June 9, 2021

Accuracy of ICD-10 Diagnostic Codes to Identify COVID-19 Among Hospitalized Patients

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Testing and Treatment

Keywords (Tags): health care setting

• The ICD-10 Diagnostic Code for COVID-19 (U07.1) had an overall sensitivity of 49% and specificity of 99% compared to the gold standard of a positive PCR test among 2,210 PCR-positive patients discharged between April and July 2020 across the Mass General Brigham health system in Boston, Massachusetts. Specificity was consistently high, but sensitivity varied and was lowest (28%) in July. Sensitivity was lower (14%) among those aged 0–17 years. The authors suggest that studies based solely on administrative databases may substantially undercount cases of COVID-19.

Bhatt et al. (June 7, 2021). Accuracy of ICD-10 Diagnostic Codes to Identify COVID-19 Among Hospitalized Patients. Journal of General Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-06936-w