• Barbara Kathleen Frohnert, Richard Charles Lussky, Maureen Anne Alms, Nancy J Mendelsohn, Daniel Michael Symonik, and Myron Clifford Falken.
• CDC/CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellow, Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, MN 55164-0975, USA.
• J Perinatol. 2005 Nov 1;25(11):737-42.

ObjectiveTo examine validity of the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes in discharge data for identifying infants with cardiac defects according to surveillance guidelines.Study DesignRetrospective medical record review of infants born in 2001 at one hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Infants were identified using ICD-9-CM codes from hospital discharge data, and keywords in medical records.ResultsOf 2,697 children, ICD-9-CM codes identified 66 infants coded with cardiac defects; physician review confirmed 24 had cardiac defects. Only 35 of 85 (41.2%) ICD-9-CM codes accurately reflected the cardiac defect diagnoses. Additional case finding located four infants with five cardiac defects. Sensitivity of ICD-9-CM codes for identifying these infants was 0.857, predictive value positive was 0.364.ConclusionsICD-9-CM codes from hospital discharge data identified most infants with cardiac defects, but many were false positives. ICD-9-CM codes were inaccurate for specific cardiac defects.Journal of Perinatology (2005) 25, 737-742. doi:10.1038/sj.jp.7211382; published online 15 September 2005.

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