A study published in the American Journal of Infection Control assessed whether specific secondary ICD-9-CM infection codes could act as predictors of surgical site infections, according to the study's abstract.
The study was conducted by studying all patients who underwent one of nine surgical procedures between Jan. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2005 at a large academic medical center and who were designated a secondary ICD-9-CM infection code at discharge. The results showed that among 75 secondary infection codes applied at discharge to 454 patients, only one code was associated with a surgical site infection.
The researchers concluded that ICD-9 coding data cannot be used to identify surgical site infections, although some codes could be used in screening algorithms in electronic health data to help detect surgical site infections.
Read the AJIC study's abstract about ICD-9 and surgical site infections.
Read other coverage about infections:
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- PPI Use in GI Treatment May Increase Risk of Fractures, Infections
- Metal Staples Can Lead to Great Infection Risk After Orthopedic Hip Surgery
The study was conducted by studying all patients who underwent one of nine surgical procedures between Jan. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2005 at a large academic medical center and who were designated a secondary ICD-9-CM infection code at discharge. The results showed that among 75 secondary infection codes applied at discharge to 454 patients, only one code was associated with a surgical site infection.
The researchers concluded that ICD-9 coding data cannot be used to identify surgical site infections, although some codes could be used in screening algorithms in electronic health data to help detect surgical site infections.
Read the AJIC study's abstract about ICD-9 and surgical site infections.
Read other coverage about infections:
- UV-Lit Vacuum Can Remove Double the Microbes Than Traditional Vacuum
- PPI Use in GI Treatment May Increase Risk of Fractures, Infections
- Metal Staples Can Lead to Great Infection Risk After Orthopedic Hip Surgery
