New HCUP Methods Report Evaluates Reporting of E Codes

AHRQ has released a new study that evaluates the reporting of external cause of injury codes (E codes) on injury-related discharges in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) databases. The study, titled HCUP External Cause of Injury (E Code) Evaluation Report, is part of an HCUP Method Series which features methodological information on topics dealing with HCUP databases and software tools. Injuries are a major cause of mortality, morbidity and disability. E codes are intended to provide data for injury research and evaluation of injury prevention strategies. Injury-related discharges were identified in the HCUP databases using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes. The percentage of injuries with injury-related E codes was determined for each of the following HCUP databases: State Inpatient Databases, Nationwide Inpatient Sample, State Emergency Department Databases, and Nationwide Emergency Department Sample.