Validity of hospital discharge data for identifying cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Publication
Affiliates	David E. Sticker [1], Julie A. Royer [2], James W. Hardin [3] [1] Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina [2] Office of Research and Statistics, South Carolina Budget and Control Board [3] Institute for Families in Society and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina
Journal	Muscle and Nerve
Summary	This study sought to identify and validate additional data sources to identify PALS. Because medical complications often occur as the results of ALS progression, inpatient hospital encounters and emergency department visits were examined. Data were collected from the South Carolina (SC) hospital patient discharge uniform billing (UB) sources to determine the utility of the ICD-9 codes associated with primary or secondary motor neuron disease discharge diagnosis codes (335.2-335.29) to identify ALS patients. However, they concluded that this method of case identification is inadequate and must be combined with other methods for accurate and identification of ALS patients.
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Page last reviewed: October 21, 2021