Journal of Epidemiology
Online ISSN : 1349-9092
Print ISSN : 0917-5040
ISSN-L : 0917-5040
Original Article
Validation of Acute Myocardial Infarction Cases in the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan
Ching-Lan ChengCheng-Han LeePo-Sheng ChenYi-Heng LiSwu-Jane LinYea-Huei Kao Yang
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2014 Volume 24 Issue 6 Pages 500-507

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Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the validity of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) diagnosis coding in the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) by cross-comparisons of discharge diagnoses listed in the NHIRD with those in the medical records obtained from a medical center in Taiwan.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study comparing records in the NHIRD and discharge notes in one medical center (DNMC) in the year 2008. Positive predictive values (PPVs) for AMI diagnoses were evaluated by reviewing the relevant clinical and laboratory data recorded in the discharge notes of the medical center. Agreement in comorbidities, cardiac procedures, and antiplatelet agent (aspirin or clopidogrel) prescriptions between the two databases was evaluated.
Results: We matched 341 cases of AMI hospitalizations from the two databases, and 338 cases underwent complete chart review. Of these 338 AMI cases, 297 were confirmed with clinical and lab data, which yielded a PPV of 0.88. The consistency rate for coronary intervention, stenting, and antiplatelet prescription at admission was high, yielding a PPV over 0.90. The percentage of consistency in comorbidity diagnoses was 95.9% (324/338) among matched AMI cases.
Conclusions: The NHIRD appears to be a valid resource for population research in cardiovascular diseases.

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© 2014 Ching-Lan Cheng et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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