Validation and characterization of venous thromboembolism diagnoses in the Swedish National Patient Register among patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Validating surgical procedure codes for inflammatory bowel disease in the Swedish National Patient Register Background: About 50% of patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and about 20% of those with ulcerative colitis (UC) undergo surgery at some point during the course of the disease. The diagnostic validity of the Swedish National Patient Register (NPR) has previously been shown to be high for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but there are little data on the validity of IBD-related surgical procedure codes. Methods: Using patient chart data as the gold standard, surgical procedure codes registered between 1966 and 2014 in the NPR were abstracted and validated in 262 patients with a medical diagnosis of IBD. Of these, 53 patients had reliable data about IBD-related surgery. The positive predictive value (PPV), sensitivity and specificity of the surgical procedure codes were calculated. Results: In total, 158 codes were registered in the NPR. 155 of these, representing 60 different surgical procedure codes, were also present in the patient charts and validated using a standardized form. Of the validated codes 153/155 were concordant against the patient charts, corresponding to a PPV of 96.8% (95%CI=93.9-99.1). Stratified in abdominal, perianal and other surgery, the corresponding PPVs were 94.1% (95%CI=88.7-98.6), 100% (95%CI=100-100) and 98.1% (95%CI=93.1-100), respectively. Of 164 surgical procedure codes in the validated patient charts, 155 were registered in the NPR, corresponding to a sensitivity of the surgical procedure codes of 94.5% (95%CI=89.6-99.3). The specificity of the NPR was 98.5% (95%CI=97.6-100). Conclusions: Data on IBD-related surgical procedure codes are reliable, with the Swedish National Patient Register showing a high sensitivity and specificity for such surgery. Keywords: Epidemiology, Inflammatory bowel disease, Validation, National Patient Register, Procedure code

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Risk of first and recurrent serious infection in sarcoidosis: a Swedish register-based cohort study

European Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1183/13993003.00767-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 56 (3) ◽

pp. 2000767 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marios Rossides ◽

Susanna Kullberg ◽

Anders Eklund ◽

Daniela Di Giuseppe ◽

Johan Grunewald ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

International Classification Of Diseases ◽

Parametric Models ◽

National Patient Register ◽

Patient Register ◽

Drug Register ◽

Serious Infection ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Serious Infections ◽

National Patient

Serious infections impair quality of life and increase costs. Our aim was to determine if sarcoidosis is associated with a higher rate of serious infection and whether this varies by age, sex, time since diagnosis or treatment status around diagnosis.We compared individuals with sarcoidosis (at least two International Classification of Diseases codes in the Swedish National Patient Register 2003–2013; n=8737) and general population comparators matched 10:1 on age, sex and residential location (n=86 376). Patients diagnosed in 2006–2013 who were dispensed at least one immunosuppressant ±3 months from diagnosis (Swedish Prescribed Drug Register) were identified. Cases and comparators were followed in the National Patient Register for hospitalisations for infection. Using Cox and flexible parametric models, we estimated adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) and 95% confidence intervals for first and recurrent serious infections (new serious infection >30 days after previous).We identified 895 first serious infections in sarcoidosis patients and 3881 in comparators. The rate of serious infection was increased 1.8-fold in sarcoidosis compared to the general population (aHR 1.81, 95% CI 1.65–1.98). The aHR was higher in females than males and during the first 2 years of follow-up. Sarcoidosis cases treated with immunosuppressants around diagnosis had a three-fold increased risk, whereas nontreated patients had a 50% increased risk. The rate of serious infection recurrence was 2.8-fold higher in cases than in comparators.Serious infections are more common in sarcoidosis than in the general population, particularly during the first few years after diagnosis. Patients who need immunosuppressant treatment around diagnosis are twice as likely to develop a serious infection than those who do not.

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