Validity of stroke diagnosis on hospital discharge records in Saskatchewan, Canada: implications for stroke surveillance

L Liu; B Reeder; A Shuaib; R Mazagri

doi:10.1159/000015960

Validity of stroke diagnosis on hospital discharge records in Saskatchewan, Canada: implications for stroke surveillance

Cerebrovasc Dis. 1999 Jul-Aug;9(4):224-30. doi: 10.1159/000015960.

Authors

L Liu¹, B Reeder, A Shuaib, R Mazagri

Affiliation

¹ Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.

PMID: 10393410
DOI: 10.1159/000015960

Abstract

This study examines the validity of the diagnosis of stroke on hospital discharge records in Saskatchewan, Canada. In total, 1,494 records with a discharge diagnosis of 'stroke' or a 'stroke-related condition' were reviewed. The clinical algorithm of the 1980 USA National Survey of Stroke was considered the 'gold standard'. The positive predictive value of a primary diagnosis of stroke in the tertiary-care hospitals was about 90%. In community hospitals the majority of stroke cases were coded as ICD9 436 in which the positive predictive value was 78%. The variation between regions would limit the use of hospital discharge data for stroke surveillance.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cerebrovascular Disorders / diagnosis*
Diagnosis, Differential
Diagnostic Errors / statistics & numerical data
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Hospitals, State
Humans
Medical Records*
Observer Variation
Population Surveillance*
Predictive Value of Tests
Reproducibility of Results
Saskatchewan