, amniotic fluid embolism, and complications of anesthesia. In this first Canadian study, the incidence of cardiac arrest during pregnancy was found to be 1:12,500 deliveries. The survival rate reported in our study is higher than reported previously in other countries. Our study findings contribute to better inform the development and implementation of policies and programs in an effort to prevent and manage this condition.

Development and validation of an administrative data algorithm to identify adults who have endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis

BackgroundThis was a diagnostic accuracy study to develop an algorithm based on administrative database codes that identifies patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) who have endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).MethodsFrom January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2012, a chart review was performed for all hospital-identified ESS surgical encounters. The reference standard was developed as follows: cases were assigned to encounters in which ESS was performed for Otolaryngologist-diagnosed CRS; all other chart review encounters, and all other hospital surgical encounters during the timeframe were controls. Algorithm development was based on International Classification of Diseases, version 10 (ICD-10) diagnostic codes and Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) procedural codes. Internal model validation was performed with a similar chart review for all model-identified cases and 200 randomly selected controls during the following year.ResultsDuring the study period, 347 cases and 185,007 controls were identified. The predictive model assigned cases to all encounters that contained at least one CRS ICD-10 diagnostic code and at least one ESS CCI procedural code. Compared to the reference standard, the algorithm was very accurate: sensitivity 96.0% (95%CI 93.2–97.7), specificity 100% (95% CI 99.9–100), and positive predictive value 95.4% (95%CI 92.5–97.3). Internal validation using chart review for the following year revealed similar accuracy: sensitivity 98.9% (95%CI 95.8–99.8), specificity 97.1% (95%CI 93.4–98.8), and positive predictive value 96.9% (95%CI 93.0–99.8).ConclusionA simple model based on administrative database codes accurately identified ESS-CRS encounters. This model can be used in population-based cohorts to study longitudinal outcomes for the ESS-CRS population.

Defining and validating comorbidities and procedures in ICD-10 health data in ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients.

Administrative health databases are used in research to define comorbid conditions, diagnosis, and procedures. Our objectives were to validate a diagnosis of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and invasive cardiac procedure coding against a comprehensive registry of STEMI patients and determine an optimal algorithm for defining comorbidities using administrative hospitalization and ambulatory databases, but without using a physician claims database, which is unavailable for use in many jurisdictions.A registry of consecutive STEMI patients was used to define a reference cohort and linked to the hospitalization and ambulatory databases. Four administrative case definitions for defining comorbidities, as well as STEMI diagnosis and in-hospital procedures using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) and the Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) were evaluated. Metrics were used to evaluate algorithm performance and compare discriminative ability using the C statistic.The 3236 patients had median age of 60 years (interquartile range 52-71) and 75.7% were male. A diagnosis of STEMI was correctly identified in the administrative records for 3043 (94.0%) patients. In-hospital procedures (coronary artery bypass grafting, percutaneous coronary intervention, and angiogram) were well identified using administrative definitions (Kappa statistic 0.83-1.00). Validation of comorbidities varied by condition but an algorithm using 2 inpatient/ambulatory visits in the previous 2 years maximized PPV, ranging from 28.6% for previous heart failure to 95.7% for previous MI. The c statistic was similar for each of the methods, ranging from 0.76 to 0.80.ICD-10 and CCI codes can identify hospitalized STEMI patients with high sensitivity and accurately define in-hospital cardiac procedures. Comorbidities can be defined with high PPV using a definition of 2 inpatient/ambulatory visits in the previous 2 years.

Hip Fracture Types in Canadian Men and Women Change Differently with Age: A Population-Level Analysis.

BACKGROUNDWe have previously reported a gender difference in the occurrence of hip fracture type with age in our local population. In the current report, we have explored this phenomenon in a Canadian population using five years of data from a national administrative database. We have compared community-dwelling and institutionalized individuals to determine if frailty is important and has a differential effect on the type of hip fracture experienced.METHODSHospitalization records from 2005 to 2009, in which the most responsible diagnosis, that is the diagnosis causing the admission to hospital, was a hip fracture, were obtained from the Discharge Database of the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Hip fracture type was identified using the Canadian Classification of Health Interventions and the International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision, Canada (ICD-10-CA). Hip fracture proportions were calculated for the study period and stratified by age group and sex.RESULTSThe relative proportion of intertrochanteric fractures in women rose from 35% in the youngest group (55–59 years) to 51% in the oldest group (84+ years; P < 0.0001). In men, the proportions remain relatively stable (47% and 44%, respectively). Community and institutionalized patients showed the same pattern.CONCLUSIONSThe change in the proportion of the two hip fracture types that occur in women but not men may point to differences in the etiology and consequently the approaches to prevention for the two fracture types. Level of frailty did not seem to be important.

Sepsis in Canadian children: a national analysis using administrative data.

BackgroundSevere infection resulting in sepsis is recognized as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The purpose of this study is to use longitudinal, population-based data to report national-level hospital metrics, providing a current assessment of the status of sepsis hospitalizations in Canadian children.MethodsWe performed an analysis of previously abstracted data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Discharge Database (DAD). Children aged 0–17 years at the time of hospital admission were identified from a cohort of patients with sepsis or severe sepsis using the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10-CA) and the Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI). Descriptive population-based statistics are reported.ResultsHospitalization data for 20,130 children admitted over 5 years were reviewed. The majority of children were young, with neonates (56.3%) and infants under 2 months (18.8%) representing the majority of cases. A decline in age-adjusted hospitalization rates was demonstrated in both overall and non-severe sepsis across the study period; however, no change was demonstrated for severe sepsis. While overall in-hospital crude mortality rates did not change significantly across the study period (range 5.1%–5.4%), a significant decrease was found in children aged 3–23 months and adolescents. Multi-organ failure was reported in more than one-quarter of children with severe sepsis. Odds of mortality increased significantly with number of organs failed.ConclusionSepsis remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Canadian children, posing a significant burden on health care resources. Age continues to be associated with the incidence and severity of illness. Overall hospitalization rates have declined over time, as has mortality in severe sepsis. This report provides baseline metrics for future outcome-based research in Canada targeting prevention strategies and early diagnosis, as well as therapies preventing and managing organ failure.