Abstract
Background
Administrative databases provide valuable patient data and are used to conduct population-based studies. However, no studies have been conducted to validate the codes for dermatological conditions.
Objective
To evaluate the validity of ICD 9 code 706 for acne.
Methods
This was a retrospective chart review of patients seen in dermatology clinics at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre between March 1 and May 31, 2013. The billing code for a clinic visit was compared to the diagnosis documented in the medical chart.
Results
There were 4,248 participants; 201 with an ICD-9 code of acne. This code had a PPV and sensitivity with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 84.58% (78.67–89.13%) and 86.29% (80.51–90.62%), respectively. The specificity was 99.20% (98.86–99.45%).
Conclusions
We showed that ICD-9 code 706 can be used to accurately identify patients with acne in a dermatology setting. This information can be applied to future epidemiologic studies
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Poster presented: Canadian Dermatology Association Meeting June 2014, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Ejaz, A., Malaiyandi, V., Kim, W.B. et al. Validating the diagnostic code for acne in a tertiary care dermatology centre. Eur J Dermatol 25, 469–471 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2015.2606
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1684/ejd.2015.2606