A phenotyping algorithm to identify acute ischemic stroke accurately from a national biobank: the Million Veteran Program.

Imran TF, Posner D, Honerlaw J, Vassy JL, Song RJ, Ho YL, Kittner SJ, Liao KP, Cai T, O'Donnell CJ, Djousse L, Gagnon DR, Gaziano JM, Wilson PW, Cho K. A phenotyping algorithm to identify acute ischemic stroke accurately from a national biobank: the Million Veteran Program. Clinical epidemiology. 2018 Oct 16; 10:1509-1521.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• SDR 16-348 – PRIME Care (PRecision medicine In MEntal health Care)

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Abstract:

Background: Large databases provide an efficient way to analyze patient data. A challenge with these databases is the inconsistency of ICD codes and a potential for inaccurate ascertainment of cases. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a reliable protocol to identify cases of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) from a large national database. Methods: Using the national Veterans Affairs electronic health-record system, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and National Death Index data, we developed an algorithm to identify cases of AIS. Using a combination of inpatient and outpatient ICD9 codes, we selected cases of AIS and controls from 1992 to 2014. Diagnoses determined after medical-chart review were considered the gold standard. We used a machine-learning algorithm and a neural network approach to identify AIS from ICD9 codes and electronic health-record information and compared it with a previous rule-based stroke-classification algorithm. Results: We reviewed administrative hospital data, ICD9 codes, and medical records of 268 patients in detail. Compared with the gold standard, this AIS algorithm had a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 95%, and positive predictive value of 88%. A total of 80,508 highly likely cases of AIS were identified using the algorithm in the Veterans Affairs national cardiovascular disease-risk cohort (n = 2,114,458). Conclusion: Our algorithm had high specificity for identifying AIS in a nationwide electronic health-record system. This approach may be utilized in other electronic health databases to accurately identify patients with AIS.