![]() Both data sources provide secondary data collected for purposes not specific to public health surveillance. Alternatively, administrative discharge data collected from billing information are based on confirmed clinical diagnoses and are often not available until a year or more after the visit. One salient advantage of ED SS is that it provides near real-time data that is not dependent on laboratory-confirmed diagnoses, which can take several days. Patient chief complaint, a short phrase entered by an admission clerk or triage nurse that details the reason for the patient’s visit, is used to build syndromes that capture a variety of health events (Conway et al. SS was created for the early detection of potential bioterrorism agents and communicable diseases, and has been adapted to monitor non-communicable and chronic disease trends (Paterson and Durrheim 2013). 2013 Paterson and Durrheim 2013 Rosenkotter et al. ![]() The system could be used to identify changes in injury patterns, allowing for situational awareness during emergencies, timely response, and public messaging.Įmergency department (ED) syndromic surveillance (SS), defined as the categorization and monitoring of patient symptoms or diagnosis codes, has become an important resource for public health (Johansen et al. ConclusionsĪs evidenced by the strong positive correlation coefficients and the small absolute percentage point differences in our comparisons, we conclude that ED SS captures temporal trends and patterns of injury-related ED visits effectively. Distribution of injury by neighborhood of residence showed mixed results-some neighborhood comparisons showed a high level of agreement between systems, while others were less successful. Distributions of injury by sex and age group also aligned well. Comparisons of injuries by time of day, day of week, and quarter of year demonstrated high agreement between the two systems-the majority had an absolute percentage point difference of 2.0 or less. ![]() ResultsĪlthough daily volume of the injuries varied between the two systems, the temporal patterns were similar (all r values for daily volume exceeded 0.65). We also calculated proportions of demographic and geospatial patterns for both systems. We examined characteristics of injury trends and patterns between the two systems, calculating descriptive statistics for temporal patterns and Pearson correlation coefficients ( r) for temporal trends. Daily injury counts were compared for ED SS and the administrative billing data for years 2008–2010. Six injury syndromes were developed: traffic-related injuries to pedal cyclists, pedestrians, and motor vehicle occupants fall-related injuries firearm-related injuries and assault-related stabbings. We created injury syndromes based on ED chief complaint information and evaluated their utility compared to administrative billing data. ![]() The utility of ED SS for injury surveillance has not been thoroughly evaluated. The New York City emergency department (ED) syndromic surveillance (SS) system provides near real-time data on the majority of ED visits. ![]()
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