Abstract

Objective: In modern times, data obtained through international classification of diseases (ICD) codes from hospital automation systems are frequently used in studies on epidemiology, surveillance, and survival. The reliability of these data is critically important for the accuracy of the studies. This study aims to investigate the accuracy of emergency department diagnoses for patients who requested urology consultations and to reveal their reliability.

Method: Records of patients who requested urology consultations after presenting to the emergency department within the past year were retrospectively screened through the hospital automation system. The green, yellow, and red zone presentations were classified according to the time of day, and the compatibility of the patients’ emergency diagnoses with the diagnoses in the urology clinic was evaluated.

Results: A total of 2.197 patients [1.660 (75.56%) men and 537 (24.44%) women] with an average age of 50.59±23.10 (range: 1-98) years, who requested urology consultations in the emergency department, were included in the study. Of the patients seen in the urology clinic, 637 (28.99%) were referred from the green zone, 703 (32.04%) from the yellow zone, 221 (10.10%) from the red zone, and 636 (28.86%) from other branches. Of the patients, 1.623 (73.87%) presented between 08:00 and 16:00, 406 (18.48%) between 16:00 and 00:00, and 168 (7.64%) between 00:00 and 08:00. The ICD codes of patients who requested urology consultations were

found to have statistically significant compatibility with the ICD codes of patients after urological evaluation (kappa: 0.863, p<0.05). This significant compatibility was also observed in the evaluations classified based on the unit and hours of consultation requests.

Conclusion: The reliability of diagnosis codes is high even in high-volume areas like emergency departments. These results have inspired the creation of secure databases that will provide a source for diagnosis code-based studies in our country.