Recovering records on cancer of the larynx from anonymous health information databases

Abstract

Objective: To develop a linkage algorithm to match anonymous death records of cancer of the larynx (ICD-10 C32X), retrieved from the Mortality Information System (SIM) and the Hospital Information System of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SIH-SUS) in Brazil. Methodology: Death records containing ICD-10 C32X codes were retrieved from SIM and SIH-SUS, limited to individuals aged 30 years and over, between 2002 and 2012, in the state of São Paulo. The databases were linked using a unique key identifier developed with sociodemographic data shared by both systems. Linkage performance was ascertained by applying the same procedure to similar non-anonymous databases. True pairs were those having the same identification variables. Results: A total of 14,311 eligible death records were found. Most records, 10,674 (74.6%), were exclusive to SIM. Only 1,853 (12.9%) deaths were registered in both systems, representing true pairs. A total of 1,784 (12.5%) cases of laryngeal cancer in the SIH-SUS database were tracked in SIM with different causes of death. The linkage failed to match 167 (9.4%) records due to inconsistencies in the key identifier. Conclusion: The authors found that linking anonymous data from mortality and hospital records is a feasible measure to track missing records and may improve cancer statistics.

Complex multimorbidity in hemodialysis patients: Study in a metropolitan region in Brazil

“…With regard to individual characteristics, it appears that belonging to the younger age group and having received more than eight years of schooling reduce the chances of CMM by 60% and 47%, respectively. These findings reinforce data that indicate a greater risk of developing nontransmissible diseases among older individuals with lower levels of education, although the results of this study regarding the level of education did not show a significant difference between elementary and secondary and tertiary education levels [ 23 – 27 ].…”

Sex-Specific Mortality from Asbestos-Related Diseases, Lung and Ovarian Cancer in Municipalities with High Asbestos Consumption, Brazil, 2000–2017

“…The strategy for creating the databases was described elsewhere for mesothelioma/pleural cancer and for laryngeal cancer [ 22 , 23 ]. Briefly, in each HIS database, death records of interest were selected based on ICD-10 codes.…”

“…One of the objectives was to capture all the asbestos-related death records in Health Information System (HISs), linking databases and constituting a single database. The linking process proved to be adequate [ 22 , 23 ] and allowed us to estimate that the number of ARD-T deaths in the Brazilian Mortality Information System increased by an average of 33% [ 24 ].…”

Analysis of Mortality from Asbestos-Related Diseases in Brazil Using Multiple Health Information Systems, 1996–2017

“…Detailed information can be found elsewhere [ 19 ]. This strategy was previously tested and presented feasibility and good performance for mesothelioma [ 20 ] and cancer of the larynx [ 21 ].…”