S Janet Kuramoto-Crawford1,2, Erica L Spies3, John Davies-Cole2. 1. 1 Epidemic Intelligence Service, Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development, Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services, Office of Public Health Scientific Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA. 2. 2 Center for Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, District of Columbia Department of Health, Washington, DC, USA. 3. 3 Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Limited studies have examined the usefulness of syndromic surveillance to monitor emergency department (ED) visits involving suicidal ideation or attempt. The objectives of this study were to (1) examine whether syndromic surveillance of chief complaint data can detect suicide-related ED visits among adults and (2) assess the added value of using hospital ED data on discharge diagnoses to detect suicide-related visits. METHODS: The study data came from the District of Columbia electronic syndromic surveillance system, which provides daily information on ED visits at 8 hospitals in Washington, DC. We detected suicide-related visits by searching for terms in the chief complaints and discharge diagnoses of 248 939 ED visits for which data were available for October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016. We examined whether detection of suicide-related visits according to chief complaint data, discharge diagnosis data, or both varied by patient sex, age, or hospital. RESULTS: The syndromic surveillance system detected 1540 suicide-related ED visits, 950 (62%) of which were detected through chief complaint data and 590 (38%) from discharge diagnosis data. The source of detection for suicide-related ED visits did not vary by patient sex or age. However, whether the suicide-related terms were mentioned in the chief complaint or discharge diagnosis differed across hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: ED syndromic surveillance systems based on chief complaint data alone would underestimate the number of suicide-related ED visits. Incorporating the discharge diagnosis into the case definition could help improve detection.
OBJECTIVES: Limited studies have examined the usefulness of syndromic surveillance to monitor emergency department (ED) visits involving suicidal ideation or attempt. The objectives of this study were to (1) examine whether syndromic surveillance of chief complaint data can detect suicide-related ED visits among adults and (2) assess the added value of using hospital ED data on discharge diagnoses to detect suicide-related visits. METHODS: The study data came from the District of Columbia electronic syndromic surveillance system, which provides daily information on ED visits at 8 hospitals in Washington, DC. We detected suicide-related visits by searching for terms in the chief complaints and discharge diagnoses of 248 939 ED visits for which data were available for October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016. We examined whether detection of suicide-related visits according to chief complaint data, discharge diagnosis data, or both varied by patient sex, age, or hospital. RESULTS: The syndromic surveillance system detected 1540 suicide-related ED visits, 950 (62%) of which were detected through chief complaint data and 590 (38%) from discharge diagnosis data. The source of detection for suicide-related ED visits did not vary by patient sex or age. However, whether the suicide-related terms were mentioned in the chief complaint or discharge diagnosis differed across hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: ED syndromic surveillance systems based on chief complaint data alone would underestimate the number of suicide-related ED visits. Incorporating the discharge diagnosis into the case definition could help improve detection.
Authors: Sarah A Ting; Ashley F Sullivan; Ivan Miller; Janice A Espinola; Michael H Allen; Carlos A Camargo; Edwin D Boudreaux Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 2012-01-30 Impact factor: 3.451
Authors: Sarah A Arias; Ivan Miller; Carlos A Camargo; Ashley F Sullivan; Amy B Goldstein; Michael H Allen; Anne P Manton; Edwin D Boudreaux Journal: Psychiatr Serv Date: 2015-12-01 Impact factor: 3.084
Authors: Henning T G Liljeqvist; David Muscatello; Grant Sara; Michael Dinh; Glenda L Lawrence Journal: BMC Med Inform Decis Mak Date: 2014-09-23 Impact factor: 2.796
Authors: Sarah A Arias; Edwin D Boudreaux; Elizabeth Chen; Ivan Miller; Carlos A Camargo; Richard N Jones; Lisa Uebelacker Journal: Arch Suicide Res Date: 2019-06-11
Authors: Dylan Johnson; Robin Skinner; Mario Cappelli; Roger Zemek; Steven McFaull; Corrine Langill; Paula Cloutier Journal: Can J Public Health Date: 2018-10-11
Authors: Marissa L Zwald; Kristin M Holland; Francis B Annor; Aaron Kite-Powell; Steven A Sumner; Daniel A Bowen; Alana M Vivolo-Kantor; Deborah M Stone; Alex E Crosby Journal: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Date: 2020-01-31 Impact factor: 17.586