Glossary

E codes: External cause codes found in the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

ICD-7 diagnostic codes: Nature-of-injury codes found in the Seventh Revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

ICD-8 diagnostic codes: Nature-of-injury codes found in the Eighth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes: Nature-of-injury codes found in the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

Injury: In the years prior to 1997, injuries included accident events occurring in the two weeks prior to the interview that caused either medical attention or caused at least one day of disability such as a bed day.  In addition, injury conditions were defined strictly by the appropriate injury ICD codes.

Injury condition: The acute condition or the physical harm caused by the traumatic event.

Injury episode: The traumatic event in which the person was injured one or more times from an external cause (e.g., a fall, a motor vehicle traffic accident).  In earlier years of the NHIS, these events were termed “accidents”.

Medically attended or medically consulted injury or poisoning episode: An injury or poisoning episode for which a health care professional was contacted either in person or by telephone for advice or treatment.  Calls to a poison control center are also considered to be a contact with a health care professional.

Poisoning condition: The acute condition or the physical harm caused by the event.

Poisoning episode: The event resulting from ingestion of or contact with harmful substances, including overdoses or wrong use of any drug or medication.

Recode: A new variable that is created from an existing variable or variables, including a summary of data from a variety of related questions or collapsed categories of a variable.