Development and Validation of an EHR-based Algorithm for Identifying Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia.
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) remains a life-threatening opportunistic infection in patients receiving chemotherapy and other immunosuppressive cancer treatments. Accurate identification of true PCP cases within real-world electronic health record (EHR) databases is essential for epidemiological research and optimization of prophylactic strategies in oncology practice. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a practical, EHR-based algorithm for reliably identifying PCP cases.
This retrospective, single-center validation study used EHR data from a Japanese university hospital between April 2022 and March 2024. Adult patients (≧20 years) who were assigned an ICD-10 code for PCP were extracted, and true cases were confirmed by a detailed review of the patient records. Seven candidate algorithms combining diagnostic codes, therapeutic-dose anti-PCP prescriptions, laboratory testing, chemotherapy exposure, and prescription duration were evaluated. The positive predictive value (PPV) and capture rate were then calculated using chart-confirmed PCP as the reference standard.
Among 617 ICD-coded patients, 11 (1.8%) were confirmed as true PCP cases. The PPV of diagnostic codes alone was 1.8%. A prescription-enhanced algorithm (A1) identified 12 patients, including 11 true cases (PPV=91.7%; capture rate 100%). Algorithms incorporating β-D-glucan or PCR testing achieved PPVs of 100% with lower capture rates (63.6-81.8%). Incorporation of concurrent chemotherapy also resulted in a PPV of 100% with reduced capture. An algorithm requiring therapeutic-dose prescription for ≥21 days showed equivalent performance to A1.
Prescription-based algorithms substantially improve the accuracy of PCP case identification in EHR data compared with diagnostic codes alone. This straightforward, scalable approach offers a robust framework for real-world oncology research, enabling a more reliable evaluation of PCP incidence and informing future prophylaxis strategies for patients receiving anticancer treatment.
This retrospective, single-center validation study used EHR data from a Japanese university hospital between April 2022 and March 2024. Adult patients (≧20 years) who were assigned an ICD-10 code for PCP were extracted, and true cases were confirmed by a detailed review of the patient records. Seven candidate algorithms combining diagnostic codes, therapeutic-dose anti-PCP prescriptions, laboratory testing, chemotherapy exposure, and prescription duration were evaluated. The positive predictive value (PPV) and capture rate were then calculated using chart-confirmed PCP as the reference standard.
Among 617 ICD-coded patients, 11 (1.8%) were confirmed as true PCP cases. The PPV of diagnostic codes alone was 1.8%. A prescription-enhanced algorithm (A1) identified 12 patients, including 11 true cases (PPV=91.7%; capture rate 100%). Algorithms incorporating β-D-glucan or PCR testing achieved PPVs of 100% with lower capture rates (63.6-81.8%). Incorporation of concurrent chemotherapy also resulted in a PPV of 100% with reduced capture. An algorithm requiring therapeutic-dose prescription for ≥21 days showed equivalent performance to A1.
Prescription-based algorithms substantially improve the accuracy of PCP case identification in EHR data compared with diagnostic codes alone. This straightforward, scalable approach offers a robust framework for real-world oncology research, enabling a more reliable evaluation of PCP incidence and informing future prophylaxis strategies for patients receiving anticancer treatment.
Authors
Kitamura Kitamura, Tsuchiya Tsuchiya, Iihara Iihara, Sakurai Sakurai, Endo Endo, Kumada Kumada, Tsubata Tsubata
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