Recent findings in arthritis described by researchers from University of Minnesota
2007 JUN 11 -- Data detailed in "Accuracy of the diagnoses of spondylarthritides in veterans affairs medical center databases" have been presented. In this recently published article, scientists in the United States conducted a study "To study the accuracy of diagnoses of spondylarthritides in computerized databases at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Medical records were available and reviewed for a random sample of 184 patients from a cohort of 737 patients seen at the rheumatology clinic between January 1, 2001 and July 31, 2002." "We compared 4 database definitions with the medical record gold standard of rheumatologists' diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), or reactive arthritis (ReA): presence of 1) >or=1 or 2) >or=2 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnostic codes for diagnoses of AS (720.0), PsA (696.0), and ReA (099.3, 711.11-711.19), and presence of 3) >or=1 or 4) >or=2 ICD-9 codes and prescription of a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD). Accuracy was assessed by sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPVs) and negative predictive values (NPVs), kappa statistic, and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve area. Of 184 patients, 11 (6%) had AS, 17 (9%) had PsA, and 7 (4%) had ReA as per the gold standard. ICD-9 codes for AS, PsA, and ReA were very specific (98-100%) with excellent NPV (99-100%) and PPV (83-100%), good to excellent sensitivity (57-100%), almost perfect kappa agreement (0.72-1), and high ROC curve area (0.79-1). Addition of presence of DMARD prescription to ICD-9 codes of AS and PsA decreased sensitivity to 27-65% without improving the specificity (which was already high at 99-100%). The ICD-9 codes for AS, PsA, and ReA in databases are accurate," wrote J.A. Singh and colleagues, University of Minnesota. The researchers concluded: "ICD-9 codes may be used to identify cohorts of patients with spondylarthritides." Singh and colleagues published their study in Arthritis and Rheumatism (Accuracy of the diagnoses of spondylarthritides in veterans affairs medical center databases. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2007;57(4):648-55). For additional information, contact J.A. Singh, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Minneapolis 55417 USA. The publisher's contact information for the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism is: Wiley-Liss, Division John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA. Keywords: United States, Arthritis, Rheumatism. This article was prepared by Pain & Central Nervous System Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Pain & Central Nervous System Week via NewsRx.com.
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