Misclassification of childhood homicide on death certificates.

Suspect classification of homicide deaths of Connecticut residents under 20 years of age was noted for 29 percent of cases examined. Misclassification was attributed to incomplete or erroneous information recorded on the death certificates, rather than errors in the designation of ICD-9 homicide codes. The results have important implications in the interpretation of vital statistics when homicide is listed as the cause of death and underscore the value of record linkage systems.