{"title":"Evaluation of Electronic Health Records to Monitor Illness From Harmful Algal Bloom Exposure in the United States.","authors":"Amy Lavery, Lorraine Backer, Johnni Daniel","doi":"","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are the rapid growth of algae that can produce toxic or harmful effects in people and animals. Potential health effects include respiratory illness, gastrointestinal illness, skin and eye irritation, and sometimes more severe toxic effects such as liver damage. Defining HAB exposure and related illness is challenging for many reasons, including characterizing the exposure. Large electronic health record databases present an opportunity to study health encounters specifically related to HAB exposure through querying medical diagnostic codes. We queried the MarketScan Research Databases between January 2009 and April 2019 for use of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for HAB exposure. We found a total of 558 records that used either the ICD-9 or ICD-10 code for HAB exposure. Respiratory illness was most commonly reported along with the HAB exposure code. Use of HAB exposure codes showed seasonal fluctuations during 2012-2019. We found that although the HAB-related ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes were used infrequently, they were most often recorded during bloom seasons in warmer months. This analysis is the first that utilizes a large-scale national database of de-identified health records to understand the use of medical diagnostic codes related to algae exposure.</p>","PeriodicalId":15713,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Health","volume":"839 ","pages":"8-14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9434719/pdf/nihms-1733207.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Health","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are the rapid growth of algae that can produce toxic or harmful effects in people and animals. Potential health effects include respiratory illness, gastrointestinal illness, skin and eye irritation, and sometimes more severe toxic effects such as liver damage. Defining HAB exposure and related illness is challenging for many reasons, including characterizing the exposure. Large electronic health record databases present an opportunity to study health encounters specifically related to HAB exposure through querying medical diagnostic codes. We queried the MarketScan Research Databases between January 2009 and April 2019 for use of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for HAB exposure. We found a total of 558 records that used either the ICD-9 or ICD-10 code for HAB exposure. Respiratory illness was most commonly reported along with the HAB exposure code. Use of HAB exposure codes showed seasonal fluctuations during 2012-2019. We found that although the HAB-related ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes were used infrequently, they were most often recorded during bloom seasons in warmer months. This analysis is the first that utilizes a large-scale national database of de-identified health records to understand the use of medical diagnostic codes related to algae exposure.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Environmental Health (JEH) is published 10 times per year by the National Environmental Health Association and keeps readers up-to-date on current issues, new research, useful products and services, and employment opportunities. As the only direct link to the complete spectrum of environmental health topics, the JEH reaches more than 20,000 professionals working to solve problems in areas such as
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drinking water,
food safety and protection,
hazardous materials/toxic substances management,
institutional environmental health,
occupational safety and health,
terrorism and all-hazards preparedness,
vector control,
wastewater management, and
water pollution control/water quality.